Both Virginia and Maryland are great states for fossil hunting. The general rule is that fossil collecting is prohibited at federal parks. Unless there are parks with an exception (i.e. permission, university sponsored study, etc...). When it comes to federal parks I just assume no fossil hunting.
State parks vary and will post whether it's allowable or not. If it's not listed on a site then assume no collecting.
Calvert county makes it very clear where not to collect. There are areas with heavy erosion around cliff areas but those areas tend to be restricted to university research.
In Virginia, Fredericksburg is a good area for gastropods. Supposedly sharks teeth can be found in Occoquan, but I haven't personally seen them. Only examples from other people's collections.
I've planned for gold once but I can't remember where in Virginia because it was so long ago and it was with a rock and mineral club.
One thing I've always wanted to do was explore a quarry. Especially a limestone quarry for fossils.
