Overview. The Frenchman Mountain Trilobite Quarry is located on the east side of the Las Vegas Valley at the base of Frenchman Mountain, a short walk from the pavement. Most of the fossiliferous material is fragmentary, but the site is close to town, and it is always fun to dig for buried treasure.

The quarry is located on public lands administered by the BLM. As such, access is legal and free, and collecting "invertebrate fossils" is legal and free, subject to a limit of 200 pounds per person. Bring your rock hammer and eye protection. If other fossils are found in the area, let the BLM know what you found.

Link to Map.

Location. The Frenchman Mountain Trilobite Quarry is located off East Lake Mead Blvd on the east edge of Las Vegas. From downtown (Table 1, Site 0800), drive north on I-15. In about 1.8 miles, exit onto Lake Mead Blvd East (Site 0801) and drive east across town. The last main road crossing is North Hollywood Blvd, and the last street is Los Feliz. Past Los Feliz, the houses end, and Lake Mead Blvd continues into the desert. From the edge of town, continue 0.30 miles to an unpaved parking area (Site 1533) on the right and a blocked-off dirt road to the south. Park here; this is the trailhead.

The Hike. From the trailhead (Table 2, Waypoint 01), the trail follows the old road south for 0.33 miles to the old quarry. Trilobite fossils can be found in all of the green shale along the left side of the dirt road, but the best fossils are found in the green shale at the far end of the quarry (Wpt. 02).