Rockhounding in Montana

87 mapped spots across 30 counties. Montana is famous for its sapphires, Yogo and otherwise, and for the Montana moss agate gravels along the Yellowstone River. The state also offers strong fossil, garnet, and quartz collecting.

Top minerals found in Montana

Counts reflect how many spots in this list mention each mineral.

Notable areas: Yellowstone moss agate, Rock Creek and Gem Mountain sapphires, Crazy Mountain agates, and Madison County garnet are classics.

Rockhounding by county in Montana

County pages are linked once we have at least 3 mapped spots for a focused guide with coordinates, mineral notes, and nearby spots.

Every rockhounding spot in Montana

Sorted by county. Tap coordinates to open in Google Maps, or open RockHoundR for the full map view with land overlays and weather.

Spot	County	Minerals	Coordinates	Access
ArgentaLong John Road	Beaverhead County	Silver	45.3068, -112.8866	Public
Calvert Hill MineCalvert Loop Road	Beaverhead County	Scheelite Garnet Aquamarine Tungsten	45.8489, -113.1524	Public
Crystal Park	Beaverhead County	Amethyst Smoky Quartz	45.4864, -113.0999	Paid / fee
Frying Pan Basin	Beaverhead County	Corundum Opalized Wood Silicified Wood	45.2933, -112.7336	Public
Grasshopper CreekPioneer Mountains Scenic Byway	Beaverhead County	Diamond	45.3648, -113.1244	Public
Big Horn CanyonRoute 211	Big Horn County	Agate Chalcedony Jasper Concretions Silicified Coral Fossils	45.3130, -107.9604	Public
Pryor MountainsBad Pass Road	Big Horn County	Fossiles Agate Chalcedony Jasper Petrified Wood	45.2386, -108.2675	Public
Confederate GulchDuck Creek Road	Broadwater County	Gold	46.4745, -111.3944	Public
RadersburgKeating Gulch Road	Broadwater County	Gold Silver	46.1921, -111.6645	Public
WinstonWeasel Creek Road	Broadwater County	Lead Silver Zinc	46.4379, -111.6981	Public
Bear CanyonBear Canyon Road	Carbon County	Geodes Agate	45.0818, -108.5258	Public
Fromberg	Carbon County	Coal Pyrite	45.3930, -108.9316	Public
AlzadaMT 323	Carter County	Bentonite	45.0293, -104.4064	Public
MonarchTrail 122	Cascade County	Beryl	47.0973, -110.8161	Public
Narrow Gauge GulchSouth Main Street	Cascade County	Pyromorphite	46.9197, -110.7241	Public
NeihartRock Creek Road	Cascade County	Galena Polybasite Silver Sphalerite	46.9458, -110.7240	Public
VaughnSunnyside Avenue	Cascade County	Silicified Wood	47.5691, -111.5511	Public
Custer County	Custer County	Montana Agate	46.3963, -105.8981	Public
Cracker Box CreekRoad 253	Dawson County	Montana Agate	46.9131, -104.9209	Public
GlendiveI 94	Dawson County	Agate Jasper Moss Opal	47.1149, -104.6650	Public
Sand Creek	Dawson County	Montana Agate	46.9279, -104.8178	Public
Dry Cottonwood Creekcdt-alt Ley	Deer Lodge County	Sapphire	46.2206, -112.6851	Public
French CreekDeep Creek Road	Deer Lodge County	Gold	45.9474, -113.0605	Public
GeorgetownCable Mountain Road	Deer Lodge County	Gold Chrysocolla	46.1999, -113.2176	Public
Lost CreekLost Creek Road	Deer Lodge County	Amazonite	46.2087, -113.0032	Public
GiltedgeMaiden Road	Fergus County	Gold	47.1459, -109.2354	Public
Bakers HoleConservation Lane	Gallatin County	Agate	44.7108, -111.0956	Public
Horseshoe Hills	Gallatin County	Shale Trilobite Fossils	46.0223, -111.2712	Public
