Benson Mines: Magnetite & Calcite Rockhounding in Saint Lawrence County, New York

Plan your visit

Permission required before collecting

County

Saint Lawrence County

State

New York

Nearest road

Benson Mines Golf Course Road

Postcode

13690

Coordinates

44.16937, -75.01355

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.

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 Benson Mines

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: April to November. Typical highs run 80°F in midsummer and 29°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 5°F.

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

Geology at Benson Mines

This spot sits on Undivided metasedimentary rock and related migmatite, mapped as metasedimentary and migmatite that formed roughly 1600 to 1000 million years ago. Metamorphic rock like this is where garnet, staurolite, and kyanite typically grow as the rock recrystallizes under heat and pressure.

Mapped unit

Undivided metasedimentary rock and related migmatite

Age

1600–1000 Ma (Mesoproterozoic)

Rock types

metasedimentary and migmatite

Elevation

1,410 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.

• New York State Museum, Geological Survey
• NYS DEC land use rules
• Herkimer Diamond Mines
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules