Rockhounding near Augusta, GA

169 mapped rockhounding spots within 150 miles of Augusta — most are inside a 2 to 3 hour drive. Below: a map, the closest spots, what they produce, and full coordinates with access notes.

Covering parts of South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina.

Closest rockhounding spots to Augusta

The 6 nearest mapped spots, with straight-line distance and an approximate drive time.

Most-reported finds near Augusta

Counts reflect how many spots in this radius mention each material.

Every spot within 150 miles of Augusta

Sorted by distance from Augusta. Tap a row to open the spot detail page with full directions, access status, and nearby trips.

Spot	County	Minerals	Coordinates	Access
Clearwater & Herse ValleyWeeping Willow Lane	Aiken County	Amethyst Chalcedony Ilmenite Monazite Quartz Smoky Quartz Rutile Zircon	33.5384, -81.8239	Public
Silver BluffBluff Landing Road	Aiken County	Manganese Cobalt	33.3114, -81.8537	Public
Turkey CreekElmwood Road	Edgefield County	Serpentine	33.8814, -81.9749	Public
Hawe CreekGreenfield Road	McCormick County	Limonite Cubes	33.8753, -82.3109	Public
Sleepy CreekGold Mine Road	Edgefield County	Gold	33.9693, -81.9492	Public
Graves Mountain, GeorgiaWashington Highway	Lincoln County		33.7421, -82.5243	Paid / fee
Graves Mountain mineWashington Highway	Lincoln County	Lazulite Red Rutile Pyrophyllite	33.7412, -82.5275	Paid / fee
Girard	Burke County	Savannah River Agate Chalcedony Quartz Silicified Oolite	33.0663, -81.6460	Public
Dorn MineDorn Road	McCormick County	Gold	33.9246, -82.2971	Public
McCormickBaker Creek Road	McCormick County	Gold	33.8978, -82.3538	Public
River RoadRiver Road	Burke County	Agatized Fossils	33.0395, -81.5905	Public
Fork of Big Creek & Little Saluda RiverBarr Woods Road	Saluda County	Amphibolite Chalcopyrite Chlorite Gold Green Hornblende Magnetite Pyrite	34.0618, -81.6766	Public
SalucaLancaster Road	Greenwood County	Unakite Amethyst	34.2283, -81.9866	Public
Abbeville CountyHighway 28	Abbeville County	Beryl Corundum Epidote Blue Jasper	34.2079, -82.4143	Public
ProsperityElm Street	Newberry County	Barite	34.2088, -81.5193	Public
SpartaL S Ingram Road	Hancock County	Carnelian Chalcedony Jasper	33.2611, -82.9957	Public
ColumbiaCollins Court	Lexington County	Amethyst	34.0785, -81.2393	Public
Shoals Junction	Greenwood County	Amethyst Quartz	34.3224, -82.3149	Public
Lake Murray DamSilver Wood Lane	Lexington County	Garnet Kyanite	34.0489, -81.1988	Public
DonaldsUS 178	Greenwood County	Amethyst	34.3408, -82.2897	Public
Diamond Hill MineDiamond Mine Road	Abbeville County	Amethyst Smoky Quartz Beryl Garnet Epidote	34.2703, -82.5738	Public
IvaWest Front Street	Anderson County	Corundum Garnet Quartz Orange Zircon Brown Zircon Amethyst Golden Beryl	34.3074, -82.6632	Public
IvaWest Cruette Street	Anderson County	Amethyst	34.3065, -82.6734	Public
Lake SinclairFrontier Shores Drive	Hancock County	Quartz	33.2577, -83.2269	Public
ElbertonColdwater Road	Elbert County	Aquamarine Garnet Quartz Tourmaline Beryl	34.2436, -82.8632	Public

Augusta rockhounding FAQ

Where can I go rockhounding near Augusta?+

There are 169 mapped rockhounding spots within about 150 miles of Augusta, Georgia. The closest is Clearwater & Herse Valley in Aiken County, roughly 12 miles away. The full list is on this page with coordinates and drive times.

What rocks and minerals can you find near Augusta?+

Spots within driving distance of Augusta most commonly produce quartz, garnet, corundum, gold, kyanite, amethyst.

Is rockhounding legal near Augusta?+

Casual hand collecting of common rocks and minerals is allowed on most BLM and U.S. Forest Service land, with limits set by the local field office. National parks, most state parks, and tribal land are off-limits. Each spot page on this site lists access status; always confirm current rules with the managing agency before a trip.

How far do most rockhounders drive from Augusta?+

Most weekend trips from Augusta fall inside a 2 to 3 hour drive, which is roughly the 150-mile radius shown on this page. Closer spots are good for half-day outings; the outer ones are better as overnight trips.

More state coverage

The spots above span 3 states. Open the state page for the full county-by-county view.

Other cities near Augusta

Planning around Augusta? These nearby cities have their own mapped rockhounding spots within driving range, with some overlap in the spots you can reach.

Pack Augusta's rockhounding map in your pocket

Open RockHoundR for live land overlays, weather, geology, directions, and saved finds — wherever the drive takes you.