ManhattanHorseshoe Cottonwood Road	Gallatin County	Onyx	45.9093, -111.4056	Public
Mount BlackmoreBlackmore Trail	Gallatin County	Agate Chalcedony Hyalite Opal Petrified Wood	45.4447, -111.0035	Public
SalesvilleGateway South Road	Gallatin County	Emery Corundum	45.5881, -111.2086	Public
Black Pine MineFS 678	Granite County	Pyromorphite Scheelite Stolzite	46.4478, -113.3669	Public
Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine	Granite County	Sapphire	46.2467, -113.5922	Public
Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine	Granite County		46.2468, -113.5917	Paid / fee
PhillipsburgGranite Rd	Granite County	Chrysocolla Rhodochrosite Ore	46.3193, -113.2805	Public
Rock CreekRock Creek Road	Granite County	Quartz Sapphires	46.3912, -113.6830	Public
Bear Paw Mountains	Hill County	Columbite	48.2371, -109.5820	Public
Basin	Jefferson County	Silver Gold	46.2960, -112.2327	Public
CorbinPowder House Road	Jefferson County	Arsenopyrite Cerussite	46.3927, -112.0831	Public
Elkhorn MountainIron Mountain Road	Jefferson County	Magnetite Hematite	46.2909, -111.9359	Public
Jack CreekJack Creek Road	Jefferson County	Dumortierite	46.3725, -112.2872	Public
PipestoneCamp Caroline Road	Jefferson County	Amethyst Quartz	45.9555, -112.3869	Public
WhitehallPaul Gulch Road	Jefferson County	Galena Gold Sphalerite Pyrite	45.9179, -112.0411	Public
Wickes & ClancyPowder House Road	Jefferson County	Arsenopyrite Cerussite Gold	46.3925, -112.0829	Public
Yogo GulchYogo Trail	Judith Basin County	Gold Ruby Sapphire	46.9219, -110.4548	Public
American Bar	Lewis and Clark County	Sapphire Cassiterite Chalcedony Garnet Gold Kyanite Limonite Topaz	46.8131, -111.9292	Public
HelenaMRL Service Road	Lewis and Clark County	Gold	46.6539, -112.1266	Public
Magpie GulchMagpie Gulch Road	Lewis and Clark County	Green Sapphire	46.6629, -111.6610	Public
Missouri RiverDanas Point Drive	Lewis and Clark County	Cassiterite Chalcedony Garnet Gold Kyanite Limonite Sapphire Topaz	46.7284, -111.8746	Public
Spokane Bar Sapphire MineCastles Road	Lewis and Clark County	Gold Sapphire	46.6646, -111.8111	Public
LibbyNational Forest Development Road 618	Lincoln County	Aegirine Asbestos Vermiculite Tremolite Gold Silver	48.3039, -115.5964	Public
SylvaniteYaak River Road	Lincoln County	Gold Pyrite	48.7082, -115.8751	Public
Bismark MineMammoth South Boulder Road	Madison County	Molybdenite Pyrite Chalcopyrite	45.6129, -112.0490	Public
Ennis	Madison County	Andalusite Kyanite Sillimanite	45.1931, -111.9394	Public
Finnegan Ridge	Madison County	Chert Jasper	45.5038, -111.3832	Public
Gem Mountain	Madison County	Sapphires	45.3430, -112.3560	Paid / fee
Gravelly RangeGravelly Range Road	Madison County	Onyx	45.0917, -111.8567	Public
Jefferson RiverPrimrose Lane	Madison County	Agate Chalcedony Jasper Petrified Wood	45.6902, -112.2745	Public
Mill Canyon	Madison County	Tourmaline	45.6968, -112.1247	Public
Pole Creek	Madison County	Garnet Gold Quartz Ruby Sapphire	45.5769, -111.5247	Public
Ruby RiverUpper Ruby Road	Madison County	Almandine Garnet	45.2615, -112.0996	Public
South Boulder RiverSouth Boulder Road	Madison County	Quartz	45.7263, -111.9747	Public
Virginia CityGrant Mine	Madison County	Garnet Gold	45.2758, -111.9512	Public
White Creek30007	Meagher County	Copper	46.6277, -111.4134	Public
