I first visited Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park in 1980. At that point I don't remember the two parts of the park being joined as one. Berlin was a protected ghost town, with at least one Ranger, and the fossil quarry seemed to be a separate unit, with the campground beyond that.

At that time I spoke with a ranger at Berlin, but I didn't have time to take a close look around. It was just an interesting looking ghost town, with many buildings still standing, as well as the stamp mill for the mine. I made a mental note to get back and do a bit more exploring.

I did get a chance to take a tour of the fossil quarry, which was within a small shelter. It was a guided tour and the young woman providing the information was very clear and patient. It's not a large site, and the tour did not take more than about 30 minutes.

The Park (now combined) is quite a ways out in the middle of nowhere, so go prepared with extra water and food and gas. Gabbs is the closest town to the west, and Austin is the closes town to the northeast. Ione, almost a ghost town itself, is not too far away to the north, but there may not be services available there.

I visited the Park a second time at some point in the mid-80s, probably in 1984. We looked around the town a bit, toured the fossil quarry, and drove through the campground. I don't remember spending much time there that day.

To the south of Berlin is another ghost town named Grantsville. There are a few building foundations, as well as some newer, more modern structures, built by latter mining operations. In the early '80s there was still a mining operation going on in the area. The canyon behind Grantsville is pretty and has a few old mine adits and old log cabins. But be careful around the deserted mining operations. And don't go into the adits and shafts.