Russell Wildlife Area

A Deep-Sea Treasure Hunt in the Middle of Iowa

It’s wild to think that this 424-acre park was once a busy limestone quarry. Decades of digging through hundreds of feet of rock and soil unearthed a prehistoric world that had been buried for over 325 million years. Today, the leftover "spoil piles"—mounds of gray limestone and clay—are a gold mine for anyone with a sharp eye and a little patience.

Pro-Tip: Where to Park

Following the map, we found it much easier to park near the gate (keep going left at the gun range past the gate for it) where you turn toward the lake. This spot is the perfect staging area because it's just a short walk to the most productive fossil beds. We headed toward the exposed rock mix on the banks of the ponds and the maintenance road where the gray mounds are scattered.

The Ultimate "Scramble"

This is the kind of activity kids (and parents) live for. It’s a completely free, hands-on experience where the kids can scramble around on the mounds and find actual pieces of history. Unlike many state or national parks where you have to leave things as you find them, at Russell Wildlife Area, you are actually allowed to take your fossils home! We spent the afternoon scanning the gray rocks and were amazed at how quickly we started "training our eyes." We found:

• Crinoids: These are the most common; they look like little stone screws or stacked Cheerios.

• Brachiopods: Beautiful, mirror-image shells that look just like modern-day clams.

• Horn Corals: These were a huge hit because they look like miniature, stony tornadoes.

• Bryozoans: Tiny "moss animals" that have a cool, lace-like or branching texture.

A Rewarding Day

There is something incredibly satisfying about the "clink" of a rock and realizing you're the first person to touch that creature in hundreds of millions of years. Between the thrill of the hunt and the peaceful view of the aqua-colored ponds, it was a perfect family day. We left with pockets full of "prehistoric gold" and a lot of dirty knees—the true sign of a successful Iowa adventure!