Last Chance Mine: Amethyst & Agate Rockhounding in Mineral County, Colorado

Plan your visit

Pay-to-dig site

County

Mineral County

State

Colorado

Nearest road

Bachelor Road

Coordinates

37.88394, -106.93671

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

Land & collecting status

Pay-to-dig site

This is a fee-dig location. Hours, prices, and what you can keep vary by operator. Call ahead before driving out.

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 Last Chance Mine

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: March to October. Typical highs run 73°F in midsummer and 32°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 0°F. At about 10,280 ft, snow can block access from late fall well into spring, so check conditions outside of summer.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, CREEDE station (2 mi away), adjusted for elevation.

Geology at Last Chance Mine

This spot sits on sedimentary rocks, mapped as sandstone that formed roughly 56 to 23 million years ago. Tough silica like agate, jasper, and chert typically weathers out of beds like these and collects as float in drainages and on deflation surfaces.

Mapped unit

sedimentary rocks

Age

56–23 Ma (Eocene to Oligocene)

Rock types

sandstone

Elevation

10,280 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.

• BLM Colorado rockhounding rules
• Colorado Geological Survey
• Pike and San Isabel National Forests
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules