ulrich's fossil gallery

We went here on August 28, 2014 and enjoyed it immensely. The staff seemed a bit disorganized before we actually got to the quarry. Once there though we had a great time. . Our guide Colby was fun and informative. He taught us how to look for fossils. They give you a pallet and tools to use for the fossils. At times, you are made to feel a bit rushed but if you ask to stay the full three hours they will let you. Guides will help you if you aren't finding many. I think this would be a great activity for children, too. The only part that made it less than five stars is that they have a limit on how many fossils each paying guest is allowed to take. You may have to leave some of your finds behind.

Enjoyed our adventure finding fish fossils today! Went with my son and daughter this morning. We found quite a few pieces of fish and some whole fish. Were allowed to take 8 per paid person. My daughter is 11, I did not have to pay for her which was nice. She just helped us and did not get 8 of her own but we have enough to share. We had 3 young men helpers. They were all very friendly and asked many times if we were doing ok and if we needed any help. We throughly enjoyed our fossil hunting experience. Make sure you wear sunscreen, pants, sturdy shoes, gloves, take water. A metal putty knife is handy to for smaller separating. They do provide a hammer and wedge type tool. It is very easy to get too off main highway. Thanks Ulrich's!!

We decided to go to Ulrich's today because everyone has said that they have the best fossil fish. Though they are very expensive compared to other places, we figured it was worth it because this would likely be our only time ever coming here to get our own fish! The weather this week was pretty terrible so the shale was very wet when we went up - no complaints there really as I don't expect people to control the weather! However, our "guide" (if he could even be called that) was absolutely terrible. Never introduced himself (believe his name was Colton or something similar), never asked our names, just got us in the truck and ran us up to the quarry. He then handed us some tools, got back in the truck, and proceeded to alternate between looking at himself in the mirror and napping for the next few hours. About once an hour he would get out of the truck to check on us. I asked him for some help getting a fish out of a slab and he slammed a blade on the slab several times haphazardly until the whole thing cracked in half, also destroying my fish. Towards the end of the outing my father and I had gotten a pretty decent pile of fish together (not the greatest because the shale was wet and kept fracturing, but we found some good stuff). Our guide then proceeded to toss the slabs into the back of the truck, breaking literally all but one of them. His explanation was that the shale was fragile because it was so wet, which I understand. But if the shale is fragile you should not be tossing it anywhere, you should be handling it with care. Dude clearly did not care about the job or the experience we were having.Another guide with another group down the quarry looked great - very helpful, family was having a good time, very careful with their fossils and paid close attention to cutting it down right. Really wish that we could have had him for our guide, as the trip was pretty much a waste of money. Fortunately I have a friend who is a preparator and she will be able to salvage some of my fish with glue, I hope. Very disappointed.

This is a great place to get a true feeling of being an archeologist. The fossils here are premium and the help given is second to none. Following the trip to the quarry they are helpful in getting the fish out of the rock layers. You will find many different species of fish and the joy or recovering them. If you do not have time to go to the quarry pick up one of their kits take it home and enjoy the discovery in the comfort of home. This is an amazing project for a classroom study, Real hands on exploration at a reasonable cost. I took several kits home with me and had difficult locating the fish in the rock. i sent them pictures and they were more than willing to send me new kits since the rock I had had the fish more deeply embedded than normal. I opted to keep what I had and work with them and was rewarded wit h excellent specimens.

The Ulrich family are one of the earliest quarriers of fossils in the Fossil Butte area. Many of their finds are in major museum and university collections. The displays are for sale and vary as time goes on. If you're lucky Mr. or Mrs. Ulrich will visit the retail room and you'll get to chat with some very interesting people.

Must do. The gallery has wonderful specimens to see. Out of my budget. Quarry trip worth every bit of the money. Fossils mean so much more when you find them yourself. I will go back and do this again. Mr. Ulrich is 90 and his wife is only slightly younger. Not sure what that will mean for the future of the quarry. Hopefully it doesn't shut down to private commercial collection only.

Since the government shut down had the Fossil Butte monument closed down at least we were able to see the beautiful fossils that were on display at the gallery. Of course they were all for sale but a bit pricey.

Great fossils on display and hosts were very personable and provided us with great information and assitance.

My husband and I went to Ulrich's today. Tanner was our guide and we had a great time!! It is definitely worth the money and the owner Shirley was a very nice lady! We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the quarry. We wish we didn't live so far away because we want to go again!! We are planning on coming back in 3 years to do this again. It is well worth the trip!

The quality of the fossil's here are outstanding they have a very large selection. If you talk to the right person some of the prices are negotiable.

If you love fossils you HAVE to go here, especially to go to the quarry with a guide and dig your very own Green River fish fossils that are in unbelievable condition and abundance. This is a can't miss with kids and teens. I have recommended it to many and all have loved it. Well worth the drive and the nominal fee.

This is a great stop to shop for fossies and arrainge for a trip out to the quarry to dig for fossils. kid under ten can get a hammer and chisel and look for fossils in the pile of rock just outside of the gallery.

Went on a school trip guided by wally ulrich, my daughter uncovered so many fossils I couldnt belive it!

What can I say-- my husband is a geologist and absolutely LOVED this place.

Soooo, worth the time and the travel to get there and the cost. I agreed to go with my discovery/play in the dirt minded husband just to be a good wife. "I L O V E D IT" It is a great activity for anyone that does not have mobility limitations. I was so caught up in the dig I forget to capture it on our camcorder. Watch out for the pesky horseflies and they do bite even through cloth. You may want to spray yourself with bug spray. And wear sunscreen.Staff is very nice and knows their stuff. I am excited about sharing our fossil discovery (we got some good ones) with family and the children in my Head Start classroom.