Medicine Lodge: Petrified Wood Rockhounding in Barber County, Kansas

Quick details

Access

Public area

County

Barber County

State

Kansas

Nearest road

Pixley Road

Coordinates

37.14317, -98.52130

Geology at Medicine Lodge

This spot sits on Alluvium, mapped as sand, silt, and clay that formed within roughly the last 3 million years. Petrified wood typically travels as tough float, and worked gravels like these are exactly where weathered pieces tend to collect.

Mapped unit

Alluvium

Age

3 Ma to present (Pleistocene to Holocene)

Rock types

sand, silt, and clay

Elevation

1,370 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.

Best time to visit Medicine Lodge

Best months: September to June. Typical highs run 94°F in midsummer and 47°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 21°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, KIOWA station (9 mi away).

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.

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.

Sources: RockHoundR public spot dataset, app land overlays, and local agency review before each trip.

Found at Medicine Lodge

Each chip opens all spots that produce that material; the encyclopedia link opens the full ID and field guide.

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