Cedar Creek and Trout Creek	Mineral County	Gold	47.1738, -114.8783	Public
Ninemile CreekNinemile Road	Missoula County	Gold	47.1357, -114.5190	Public
CarbellaRock Creek Road South	Park County	Agate Jasper Petrified Wood Quartz	45.2175, -110.9273	Public
GardinerSin Nombre Road	Park County	Arsenopyrite Gold	45.0443, -110.6063	Public
JardineCrevice Top Road	Park County	Arsenic Gold Tungsten	45.0472, -110.5953	Public
LivingstonTrail's End	Park County	Agatized Wood	45.6802, -110.6214	Public
MinerTom Miner Creek Road	Park County	Agate Chalcedony Jasper Petrified Wood	45.1918, -110.9271	Public
Yellowstone RiverMyers Lane	Park County	Agate Montana Agate Moss Agate Natrolite Silicified Wood	45.6285, -110.5678	Public
LanduskyRitch Street	Phillips County	Gold Pyrolusite Malachite	47.9154, -108.6127	Public
Brown’s LakeBrowns Lake Road	Powell County	Scheelite	46.9502, -113.0155	Public
GoldcreekI 90;US 12	Powell County	Gold	46.5945, -112.9434	Public
Pioneer	Powell County	Gold Calcite Chalcopyrite Quartz Pyrite	46.5139, -112.9638	Public
FallonRiver Road	Prairie County	Montana Agate	46.8530, -105.0782	Public
Hatchet Creek	Prairie County	Montana Agate	46.8704, -105.0726	Public
TerryBroadview Bench Road	Prairie County	Petrified Wood Chalcedony Jasper	46.7727, -105.2599	Public
Crystal Mountain MineFS 74919	Ravalli County	White Fluorite Green Fluorite Purple Fluorite	46.0066, -113.8881	Public
Sula	Ravalli County	Green Beryl	45.8688, -113.9820	Public
White Cloud MineEight Mile Creek Road	Ravalli County	Beryl	46.6526, -113.9371	Public
Brown’s Gulch	Silver Bow County	Sapphire	46.0144, -112.6848	Public
ButteClark Street	Silver Bow County	Bornite Pisanite Rhodochrosite Rhodonite	46.0206, -112.5463	Public
Old Nye Picnic AreaMountain View Road	Stillwater County	Silver	45.3883, -109.9005	Public
Hysham	Treasure County	Moss Agate	46.1774, -107.1790	Public
Yellowstone River (Billings area)Highway 312	Yellowstone County	Montana Agate Chalcedony Chert Jasper	45.9054, -108.3174	Public

Montana rockhounding FAQ

Is rockhounding legal in Montana?+

Casual hand collecting is allowed on most BLM and U.S. Forest Service land in Montana, with daily and annual limits set by the managing field office. National parks, most state parks, and tribal lands are off-limits. Always confirm rules with the local agency before a trip.

What rocks and minerals can you find in Montana?+

Montana spots in this list most commonly produce Gold, Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper, Sapphire. The full list across all spots is broader.

How many rockhounding sites are in Montana?+

RockHoundR currently lists 87 rockhounding spots in Montana across 30 counties. Many more exist; the app keeps your private finds saved alongside the public ones.

Can I take rocks home from Montana public land?+

On most BLM and Forest Service land, recreational hand collecting of common rocks and minerals is allowed in reasonable amounts. Vertebrate fossils, archaeological items, and posted mining-claim minerals are not. Check the field office for current limits.

Map every Montana spot in the app

Open the RockHoundR app to see Montana on a real map with public land overlays, weather, geology, and your saved finds.