Rockhounding Map & Sites in Wyoming: 351 Locations for Crystal Hunting, Gem Mining & More
Wyoming Locations
351 locations found in Wyoming
Wyoming has 351 documented rockhounding and rock hunting sites, including locations for Fossil, Copper, and Gold. Whether you're crystal hunting, gem mining, or mineral collecting, most sites are on public land and free to access. Use the interactive map above to filter by mineral type, location type, and find GPS coordinates for each site.
Last updated: — 351 verified locations
Recommended Gear for Wyoming
Estwing E3-22P Rock Pick
The industry-standard 22oz geological hammer. One-piece forged steel with shock-reduction grip.
Clear Anti-Fog Safety Glasses (4 Pack)
Adjustable, anti-fog lenses for clear vision in any conditions. About $5 per pair.
Watertight Medical Kit
Compact, waterproof first aid kit with bandages, moleskin, and field essentials.
Northwest Treasure Hunter's Gem and Mineral Guide
Whether you're digging for the first time or are an experienced rockhound or "prospector," with a simple rock hammer and...
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The Best Rockhounding Sites in Wyoming
The South Pass gold camp that doubles as jade country. The area is documented for nephrite jade — Wyoming’s state gemstone — alongside placer gold, agatized and opalized wood, tourmaline, and agate. Jade hunting here is float hunting: walking sagebrush slopes and two-tracks looking for the dense, waxy green stone the glaciers scattered.
The most famous petrified wood in America. Eden Valley wood is silicified limb material with jet-black interiors under a pale rind, and the desert flats between Farson and Eden shed it from the Green River beds. It takes a glassy polish and is instantly recognizable in any collection. Open BLM country — bring water and GPS.
The turritella agate country. What collectors call turritella is agatized stone packed with spiral freshwater snail shells — black, brown, and white when polished, and unmistakable. The county’s open desert also carries agate, jasper, chert, and petrified wood across thousands of square miles of public land.
One of the largest unfenced landscapes in the lower 48, and nearly all of it BLM. The desert pavement carries agate, jasper, chalcedony, chert, and silicified wood — no single pit to dig, just miles of gravel to walk with your eyes down. The kind of collecting Wyoming does better than anywhere.
A ghost mining camp high in the Absarokas above Meeteetse, documented for azurite, malachite, cuprite, galena, chalcopyrite, and pyrite on the old dumps. The road in is rough, the season is short, and the setting — abandoned workings under 12,000-foot peaks — is the best backdrop in Wyoming collecting. Grizzly country: carry spray.
The name is the inventory: moss agate with chalcedony and jasper weathering out of a hill in the Sweetwater country. Dendritic black moss in translucent agate, hunted as float on the slopes. A focused stop on any central Wyoming loop.
A landmark on the old Oregon Trail in the Sweetwater valley — and a documented ruby locality, unusual for Wyoming. The granite country here sheds corundum along with the region’s agates. Worth a stop for the oddity alone; the Sweetwater agate beds surround it.
Rockhounding Regions of Wyoming
| Region | Top sites | What you'll find |
|---|---|---|
| South Pass–Sweetwater country | Atlantic City, the Sweetwater River, Split Rock, Moss Agate Hill | Nephrite jade — the state gemstone — with gold, Sweetwater agates, moss agate, and documented ruby at Split Rock |
| Eden Valley wood beds | Farson, Eden Valley, Blacks Fork Creek | Eden Valley petrified wood — the prized black silicified wood of the Farson desert — plus turritella agate and silicified algae |
| Red Desert and Green River country | Red Desert, Rock Springs, Green River, the Sweetwater County backroads | Agate, jasper, chert, chalcedony, and petrified wood scattered across open BLM desert |
| Fossil Basin (Kemmerer) | Kemmerer | Turritella agate, jasper, and petrified wood in the desert; the Green River Formation’s famous fossil fish come from fee quarries nearby |
| Absaroka mining country | Kirwin Mine | Azurite, malachite, cuprite, galena, and pyrite on the dumps of a high ghost camp above Meeteetse |
| Bighorn Basin | Worland, Warm Springs, Buffalo | Red and yellow jasper, agate, and quartzite in the basin gravels; nephrite jade documented at Warm Springs |
What Minerals & Gems Can You Find in Wyoming?
Wyoming has 130 documented specimen types across 351 sites. Here are the most commonly reported:
Click on any specimen above to see all locations where it can be found in Wyoming.
