Where to Find Quartz in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania quartz comes from two settings: Appalachian metamorphic belt veins, and the famous skarn pockets of the Pennsylvania-Maryland line. Herkimer-style doubly-terminated quartz turns up around the Chestnut Hill quarry near Easton and in scattered Lehigh County dolomite quarries. Smoky and milky quartz vein material is common on roadcuts through the Reading Prong and the Susquehanna highlands. The most famous Pennsylvania quartz locality is Ellenville-style sceptre quartz near the New Jersey border, and the Chickies Rock area in Lancaster County yields tabular and acicular quartz crystals in altered quartzite. Most active collecting today depends on quarry permission or fee access.

Standout quartz spots in Pennsylvania

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

Best counties for quartz in Pennsylvania

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

Every quartz spot we track in Pennsylvania

Sorted by county. Coordinates open in Google Maps.

Spot	County	Minerals	Coordinates	Access
GettysburgBaltimore Pike	Adams County	Copper Chabazite Epidote Malachite Quartz Feldspar Magnetite Olivine	39.8037, -77.2128	Public
Morrison CoveSportsmens Access Road	Bedford County	Quartz Amethyst Calcite Herkimer Diamond	40.2437, -78.3852	Public
Sherman ValleyCypher Road	Bedford County	Calcite Chlorite Orthoclase Limonite Quartz Tourmaline Zircon	40.0764, -78.2732	Public
Crystal CaveValley Road	Berks County	Geode Quartz Gemstones	40.5256, -75.8424	Public
ClaysburgRocky Acre Road	Blair County	Chert Quartz	40.3412, -78.4193	Public
HautoLake Drive	Carbon County	Quartz	40.8536, -75.8876	Public
Mt. PisgahGalen's Revenge	Carbon County	Allanite Autunite Carnotite Chlorite Mica Pyrite Quartz Uraninite	40.8714, -75.7454	Public
LemontRock Road	Centre County	Quartz	40.8505, -77.8226	Public
AvondaleBaltimore Pike	Chester County	Quartz Smoky Quartz Rutile	39.8244, -75.7726	Public
Brookdale MineAnna Louise Lane	Chester County	Quartz Pyromorphite Azurite Cerussite Fluorite Galena Pyrite	40.1011, -75.5208	Public
East BradfordSouth Creek Road	Chester County	Quartz	39.9240, -75.6487	Public
KnauertownSaint Peters Road	Chester County	Apatite Apophyllite Azurite Green Calcite Chrysocolla Malachite Pyrite Quartz +2 more	40.1837, -75.7315	Public
WillowdaleNorth Mill Road	Chester County	Quartz	39.8661, -75.7352	Permission
CarlisleShatto Drive	Cumberland County	Banded Agate Quartz Jasper Amethyst	40.2203, -77.2154	Public
Little Rocky RidgeKettle Sale Haul Road	Cumberland County	Hematite Quartz	40.0335, -77.3257	Public
White RocksKuhn Road	Cumberland County	Cryptomelane Goethite Fluorite Quartz Tourmaline Zircon	40.1327, -77.0887	Check locally
Blue HillSycamore Mills Road	Delaware County	Albite Amazonite Beryl Feldspar Sunstone Quartz	39.9467, -75.4236	Permission
Crum CreekParkridge Drive	Delaware County	Golden Beryl Amethyst Garnet Quartz	39.9227, -75.3642	Public
East Branch Naamanm CreekBroomall Street	Delaware County	Sphene Quartz Garnet	39.8252, -75.4456	Public
MarpleSouth Feathering Lane	Delaware County	Amethyst Quartz	39.9380, -75.4162	Public
PhiladelphiaBoy Scout Bridge	Delaware County	Agate Petrified Wood Chalcedony Chert Jasper Quartz	40.0130, -75.3895	Public
Aughwick CreekCovert Road	Huntingdon County	Barite Calcite Chalcopyrite Pyrite Quartz	40.1511, -77.9492	Public
MapletonHares Valley Road	Huntingdon County	Quartz	40.3796, -77.9507	Public
LancasterWest Quarry Road	Lancaster County	Dogtooth Calcite Fluorite Hematite Quartz Rutile	40.1347, -76.0609	Public
KunkeltownKunkletown Road	Monroe County	Quartz Azurite	40.8469, -75.4525	Public
StroudsbrugCherry Creek Crossing Loop Trail	Monroe County	Agatized Coral Quartz	40.9905, -75.1347	Public
BridgeportRiver Road	Montgomery County	Calcite Chalcedony Dolomite Goethite Jasper Malachite Quartz Sphalerite	40.0987, -75.3272	Public
Easton5th Street	Northampton County	Chert Flint Apatite Diopside Epidote Pyrite Quartz Serpentine +1 more	40.7472, -75.2871	Public
McAdooSilver Brook Road	Schuylkill County	Quartz	40.8899, -75.9768	Public
DerryMill Street	Westmoreland County	Quartz Chalcedony Jasper	40.3488, -79.2681	Public
Ligonier	Westmoreland County	Quartz Fossils	40.2744, -79.2973	Public
HarrisburgPleasant View Road	York County	Agate Amethyst Chalcedony Andradite Garnet Opal Quartz Silicified Wood	40.1651, -76.8443	Public

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 Pennsylvania FAQ

Where can you find quartz in Pennsylvania?+

The mapped spots concentrate in Chester County, Delaware County, and Cumberland County. Known collecting areas include Chestnut Hill (Northampton County), Chickies Rock (Lancaster County), and French Creek mines (Chester County). Every spot on this page appears on the map above with coordinates and access notes.

How many quartz spots are mapped in Pennsylvania?+

32 spots across 17 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 Pennsylvania?+

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. 29 of the 32 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 Pennsylvania

Hunt quartz 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.

Standout quartz spots in Pennsylvania

Morrison Cove

Brookdale Mine

Carlisle

Crum Creek