Where to Find Geodes in Illinois
Illinois has 10 mapped collecting spots that report geodes, spread across 2 counties. The largest share sits in Hancock County with 9 spots. 10 of the spots are on land mapped as publicly accessible.
Every geode spot we track in Illinois
Best spotHamiltonHancock County, IllinoisPublic access · Agate, Jasper, Geode
Best spotMcKee CreekPike County, IllinoisPublic access · Geode, Sphalerite
Best spotNiotaHancock County, IllinoisPublic access · Fossil, Geode
Crystal Glen CreekHancock County, IllinoisPublic access · Geode, Barite, Calcite +5
Spillman CreekHancock County, IllinoisPublic access · Geode, Pyrite, Chalcedony +2
Hamilton QuarryHancock County, IllinoisPublic access · Geode, Pyrite, Calcite +1
Dallas CityHancock County, IllinoisPublic access · Geode, Calcite, Malachite
Mississippi River (near Hamilton)Hancock County, IllinoisPublic access · Geode, Amethyst, Quartz
NauvooHancock County, IllinoisPublic access · Geode
Tyson CreekHancock County, IllinoisPublic access · Geode
Standout geode spots in Illinois
Hand-picked from the full list above, with the reason each one earns a trip.
Hamilton
Hancock County
Hamilton lies on the Mississippi River within the Keokuk geode bed, a Lower Mississippian (Warsaw Formation) zone regarded as one of the finest quartz-geode localities on Earth.
Niota
Hancock County
Niota anchors the eastern edge of the Hancock County geode country, where creeks cross county roads and expose Warsaw Formation geodes weathering out of the outcrop.
McKee Creek
Pike County
McKee Creek marks the southern reach of the west-central Illinois geode belt, where Warsaw Formation geodes wash into the creek gravels.
Best counties for geodes in Illinois
Ranked by the number of mapped geode spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.
Before you go
Read the geodes identification guide so you know what a keeper looks like in the field: Geode in the encyclopedia.