Best Time for Crystal Hunting in Wyoming
The desert — Eden Valley, the Red Desert, Sweetwater country — is best in late spring and early fall. Summer works with water and an early start; winter belongs to the wind. The real constraint is mud: desert two-tracks turn to impassable gumbo after rain, so watch the forecast harder than the calendar.
Jade season peaks early. Spring snowmelt washes the sagebrush slopes and freshly exposed float shows best on wet ground with low sun. Jade hunting is a walking game — dense, waxy, heavier than it looks — and the South Pass country rewards patience over shovels.
The high country runs July through September. Kirwin’s road opens when the snow leaves the Absarokas and closes early — and that’s grizzly country, so carry bear spray. Afternoon thunderstorms build fast at altitude all summer; be off exposed ridges by early afternoon.
Check current weather and road conditions before heading out, especially for remote BLM and Forest Service roads.
Where to Find Jade (Nephrite) in Wyoming
Wyoming designated nephrite jade as its state gemstone in 1967. The state produces more jade than any other in the US. Nephrite jade occurs in serpentinite bodies in the Wind River Range, the Seminoe Mountains, and the Granite Mountains of central Wyoming. Colors range from dark green to black (the most valued "Wyoming black jade") to lighter olive and cream.
Top sites:
- Jeffrey City / Crooks Gap area, Fremont County — BLM land. Nephrite jade boulders and cobbles in the Granite Mountains. Surface collecting. High-clearance vehicle for access roads.
- Seminoe Mountains, Carbon County — Jade in serpentinite. BLM land. Remote — plan for the drive.
Wyoming nephrite jade is extremely tough — you cannot break it with a hammer (it absorbs the impact and flexes rather than fracturing). Field test: hit a suspected jade boulder with a hammer. If it rings rather than thuds, and does not chip, it is likely nephrite. Color ranges from spinach green to near-black. Test hardness: nephrite is 6-6.5 (will not scratch with a knife blade). Do not confuse with serpentine (softer, scratches with a knife).
Where to Find Fossils in Wyoming
Wyoming is one of the premier fossil states. The Green River Formation (Eocene) produces the world's finest freshwater fish fossils. The Morrison Formation (Jurassic) in northeastern Wyoming and the Hell Creek Formation (Cretaceous) in the Powder River Basin produce dinosaur fossils. The Fossil Butte National Monument near Kemmerer preserves extraordinary Green River Formation specimens.
Top sites:
- Fossil Butte National Monument area, Lincoln County — Collecting is prohibited inside the monument. Adjacent private land quarries operate as fee dig sites. Ulrich's Fossil Gallery and other operators offer guided digs for Green River fish fossils.
- Kemmerer area quarries — Fee dig operations for Eocene fish (Knightia, Diplomystus, Priscacara), stingrays, crocodiles, and plant fossils.
Green River fish fossils are preserved in fine-grained limestone that splits into thin slabs. The most common species is Knightia (a small herring, 2-4 inches). Larger species — Diplomystus, Priscacara, and Mioplosus — are rarer and more valuable. Split the limestone slabs carefully with a thin chisel. The fossils are delicate — once exposed, stabilize with a clear consolidant to prevent flaking.
Where to Find Agate in Wyoming
Wyoming produces several distinctive agate varieties. Sweetwater agate (from the Sweetwater River area in Fremont County) is a banded blue-gray to brown agate. Graveyard Point plume agate occurs along the Idaho-Wyoming border. The volcanic terranes of the Absaroka Range and the Yellowstone Plateau produce jasper and agate in stream gravels.
Top sites:
- Sweetwater River area, Fremont County — Sweetwater agate on BLM land. Surface collecting in gravel deposits and eroded volcanic ash.
- Yellowstone River drainage, Park County — Agate and jasper in river gravels. Public access on BLM and National Forest land outside Yellowstone National Park.
Wyoming agates are typically small to medium (1-4 inches) with subtle banding in earth tones — gray, brown, blue-gray, and cream. Sweetwater agate is translucent with fine banding. It is good lapidary material. Collect from gravel bars and surface deposits on BLM land. Wet stones to evaluate — agates are much more visible when wet than dry.
Wyoming Rockhounding Laws & Public Land Rules
BLM Land
Wyoming has approximately 18 million acres of BLM land. Recreational collecting is allowed for personal, non-commercial use. Gold panning and hand sluicing are permitted under casual use provisions.
National Forests
Collecting is allowed in Wyoming's National Forests (Bighorn, Bridger-Teton, Medicine Bow-Routt, Shoshone) for personal use.
