Where to Find Quartz in New Jersey

New Jersey quartz concentrates around Franklin and Sterling Hill in Sussex County, where the famous zinc deposits carry secondary quartz in marble and pegmatite. The Buckwheat dump and the Sterling Hill museum collecting ground yield small quartz crystals on franklinite and willemite matrix. The Trotter shaft area produces clear and milky quartz alongside the fluorescent assemblage. Trap-rock quarries through Hudson and Bergen counties (Prospect Park, Paterson, Great Notch) carry small quartz crystals in basalt amygdules with prehnite and pectolite. Most New Jersey quartz is small and matrix-bound; specimen value lies in the rare associations.

Map of 20 quartz collecting spots in New Jersey

Best counties for quartz in New Jersey

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

Every quartz spot we track in New Jersey

Sorted by county. Coordinates open in Google Maps.

SpotCountyMineralsCoordinatesAccess
Atlantic CountyBrant RoadAtlantic County39.3807, -74.3951Public
The PalisadesLong PathBergen County40.9500, -73.9202Public
Cape MayCape May PromenadeCape May County38.9306, -74.9112Public
Bergen Hill by Hudson RiverNew Jersey Turnpike Newark Bay ExtensionHudson County40.7108, -74.0543Public
General Area (Hudson/Passaic)New StreetHudson County40.6634, -74.1099Public
Snake HillLaurel Hill RoadHudson County40.7581, -74.0893Public
RiegelsvilleMount Joy RoadHunterdon County40.5938, -75.1835Public
Long BranchMonmouth County40.3047, -73.9772Public
ManasquanMonmouth County40.1127, -74.0318Public
Mine Hill (bornite)Iron Mountain RoadMorris County40.8866, -74.6050Public
Ocean CountyEast 14th StreetOcean County39.7488, -74.1059Public
Pompton LakesI 287Passaic County41.0054, -74.3071Public
Prospect Park QuarryNorth 16th StreetPassaic County40.9404, -74.1748Public
3M QuarryRidge TrailSomerset County40.4583, -74.7135Public
BarnardsvilleOld Quarry RoadSomerset County40.7095, -74.5740Public
Bound BrookFire RoadSomerset County40.5890, -74.5678Public
KingstonGeorgetown-Franklin TurnpikeSomerset County40.3971, -74.6095Public
Rock Hill QuarryGeorgetown-Franklin TurnpikeSomerset County40.3969, -74.6168Public
SomervilleChimney Rock RoadSomerset County40.5847, -74.5672Public
Warren TownshipRed Hill RoadSomerset County40.6298, -74.5312Public

Before you go

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

Quartz in New Jersey FAQ

Where can you find quartz in New Jersey?+
The mapped spots concentrate in Somerset County County, Hudson County County, and Monmouth County County. Known collecting areas include Sterling Hill / Buckwheat dump (Sussex County), Franklin Marble (Sussex County), and Paterson and Prospect Park quarries (Passaic County). Every spot on this page appears on the map above with coordinates and access notes.
How many quartz spots are mapped in New Jersey?+
20 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 quartz in New Jersey?+
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. 20 of the 20 mapped spots here sit on land marked public. Always confirm current rules with the managing agency before you dig.

Where else to find quartz

More minerals to hunt in New Jersey

Hunt quartz in New Jersey 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.

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