Where to Find Petrified Wood in California

California has 8 mapped collecting spots that report petrified wood, spread across 6 counties. The largest share sits in Kern County County with 2 spots. 8 of the spots are on land mapped as publicly accessible.

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

Standout petrified wood spots in California

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

Jacolitos Canyon
Fresno County County
Jacolitos Canyon adds a Coast Range sedimentary and fossil-bearing locality to a list otherwise dominated by volcanic glass, agate, jade, and gold. USGS work on the Coalinga district documents the Jacalitos fossil context, while the candidate record makes the site useful for jasper, petrified wood, and fossilized coral on lawful public ground.
El Paso Mountains
Kern County County
The El Paso Mountains stand out because BLM identifies the area as a place where rock hounds find material among dark volcanic mesas, red buttes, and fossil-bearing badlands. Mindat ties the range and its Last Chance Canyon localities to agate-jasper, opal, gold, and petrified wood, a compact record of Mojave volcanic and sedimentary collecting.
Trinity River
Trinity County County
The Trinity River is a north-state benchmark because it combines historic placer-gold country with Klamath Mountains metamorphic and ultramafic source rocks. USGS mapping documents the basin's complex bedrock setting, while the RockHoundR candidate minerals add chalcedony, jasper, jade, and petrified wood to the river's placer-gold identity.

Best counties for petrified wood in California

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

Every petrified wood spot we track in California

Sorted by county. Coordinates open in Google Maps.

Spot	County	Minerals	Coordinates	Access
Crescent City BeachesNorth Pebble Beach Drive	Del Norte County	Agate Chalcedony Jasper Moonstone Petrified Wood	41.7650, -124.2309	Public
Jacolitos CanyonJacalitos Creek Road	Fresno County	Jasper Petrified Wood Fossilized Coral	36.0962, -120.3204	Public
Castle Butte FoothillsDenise Avenue	Kern County	Agate Chalcedony Chert Jasper Petrified Wood	35.0493, -117.8247	Public
El Paso MountainsEP170	Kern County	Agate Opal Jasper Gold Petrified Wood	35.4376, -117.8159	Public
Nipomo AreaSouth Dana Foothill Road	San Luis Obispo County	Moss Agate Jasper Petrified Wood Stibnite	35.0351, -120.4530	Public
Agate Area (Klamath River)Yellow Dog Trail	Siskiyou County	Agate Bloodstone Jasper Petrified Wood	42.0009, -122.4018	Public
Jenny CreekCopco Road	Siskiyou County	Agate Carnelian Petrified Wood Fossils	41.9769, -122.3978	Public
Trinity RiverBrowns Mountain Road	Trinity County	Chalcedony Gold Jasper Jade Petrified Wood	40.6938, -122.8635	Public

Before you go

Read the petrified wood identification guide so you know what a keeper looks like in the field: Petrified Wood in the encyclopedia.

Petrified Wood in California FAQ

Where can you find petrified wood in California?+

The mapped spots concentrate in Kern County County, Siskiyou County County, and Del Norte County County. Every spot on this page appears on the map above with coordinates and access notes.

How many petrified wood spots are mapped in California?+

8 spots across 6 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 petrified wood in California?+

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. 8 of the 8 mapped spots here sit on land marked public. Always confirm current rules with the managing agency before you dig.

Where else to find petrified wood

More minerals to hunt in California

Hunt petrified wood in California 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.