State Parks
Collecting is generally prohibited in Wyoming state parks and historic sites.
Collection Limits
BLM: 25 lbs per day plus one specimen, not to exceed 250 lbs per year.
What's Protected
Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park prohibit all collecting. Fossil Butte National Monument prohibits collecting. Devils Tower National Monument prohibits collecting. Vertebrate fossils on federal land require a permit. On private land in Wyoming, fossils belong to the surface estate owner.
Wyoming is an excellent rockhounding state with vast BLM access. The central Wyoming jade fields, the Green River fossil quarries, and the Big Horn Basin agate deposits are the primary destinations. Wyoming is high-altitude and arid — altitude sickness, dehydration, and extreme weather are real hazards. Carry extra water and watch for afternoon thunderstorms in summer. Grizzly bears are present in the Yellowstone ecosystem — carry bear spray in northwestern Wyoming.
Official State Rocks, Minerals & Gems of Wyoming
State Gem
Nephrite Jade
State Fossil
Knightia fish
Jade in central WY (Lander area); Knightia fossils abundant at Green River public dig sites.
Gear Checklist for Rock Hunting & Gem Mining in Wyoming
What you need depends on the terrain and what you are collecting. Here is a general checklist for Wyoming:
- Rock hammer (3 lb crack hammer for hard rock, geologist's pick for softer material)
- Safety glasses — required any time you swing a hammer
- Chisels — cold chisels for splitting seams and extracting crystals
- Bucket and bags — 5-gallon bucket, zip-lock bags for specimens
- GPS device or phone app — cell service is unreliable at most sites
- 1 gallon of water per person — minimum, more in summer
- Sturdy boots — ankle support for loose talus and mine tailings
- Field guide — a regional mineral identification guide for Wyoming
Always respect private property, follow Leave No Trace principles, and check current regulations before collecting. On BLM land, the general rule is 25 lbs per day plus one specimen for personal, non-commercial use.
Wyoming Locations (351)
Best Rockhounding Sites in Wyoming
The standout collecting sites in Wyoming, each with a full field guide — what you'll find, how to get there, and the rules on the ground.
- Atlantic City
[1] It sits on the east side of the Continental Divide near South Pass, in the heart of Wyoming's historic jade country — Wyoming's state gemstone. The town itself is private residences and a handful of historic buildings, including the still-operating Atlantic City Mercantile, so there's nothing to collect in town.
- Baggs
[1] This is real, well-documented uranium mining history, not a padded pin — but it's also a radioactive-ore district, which changes the collecting calculus regardless of land status. Treat any visit with the caution that specific safety warrants.
- Blacks Fork Creek
Blacks Fork is a river system draining the Uinta Mountains into the Green River drainage across southwestern Wyoming's Uinta County. The northeast portion of the Blacks Fork area is a known rockhounding spot for what's commonly (if inaccurately) called "turritella agate" — actually silicified Goniobasis freshwater snail fossils from the Eocene-age Laney Member of the Green River Formation, roughly 42-53 million years old — along with chalcedony, jasper, and quartz crystals.
- Buffalo
Buffalo, Wyoming sits at the base of the Bighorn Mountains in Johnson County, and the surrounding terrain has a documented rockhounding reputation distinct from the Sweetwater County desert further south. Crazy Woman Creek, where it meets Dry Creek along the Bighorn front, is specifically documented for silicified petrified wood suitable for lapidary work, found in terrace gravels 60 to 120 feet above the creek.
- Farson
[2] Farson itself is just the supply stop — plan to drive out to one of the named collecting areas, and know the BLM's annual and daily limits before you load up the truck.
- Kemmerer
" Fossil Butte National Monument, 15 miles west, protects part of the same formation. For rockhounds rather than fossil hunters, the area around Kemmerer is also open public land (largely BLM/USFS) for turritella agate (silicified Goniobasis snail fossils), chalcedony, chert, jasper, quartz, and petrified/silicified wood — reasonable hand collecting of this common material is generally allowed on public land here.
- Kirwin Mine
Kirwin is a ghost town at the headwaters of the Wood River in Shoshone National Forest, about 38 miles southwest of Meeteetse, Wyoming. Gold and silver were discovered on nearby Spar Mountain in 1885, and the Wood River Mining District organized in 1891; by the mid-1900s Kirwin was a "model mining camp" of around 200 residents with electricity and telephone service.
- Rawhide Buttes
[1] This is real, sourced Wyoming mining history rather than a generic pin, but it's a small, historically minor district — expect modest occurrence-level workings, not a major producing mine.
- Red Desert
The Red Desert is a vast high-desert basin in south-central Wyoming, most of it public land managed by BLM's Rock Springs and Rawlins Field Offices. It's genuinely rich in agate, jasper, chert, and silicified or petrified wood eroded from Eocene formations, but it's also heavily industrialized — an estimated 84% of the Red Desert has oil, gas, or mining development on it.
- Rock Springs
Rock Springs is a Sweetwater County city surrounded by a genuinely productive rockhounding region — the desert basins around it carry petrified wood, geodes, ammonite fossils, and the agate and jasper that show up in gravels and washes across this part of Wyoming. Sweetwater County as a whole is one of the state's better-regarded areas for this material, and the town itself sits within reach of well-known nearby features like White Mountain.
What You Can Find in Wyoming
Dedicated maps for every mineral with 3+ documented sites in Wyoming:
Rockhounding clubs in Wyoming
Connect with a local gem and mineral society — meetings, field trips, lapidary workshops, and annual shows.
Browse Wyoming clubs →Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a Wyoming rockhounding map?
Yes — the interactive map above shows 351 documented Wyoming locations, filterable by mineral and land type. Wyoming is mostly BLM and national forest, so more of these sites are legally collectible than in almost any other state: the jade and agate country around South Pass, the Eden Valley wood beds, the Red Desert, and the Bighorn Basin jasper fields are all on public land.
Where can you find jade in Wyoming?
The Sweetwater–South Pass country in central Wyoming, the source of the state gemstone. Atlantic City is documented for nephrite jade with gold and agatized wood, and Warm Springs in the Bighorn Basin carries jade as well. Wyoming jade is hunted as float — glacially scattered stones on sagebrush slopes — not dug from a pit, which is why patient walkers still find it after a century of hunting.
Where can you find petrified wood in Wyoming?
Eden Valley, between Farson and Eden, is the world-famous answer — black-hearted silicified wood that ranks with the finest petrified material anywhere. Beyond it, silicified wood is documented across the Red Desert, Sweetwater County, the Green River area, and Blacks Fork Creek, which also carries silicified algae and turritella agate. All of it is open BLM desert; the map above shows the documented beds.
What gemstones are found in Wyoming?
Nephrite jade leads — the state gemstone, from the South Pass country. Behind it: Sweetwater agates and moss agate from the central desert, turritella agate packed with fossil snails, Eden Valley petrified wood, red and yellow jasper in the Bighorn Basin, plus documented ruby at Split Rock and tourmaline at Atlantic City. Filter the map above by any of them to see where each is documented.
What gems, minerals, and crystals can I find in Wyoming?
Wyoming has 130 documented specimen types, including Fossil, Copper, Gold, Malachite, Chrysocolla. Use the interactive map above to filter by specimen and see exactly which minerals are reported at each location.
How many rockhounding sites are mapped in Wyoming?
We have 351 rockhounding sites mapped in Wyoming with GPS coordinates, access info, and community-reported finds. New locations are added regularly through community submissions.
When is the best time to go crystal hunting in Wyoming?
Summer and early fall are best for rockhounding in Wyoming, as winter conditions make many locations inaccessible. Always check current weather and road conditions before heading out, especially for remote collecting sites.
Where can I go gem mining in Wyoming?
Wyoming has 351 mapped locations for gem mining, rock hunting, and mineral collecting. Use the interactive map above to filter by specimen type or location type. Paid dig sites offer a guided experience with tools provided, while public access sites on BLM and Forest Service land are free.
Is rock hunting legal on public land in Wyoming?
Casual rock hunting and mineral collecting is generally allowed on BLM and National Forest land in Wyoming for personal, non-commercial use. The standard BLM limit is 25 lbs per day plus one specimen, not to exceed 250 lbs per year. Always verify regulations for specific sites — national parks, monuments, and some state parks prohibit collecting. See the laws section above for Wyoming-specific rules.
What tools do I need for rockhounding in Wyoming?
Essential rockhounding tools include a rock hammer, safety glasses, chisels, a 5-gallon bucket, zip-lock bags for specimens, a GPS device or phone app, sturdy boots, and a field guide. For Wyoming specifically, check the gear checklist section above for terrain-specific recommendations.
⚠️ Always verify current regulations, weather conditions, and access requirements before visiting any location. Information provided is based on community submissions and may not be current or accurate.
More Wyoming outdoors
From our outdoor network — more ways to explore the state.