Mount Vernon: Geode Digging in Rockcastle County, Kentucky

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Rockcastle County

State

Kentucky

Nearest road

Hansford Road

Postcode

40492

Coordinates

37.44492, -84.32273

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.

Access note: The Daniel Boone National Forest permits casual, non-commercial hand collecting of common rocks, minerals and invertebrate fossils, no permit required. The Rockcastle River is navigable, so its gravel bars are open below the ordinary high-water mark. Collecting is prohibited inside state park inholdings, and private tracts require permission.

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 Mount Vernon

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: February to December. Typical highs run 85°F in midsummer and 43°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 25°F.

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

Geology at Mount Vernon

This spot sits on Borden Formation, mapped as shale | interbedded siltstone | sandstone that formed roughly 360 to 330 million years ago. Concretions and geodes typically weather out of sedimentary beds like these, standing out as rounded, heavier-or-lighter-than-expected lumps.

Mapped unit

Borden Formation

Age

360–330 Ma (Early Mississippian)

Rock types

shale | interbedded siltstone | sandstone

Elevation

980 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.

• Kentucky Geological Survey
• Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum
• Daniel Boone National Forest
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules