Bienville National Forest: Petrified Wood & Chalcedony Rockhounding in Scott County, Mississippi

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Scott County

State

Mississippi

Coordinates

32.32830, -89.30370

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: Casual, personal-use collecting of common rocks, petrified wood, and invertebrate fossils with hand tools is permitted on National Forest System land. Collecting for sale, mechanized digging, and removal of vertebrate fossils are prohibited. Stay off wildlife management leases and developed recreation sites.

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 Bienville National Forest

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: August to June. Typical highs run 91°F in midsummer and 58°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 34°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, FOREST station (7 mi away).

Geology at Bienville National Forest

This spot sits on Jackson group, mapped as clay that formed roughly 56 to 34 million years ago. Petrified wood typically travels as tough float, and worked gravels like these are exactly where weathered pieces tend to collect.

Mapped unit

Jackson group

Age

56–34 Ma (Eocene)

Rock types

clay

Elevation

480 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.

• Mississippi Office of Geology
• National Forests in Mississippi
• Mississippi State Parks rules
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules