Toledo Bend: Petrified Palm Wood Rockhounding in Sabine Parish, Louisiana
- Mineral reported
- 1
- Elevation
- 230 ft
- Best months
- September to June
Toledo Bend, straddling the Sabine River on the Texas line, is the single best-known name for petrified palmwood, a stone shared as the Louisiana state fossil and the Texas state stone. Falling water levels expose gravel along the shoreline where palmwood, petrified wood, and agate collect. Access is managed rather than open, but the locality's reputation and productivity earn it a place on any Louisiana list. Reported finds include petrified palm wood. Below: coordinates, access notes, nearby spots, and trip-planning links.
Plan your visit
Permission required before collecting
- County
- Sabine Parish
- State
- Louisiana
- Nearest road
- North Toledo Park Road
- Coordinates
- 31.55909, -93.73545
Coordinates are approximate. Confirm the exact ground in the RockHoundR app, where land overlays show which agency manages the area.
Land & collecting status
Permission required before collecting
Requires landowner or agency permission before any collecting. Do not enter without explicit authorization.
Access note: The Sabine River Authority manages the Toledo Bend reservoir and its shoreline, and the adjacent North Toledo Bend State Park bans collecting without a permit. Exposed lakebed gravel is easiest to reach at low pool, but most shoreline is leased or privately controlled, so ask the managing authority or landowner before collecting. Do not collect inside the state park.
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 Toledo Bend
Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)
Best months: September to June. Typical highs run 92°F in midsummer and 58°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 35°F.
Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, MANY station (15 mi away).
Geology at Toledo Bend
This spot sits on Prairie Terraces, mapped as clay, silt, and sand 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
- Prairie Terraces
- Age
- 3 Ma to present (Pleistocene)
- Rock types
- clay, silt, and sand
- Elevation
- 230 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.
Today's weather
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The app shows live weather, recent rain, and a daily rockhounding score for Toledo Bend.
Get the appSources & 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.
- Louisiana Geological Survey
- Kisatchie National Forest
- Louisiana State Parks rules
- Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules
Found at Toledo Bend
Each name opens all spots that produce that material; the encyclopedia link opens the full ID and field guide.
Nearby rockhounding spots
Other rockhounding spots within driving distance of Toledo Bend.
- LeesvilleVernon Parish, Louisiana · 37 mi awayPetrified Wood
- Leesville (opal area)Vernon Parish, Louisiana · 40 mi awayLouisiana Opal
- Vernon ParishVernon Parish, Louisiana · 44 mi awaySilicified Palm Wood
- Rapides ParishGrant Parish, Louisiana · 62 mi awaySilicified Palm Wood
- PollockGrant Parish, Louisiana · 79 mi awayAgate, Petrified Wood
- Ouachita RiverOuachita Parish, Louisiana · 109 mi awayAgate, Petrified Wood, Opalized Wood
- Sabine Lake Public Oyster AreaCameron Parish, Louisiana · 119 mi awayLapearlite
Across the state line from Toledo Bend
Toledo Bend is close enough to the Louisiana border that the next-closest rockhounding spots are in a neighboring state. Worth knowing if you are already on the road.
- McGee Bend damJasper County, Texas · 41 mi awayAgatized Wood
- Road cut N of roadNacogdoches County, Texas · 64 mi awayPyrite, Selenite
- Large area btwn Camden and ChesterPolk County, Texas · 70 mi awayPetrified Palm Wood
Toledo Bend FAQ
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More rockhounding in Louisiana
See all 17 Louisiana spots →
Open Toledo Bend on the map
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