“discover fossils over 60 million years old”
Purse State Park is located on the Potomac River on Wades Bay. Purse is a wooded undeveloped area that is used for hunting, bird watching, fishing and fossil hunting. Purse is available for public use year round, sunrise to sunset. Check out a map of the area. Parking is located off of Maryland Route 224 across from a 3/4 mile trail leading to the waterfront. Purse is a part of the Aquia Formation which formed in the Paleocene Epoch about 60 million years ago when a gigantic meteor hit the earth. This area was covered with warm shallow water which made it a suitable habitat for sand tiger sharks, mackerel sharks, Turritella (snails) and Eagle Rays more specifically Cownose Rays which all lived during this time period.
This is a great place for kayaking, fossil hunting, and especially combing for shark teeth - it’s one of the best places to find them! There is about a half mile path from the parking lot to the beach with a steep climb down to the shore. Be careful if you are hauling beach equipment. There are no public restrooms. Check the tide schedule before visiting - the shoreline quickly disappears in high tide.
Here's a link to low tide times. http://www.weatherforyou.com/reports/index.php?forecast=tides&place=purse%20state%20park&state=md&zipcode=
Be the first to add a review to the Purse State Park.
Purse State Park
Hours
- Sun - Sat: 7:00 am - 6:00 pm
Problem with this listing? Let us know.
Has RV parking changed? Let us know.
-
Parking
-
Pets Allowed
-
Restrooms
-
Wifi
-
Wheelchair Accessible
-
Credit Cards Accepted
Parking
Nearby Hotels
Related Trip Guides
The top things to do on a Blue Ridge Parkway road trip
- 85 Places
- 36:11
- 1,293 mi
The top things to do on an I-95 road trip
- 50 Places
- 41:46
- 1,983 mi