Where to Find Chalcedony in South Dakota
South Dakota has 10 mapped collecting spots that report chalcedony, spread across 7 counties. 7 of the spots are on land mapped as publicly accessible.
Every chalcedony spot we track in South Dakota
Best spotArdmoreFall River County, South DakotaPublic access · Fairburn Agate, Agatized Wood, Jasper +2- Best spotSpearfish CanyonLawrence County, South DakotaPublic access · Amethyst, Geode, Chalcedony +1
Best spotWhitewood CreekLawrence County, South DakotaPermission required · Amethyst, Geode, Chalcedony +1- Best spotCamp CrookHarding County, South DakotaPublic access · Moss Agate, Chalcedony
Cheyenne River - Buffalo GapPennington County, South DakotaPublic access · Fairburn Agate, Agate, Rose Quartz +1- French Creek Agate BedsCuster County, South DakotaPublic access · Fairburn Agate, Agate, Rose Quartz +1
- Railroad ButtesPennington County, South DakotaPublic access · Fairburn Agate, Agate, Rose Quartz +1
- InteriorJackson County, South DakotaPublic access · Jasper, Chalcedony, Agate
OglalaOglala Lakota County, South DakotaPermission required · Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper- Red ShirtOglala Lakota County, South DakotaPermission required · Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper
Standout chalcedony spots in South Dakota
Hand-picked from the full list above, with the reason each one earns a trip.
Ardmore
Fall River County
The badlands and surface gravels east and southeast of the near-ghost town of Ardmore are a well-documented Fairburn agate locality, producing Fairburn agate, agatized wood, jasper, chalcedony, and rose quartz.
Camp Crook
Harding County
The far northwestern corner of South Dakota around Camp Crook produces prairie moss agate and chalcedony in the river gravels of the Little Missouri system, material comparable in style to the well-known Montana moss agate.
Spearfish Canyon
Lawrence County
Lawrence County in the northern Black Hills is the best part of South Dakota for geodes, and the gravels in and around Spearfish Canyon yield baseball-sized geodes lined with amethyst, quartz, and chalcedony, plus silicified wood.
Whitewood Creek
Lawrence County
The gravels of Whitewood Creek in the northern Black Hills are a reliable source of geodes lined with amethyst and chalcedony, along with silicified wood.
Best counties for chalcedony in South Dakota
Ranked by the number of mapped chalcedony spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.
Before you go
Read the chalcedony identification guide so you know what a keeper looks like in the field: Chalcedony in the encyclopedia.
Chalcedony in South Dakota FAQ
Where can you find chalcedony in South Dakota?+
How many chalcedony spots are mapped in South Dakota?+
Is it legal to collect chalcedony in South Dakota?+
Where else to find chalcedony
More minerals to hunt in South Dakota
Hunt chalcedony in South Dakota 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.
