Most Awesome Rock Shop I’ve Ever Been In
- Date Visited: May 12, 2021
- Address: 600 N Main St, Moab, UT 84532
- Phone: (435) 259-7312
- Website
- Hours: Daily 9 AM-6 PM
So this is not my first post about rock shops.
Every time I drive past a rock shop it’s like there’s a giant magnet just pulling on the truck. Before I know it the wheel is turning and I’m parked in front of what I know will be another glorious hour of looking at shiny rocks.
The Moab Rock Shop was founded in 1960 by Lin Ottinger and is still operated by his family today.
Lin has been dedicated to minerals and fossils his whole life and is known as The Dinosaur Man. He has discovered four species of dinosaurs and a dinosaur was even named after him, the Sauropod Iguanadon Ottingeri.
Many of his finds across his lifetime have been donated to universities and museums.
The Museum of Moab displays many of his discoveries. We would have loved to have gone to the museum, but it was closed while we were in town.
The Moab Rock Shop houses an impressive collection. No matter what your interest is you will find it here.
Rows of tables and shelves display minerals, crystals, gemstones, and geodes. Fossils are also available for purchase including dinosaur bones and tracks, trilobites, ammonites, chrysanthemum stones, dendrites, fossil fish, and petrified wood.
They actually have a 30-foot-long petrified tree. They have megalodon teeth and the coolest fossil crabs I’ve ever seen.
They also have a selection of local Utah rocks and fossils.
Outside the shop, they have several bargain tables featuring these finds. If you want to do some rockhounding yourself they sell local geology maps to assist you with your hunt.
A number of real dinosaur bones are on display in the shop including a petrified brontosaurus femur.
There are also replicas of many of Lin’s findings/donations. These include an Apatosaurus femur, Brachiosaurus rib, and skull and leg of an Allosaurus.
While in the Moab Information center I picked up a flyer for the Moab Rock Shop that said I would get a free Jurassic dinosaur bone when I visited. I also saw these flyers in multiple stores in town so you should be able to find one pretty easily.
When I made my purchase at the store I gave the cashier the flyer to claim my prize. Turns out I had to work for it. She said to follow the dinosaur tracks on the floor till they ended and choose which piece of bone I wanted.
So feeling like a kid on a grand adventure I started following the tracks to the back of the store.
I discovered my treasure in a small bin on the bottom shelf of a bookcase. The dinosaur bone fragment is attached to a piece of paper discussing the shop, Ottinger, and dinosaurs.
It is impossible to determine which dinosaur the bone came from and the piece is useless to paleontologists.
The bone was collected by Lin and his family in the 1950’s and 1960’s. It is now illegal to collect vertebrate fossils so if you happen to discover any please contact your local public land management office.
I’m super excited to add an actual piece of dino bone to my collection and even better it was free.
Jamey is lucky we travel full-time in a pop-up camper because I could have spent a fortune in the shop. I limited my purchase to three pretty rocks/minerals to add to my collection and one fossil.
I can’t remember the name of the fossil now, but it was a cool snail/nautilus piece. I don’t know why I didn’t take pics.
If you are in the area and are a collector you ABSOLUTELY must make a stop at the Moab Rock Shop.
Their collection is impressive and they have so many unique pieces to select from. The shop on a whole is just cool too. By far the best rock shop I have ever had the opportunity to visit.