Where to Find Beryl in North Carolina

North Carolina beryl is dominated by the emerald and aquamarine of the Spruce Pine and Hiddenite pegmatite belts. The Crabtree emerald mine in Mitchell County is the most famous emerald locality east of the Mississippi, and the Wiseman, Ray, and Beryl Pit operations in Mitchell and Yancey counties produce blue and green beryl in feldspar matrix. The Hiddenite area in Alexander County continues to produce gem emerald from active commercial digs. Aquamarine and goshenite turn up in Stokes and Madison counties as scattered pegmatite finds. Most North Carolina beryl is hexagonal-prismatic and clouded; gem-clear cores are the exception.

Spot list checked against source data on April 1, 2026.

Standout beryl spots in North Carolina

Hand-picked from the full list below, with the reason each one earns a trip.

Burnsville
Yancey County County
Ray Mine gives North Carolina a rare free public pegmatite locality, with Mindat documenting aquamarine, beryl, amazonite, muscovite, rutile, tourmaline, and other Spruce Pine district minerals. Its strength is the combination of a historically worked mica mine and Forest Service surface-collecting access, provided current closures and mine hazards are respected.

Best counties for beryl in North Carolina

Ranked by the number of mapped beryl spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.

Every beryl spot we track in North Carolina

Sorted by county. Coordinates open in Google Maps.

Spot	County	Minerals	Coordinates	Access
Hiddenite (area 2)Duncan Lane	Alexander County	Aquamarine Beryl Quartz Rutile Emerald Hiddenite Calcite Dolomite +2 more	35.9136, -81.0740	Public
SpearGusher Knob Road	Avery County	Beryl Garnet Epidote Mica	35.9822, -82.0007	Public
Burkemont MountainBurkemont Road	Burke County	Beryl	35.6542, -81.7074	Public
South Mountains	Burke County	Aquamarine Beryl Feldspar Quartz	35.5973, -81.6946	Public
Yadkin ValleyCove Branch Road	Caldwell County	Beryl Garnet	36.0434, -81.5147	Public
Foote Mine and other minesKings Mountain Gateway Trail	Cleveland County	Apatite Beryl Calcite Cassiterite Moonstone Purpurite Rhodochrosite Spodumene +2 more	35.2111, -81.3556	Public
LattimoreMount Harmony Church Road	Cleveland County	Quartz Black Tourmaline Beryl Feldspar	35.4657, -81.6823	Public
ShelbySouth Lafayette Street	Cleveland County	Beryl Aquamarine Emerald Tourmaline	35.2453, -81.5652	Public
Stice Shoal Lake DamPowerhouse Road	Cleveland County	Aquamarine Beryl Emerald Mica Smoky Quartz Tourmaline	35.3987, -81.5460	Public
South Yadkin RiverLespedeza Lane	Iredell County	Beryl Corundum Tourmaline	35.9127, -80.8071	Public
Cowee CreekSheffield Farms Road	Macon County	Garnet Ruby Sapphire Corundum Beryl Hornblende Kyanite Pyrite +3 more	35.2721, -83.3936	Public
White Plains	Surry County	Beryl Columbite Quartz Rutile Tourmaline	36.4549, -80.6003	Public
InezHugh Jones Road	Warren County	Amethyst Beryl Lepidolite Smoky Quartz Staurolite	36.2097, -78.0934	Public
BurnsvilleRay Mine Trail	Yancey County	Albite Amazonite Apatite Aquamarine Autunite Beryl Emerald Fluorite +8 more	35.8883, -82.2747	Public

Before you go

Read the beryl identification guide so you know what a keeper looks like in the field: Beryl in the encyclopedia.

Beryl in North Carolina FAQ

Where can you find beryl in North Carolina?+

The mapped spots concentrate in Cleveland County County, Burke County County, and Alexander County County. Known collecting areas include Crabtree emerald mine (Mitchell County), Hiddenite (Alexander County), and Ray and Beryl Pit (Yancey County). Every spot on this page appears on the map above with coordinates and access notes.

How many beryl spots are mapped in North Carolina?+

14 spots across 10 counties. The RockHoundR app keeps the same spots on an offline map with public land overlays, geology layers, and your saved finds.

Is it legal to collect beryl in North Carolina?+

Hand collecting of common rocks and minerals in small amounts for personal use is generally allowed on BLM and U.S. Forest Service land, with limits set by the local field office. National parks, most state parks, and tribal land are closed to collecting. 14 of the 14 mapped spots here sit on land marked public. Always confirm current rules with the managing agency before you dig.

Where else to find beryl

More minerals to hunt in North Carolina

Hunt beryl in North Carolina with the map in your pocket

RockHoundR puts these spots on an offline map with BLM and Forest Service overlays, geology layers, and a log for your finds.