Vernon Parish: Silicified Palm Wood Rockhounding in Vernon Parish, Louisiana

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Vernon Parish

State

Louisiana

Nearest road

Alexandria Highway

Postcode

71474

Coordinates

31.22148, -93.10786

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: Vernon Parish holds the Calcasieu Ranger District of Kisatchie National Forest, where personal, non-commercial surface collecting is allowed with no mechanized equipment. Fort Polk and the Peason Ridge training areas cover much of the parish and are closed to civilian collecting, so confirm you are on open national forest ground and not military land before hunting.

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 Vernon Parish

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: September to June. Typical highs run 92°F in midsummer and 59°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 37°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, LEESVILLE station (10 mi away), adjusted for elevation.

Geology at Vernon Parish

This spot sits on Alluvium, mapped as clay that formed within roughly the last 12,000 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

< 1 Ma (Holocene)

Rock types

clay

Elevation

250 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