Rockhounding in South Dakota

43 mapped spots across 16 counties. South Dakota produces a wide range of rockhounding-grade material — see the full list of spots, minerals, and access notes below.

Top minerals found in South Dakota

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

Rockhounding by county in South Dakota

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 South Dakota

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
Wagner295th Street	Bon Homme County	Selenite Roses	43.1115, -98.1053	Public
Elm CreekElm Creek Road	Brule County	Gray Barite	43.5658, -99.3059	Public
Mound City	Campbell County	Petrified Wood Opal	45.7206, -100.2372	Public
Little Eagle	Corson County	Petrified Wood Opal	45.6774, -100.7826	Public
Buffalo Gap	Custer County	Fairfield Agates	43.4887, -103.4342	Public
Cheyenne River	Custer County	Fairburn Agates	43.6028, -103.0230	Public
Fairburn	Custer County	Fairburn Agates	43.7713, -103.3600	Public
Fairburn	Custer County	Fairburn Agates Agatized Wood Yellow Jasper	43.6683, -103.0269	Public
Hell CanyonHell Canyon Trail	Custer County	Banded Agate Jade Jasper Geodes Fossils	43.7494, -103.8421	Public
Laughing Water CreekEcho Valley Road	Custer County	Columbite Gold Silver	43.8183, -103.6169	Public
November MineNeedles Highway	Custer County	Arsenopyrite Fluorapatite	43.8373, -103.5431	Public
Pleasant Valley Creek	Custer County	Banded Agate Jade Jasper Fossils Geodes	43.5552, -103.7211	Public
Pringle	Custer County	Fairhill Agates	43.5523, -103.6279	Public
Tepee CanyonPleasant Valley Road	Custer County	Agate Beryl Almandine Garnet Lepidolite Staurolite Tourmaline	43.5528, -103.9454	Public
Tin MountainWarren Gulch	Custer County	Fluorapatite Quartz Almandine Garnet Cassiterite Mica Tourmaline Zircon	43.7557, -103.7201	Public
ArdmoreEast Ardmore Road	Fall River County	Fairburn Agates Agatized Wood Jasper Chalcedony Rose Quartz	43.0107, -103.4691	Public
Oelrichs	Fall River County	Fairburn Agates Jasper Calcite Agatized Wood Concretions	43.1256, -103.1669	Public
Parker Peak	Fall River County	Agatized Wood Silicified Wood	43.4053, -103.6753	Public
Camp CrookSD Highway 20	Harding County	Moss Agate Chalcedony	45.5525, -103.9650	Public
InteriorBen Reifel Road	Jackson County	Jasper Chalcedony Agate	43.7320, -101.9454	Public
Broken Boot Gold MineUS Highway 14A	Lawrence County	Gold Arsenopyrite Galena Pyrite Sphalerite	44.3707, -103.7423	Public
SavoyNorth Calamity Gulch Road	Lawrence County	Gold Fluorite Silver	44.3599, -103.9138	Public
Spearfish CanyonUS Highway 14A	Lawrence County	Amethyst Geodes Chalcedony Silicified Wood	44.3470, -103.9244	Public
Whitewood CreekWhitewood Valley Road	Lawrence County	Amethyst Geodes Chalcedony Silicified Wood	44.5465, -103.5639	Public
Elk CreekElm Springs Road	Meade County	Barite Calcite Quartz	44.2508, -102.5027	Public
Fox Ridge	Meade County	Moss Agate	44.9937, -102.5241	Public
Meade CountyElk Vale Road	Meade County	Yellow Barite Amber Barite Whewellite	44.2400, -103.1517	Public
Piedmont	Meade County	Selenite	44.2323, -103.3681	Public
Summerset	Meade County	Fossils	44.2046, -103.3313	Public
Sioux FallsEast Rice Street	Minnehaha County	Agate Catlinite Jasper	43.5846, -96.6669	Public
OelrichsBlacktail Creek Road	Oglala Lakota County	Agates	43.2010, -102.8806	Public
Oglala	Oglala Lakota County	Agate Chalcedony Jasper	43.2963, -102.9105	Public
Red ShirtTatanka Numpa Road	Oglala Lakota County	Agate Chalcedony Jasper	43.6741, -102.8991	Public
RockyfordCedar Butte Road	Oglala Lakota County	Blue Chalcedony	43.4964, -102.5289	Public
Hill CityCampaign Hill Road	Pennington County	Beryl Red Cassiterite Cervantite Columbite Graphite Wolframite	43.9333, -103.5941	Public
KeystoneBlair Street	Pennington County	Tourmaline Spodumene Lepidolite Autunite Golden Beryl Quartz Zircon Aquamarine	43.8950, -103.4173	Public
Pennington CountyHighway 1416	Pennington County	Amethyst	44.1079, -103.0245	Public
Rapid CityPurple Heart Memorial Highway	Pennington County	Golden Barite Fossils	44.0943, -102.5015	Public
RochfordSouth Rochford Road	Pennington County	Arsenopyrite Galena Gold Pyrite Silver Sphalerite	44.0983, -103.7740	Public
ScenicEast Highway 44	Pennington County	Blue Chalcedony Carnelian Aquamarine Beryl Garnet Jasper Agate	43.7522, -102.4966	Public
MissionSoldier Creek Road	Todd County	Opalized Wood Agatized Wood Fossils	43.3066, -100.8828	Public
Mobridge	Walworth County	Opalized Wood Agatized Wood	45.5202, -100.4125	Public
Rattlesnake Butte	Ziebach County	Calcite	44.9496, -101.8592	Public

South Dakota rockhounding FAQ

Is rockhounding legal in South Dakota?+

Casual hand collecting is allowed on most BLM and U.S. Forest Service land in South Dakota, 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 South Dakota?+

South Dakota spots in this list most commonly produce Jasper, Chalcedony, Agate, Agatized Wood, Fairburn Agates. The full list across all spots is broader.

How many rockhounding sites are in South Dakota?+

RockHoundR currently lists 43 rockhounding spots in South Dakota across 16 counties. Many more exist; the app keeps your private finds saved alongside the public ones.

Can I take rocks home from South Dakota 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 South Dakota spot in the app

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