Old Pearl River: Agate Rockhounding in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana

Plan your visit

Permission required before collecting

County

St. Tammany Parish

State

Louisiana

Coordinates

30.46748, -89.77508

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 Pearl River and its distributaries carry gravel through St. Tammany Parish, and bars are reachable from public boat launches and bridge crossings along the lower river. Collect from the streambed below ordinary low water and avoid the private banks and the wildlife management area interior. Much of the surrounding Honey Island Swamp is wetland, so plan for water access and soft ground.

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 Old Pearl River

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: September to June. Typical highs run 92°F in midsummer and 62°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 38°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, PICAYUNE station (6 mi away).

Geology at Old Pearl River

This spot sits on Alluvium, mapped as clay that formed within roughly the last 12,000 years. Gravels like these concentrate whatever survives the river: agate, jasper, and other tough silica typically show up as rounded, waxy stones.

Mapped unit

Alluvium

Age

< 1 Ma (Holocene)

Rock types

clay

Elevation

40 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.

• Louisiana Geological Survey
• Kisatchie National Forest
• Louisiana State Parks rules
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules