~4 mi. SW of Cave Creek town: Gold Prospecting in Maricopa County, Arizona

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Maricopa County

State

Arizona

Nearest road

Brawling Badger Trail

Postcode

85311

Coordinates

33.78237, -111.99792

Coordinates are approximate. Confirm the exact ground in the RockHoundR app, where land overlays show which agency manages the area.

Land & collecting status

Generally open to casual rockhounding

Most public-tagged spots sit on BLM, U.S. Forest Service, or other federal land where reasonable hand collecting of common rocks and minerals is allowed. Confirm posted rules and active mining claims before you dig.

Public-land rules vary by agency, season, and field office. The RockHoundR app pulls live BLM, USFS, NPS, and tribal overlays so you can see exactly which agency manages the ground at this spot.

Best time to visit ~4 mi. SW of Cave Creek town

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: October to April. Typical highs run 106°F in midsummer and 67°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 44°F. Monsoon storms peak in July and August and can flood washes fast.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, CAREFREE station (6 mi away), adjusted for elevation.

Geology at ~4 mi. SW of Cave Creek town

This spot sits on Late and middle Pleistocene surficial deposits, mapped as gravel and sand that formed within roughly the last 3 million years. Stream-worked gravels like these are where placer gold tends to concentrate, settling toward bedrock, inside gravel bars, and behind boulders.

Mapped unit

Late and middle Pleistocene surficial deposits

Age

3 Ma to present (Pleistocene)

Rock types

gravel and sand

Elevation

1,840 ft

Geologic mapping via Macrostrat and the underlying state geological survey maps (CC BY 4.0). Bedrock at the surface can vary within a mapped unit.

Sources & verification

Spot details combine the public RockHoundR location dataset, normalized mineral labels, agency land-status checks in the app, and community submissions. Coordinates are approximate until verified in the field.

State guidance last verified: April 1, 2026

• BLM Arizona, Recreational Mineral Collecting
• Arizona Geological Survey
• Arizona State Land Department recreation permits
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules