Little Wood River near Carey

Carey is a small town in Blaine County, Idaho, sitting where the Little Wood River drainage meets the edge of the Snake River lava fields [1]. The river and its reservoir have a real reputation among Idaho rockhounds for moss agate — collectors specifically reference "Carey electric-sunset moss agate," a variety with fiery red banding against dark green [2]. Jasper and petrified wood turn up in the same gravels. This is stream and reservoir-margin collecting, not a marked pay site — you're working gravel bars along a river that runs through a mix of private ranch land and public range, so the trip takes more legwork than a dedicated rockhounding park, but the moss agate here has real name recognition in Idaho circles.

Carey sits at the junction of US Highways 20, 26, and 93, about 4,784 ft elevation, northwest of the Snake River lava fields [1]. The collecting ground referenced by rockhounds runs along the Little Wood River drainage — described as north of Muldoon and south of Carey — and around Little Wood Reservoir, a few miles further along the same drainage [2]. UNVERIFIED: no specific pull-off or mile marker was found; this is general drainage-level guidance.

Surface and gravel-bar collecting — walking stream bars and reservoir shoreline looking for agate nodules and jasper, no digging equipment beyond hand tools needed. Best after high water recedes and exposes fresh gravel, typically late summer. General-area inference; no site-specific season or method guide was found.

Land along the Little Wood River in this stretch is a mix of private ranch land and public land typical of rural Blaine County — UNVERIFIED which specific gravel bars are public. Confirm land ownership before collecting; a Blaine County parcel map or BLM Shoshone Field Office contact is the place to start. Idaho Department of Lands maintains general guidance on where mineral collecting is and isn't allowed on state land [3].