2023 DINO DIGS are Completed!
This year, we returned to our dinosaur quarry in the Little Snowy Mountains. Approximately 150-million-years old, the bones we’re finding come from sauropod (long-necked) dinosaurs that lived in the world-famous Morrison Formation during the Late Jurassic Period. The Morrison Formation was home to some of our most famous and iconic dinosaurs like the sauropods Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus, & Camarasaurus; the plated and spiky-tailed Stegosaurus; and the meat-eating Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus.
While the Morrison Formation is really well known in western states like Utah and Colorado, it is poorly understood here in Montana; and such northern exposures are practically unknown. We are the only museum working in the Morrison Formation here, so help us make and preserve new scientific discoveries!
Dig Dates:
Watch for next year’s dates to be posted!
To learn more about or sign up for this truly unique paleontological opportunity in Montana, please email us at [email protected] or call us at (406) 654-5300.
How Does it Work?
- For the 2023 Little Snowy Mountains dig, the cost is $1,000.00 per participant. This includes lunch each day, digging equipment, transportation to and from the site from Malta, MT.
- Participants must be age 12 or older and able to hike short distances and sit on the ground.
- All youths (under 18) must be accompanied by an appointed guardian. A 50% discount is offered to nonparticipating adults who accompany a participating minor. (12-17 years old)
- For each dig, we arrive Sunday evening, dig Monday through Friday, and leave Saturday morning. We require a minimum of FOUR participants signed up.
- For all dig participants, a $200.00 non-refundable deposit is required to book each reservation.
Note: Is your child younger than 12? Please go to the Museum’s “Junior Paleontologist Program.”
For reservations and more information, please email us at [email protected] or call us at (406) 654-5300.

(our former Director of Paleontology, Dr. Cary Woodruff, with pedal (foot) bones from a Tyrannosaurus found during our 2018 Hell Creek Formation dig)
Recommended Gear for the Dino Digs in Montana:
- small back pack or tote bag
- refillable water bottle
- hat
- neck scarf
- light weight clothing
- good boots or hiking shoes (caution with canvas shoes: there is cactus!)
- sunscreen
- bug spray
- camera