Where to Find Jasper in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania jasper concentrates around the Hardyston Quartzite outcrops of the Reading Prong, which crosses Lehigh, Berks, and Northampton counties. The Macungie and Vera Cruz areas yield red and yellow jasper in conglomerate form, the source rock for the famous Lehigh Valley jasper-tipped Native American tools. Smaller showings turn up in the South Mountain area near Carlisle (Cumberland County) and along the Susquehanna highlands. Jasper conglomerate (also called puddingstone) is the distinctive Pennsylvania variant, with jasper pebbles set in quartzite matrix. Surface collecting is mostly on roadcuts and creek beds; active quarry access requires permission.
Every jasper spot we track in Pennsylvania
Best spotCarlisleCumberland County, PennsylvaniaPublic access · Banded Agate, Quartz, Jasper +1
Best spotArea Around Caledonia State ParkFranklin County, PennsylvaniaPublic access · Agate, Jasper
Best spotReadingBerks County, PennsylvaniaPublic access · Jasper
BridgeportMontgomery County, PennsylvaniaPublic access · Calcite, Chalcedony, Dolomite +5- PhiladelphiaDelaware County, PennsylvaniaPublic access · Agate, Petrified Wood, Chalcedony +3
- Alsace TownshipBerks County, PennsylvaniaPublic access · Chalcedony, Jasper, Agate
- DerryWestmoreland County, PennsylvaniaPublic access · Quartz, Chalcedony, Jasper
- AllentownLehigh County, PennsylvaniaPublic access · Jasper, Chert
NewtownBucks County, PennsylvaniaPermission required · Jasper, Petrified Wood- South BethlehemArmstrong County, PennsylvaniaPublic access · Jasper, Petrified Wood
- Jim ThorpeCarbon County, PennsylvaniaPermission required · Jasper
- KingstonLuzerne County, PennsylvaniaPublic access · Jasper
- MorrisvilleBucks County, PennsylvaniaPublic access · Jasper
Standout jasper spots in Pennsylvania
Hand-picked from the full list above, with the reason each one earns a trip.
Reading
Berks County
The Reading area of Berks County is the heart of Pennsylvania's historic jasper country, where prehistoric quarries supplied toolstone for thousands of years.
Carlisle
Cumberland County
The Carlisle area of Cumberland County is known for banded agate, jasper, amethyst and quartz weathering out of the local carbonate and diabase terrain.
Area Around Caledonia State Park
Franklin County
The ridges of Michaux country around Caledonia in Franklin County shed agate and jasper into local streams and float, a byproduct of the region's iron-rich Blue Ridge geology.
Best counties for jasper in Pennsylvania
Ranked by the number of mapped jasper spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.
- Berks County2 spots
- Bucks County2 spots
- Armstrong County1 spot
- Carbon County1 spot
- Cumberland County1 spot
- Delaware County1 spot
- Franklin County1 spot
- Lehigh County1 spot
- Luzerne County1 spot
- Montgomery County1 spot
- Westmoreland County1 spot
Before you go
Read the jasper identification guide so you know what a keeper looks like in the field: Jasper in the encyclopedia.
Jasper in Pennsylvania FAQ
Where can you find jasper in Pennsylvania?+
How many jasper spots are mapped in Pennsylvania?+
Is it legal to collect jasper in Pennsylvania?+
Where else to find jasper
More minerals to hunt in Pennsylvania
Hunt jasper in Pennsylvania 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.
