Fossilized remains of world's oldest forest found 2 hours from New York City

The forest, found in an old quarry in the town of Cairo, would have spanned from New York to Pennsylvania and beyond, and has been dated to about 386m years old. It is one of only three known fossil forests dating to this period.

The forest would have been quite open and its ancient trees would appear alien to the modern eye. The forest contains clusters of Cladoxylopsid, a 10m-tall leafless tree with a swollen base, short branches resembling sticks of celery and shallow, ribbon-like roots. The fossils also revealed a tree called Archaeopteris, something like a pine, but instead of needles the branches and trunk were adorned with fern-like fronds, giving it an almost hairy appearance.

I would love to drive out to see this, but it's closed to the public, open only for scientific research.