Updated July 2026
20 mapped spots across 18 counties. North Dakota produces a wide range of rockhounding-grade material: see the full list of spots, minerals, and access notes below.
The best rockhounding in North Dakota is at Medora in Billings County (agate, chalcedony), Bismarck in Burleigh County (agate, chalcedony), and Richardton in Stark County (agate, chalcedony). In total, 20 mapped collecting spots across 18 counties produce agate, chalcedony, and jasper, each listed below with coordinates and land access notes.
Representative spot and material photos from locations in this state, shown where verified public image records are available.
Map showing 20 rockhounding spots in North Dakota
Counts reflect how many spots in this list mention each mineral.
Day-trip range. Each section lists the closest mapped rockhounding spots within about 150 miles of the city — most are inside a 2 to 3 hour drive.
6 closest spots to Fargo, ND.
6 closest spots to Bismarck, ND.
6 closest spots to Minot, ND.
Geology rarely respects state borders. These states share mapped rockhounding country with North Dakota — useful when North Dakota is the start, not the whole trip. Each card links to the closest county across the line.
County pages are linked once we have at least 3 mapped spots for a focused guide with coordinates, mineral notes, and nearby spots.
Hand-picked standouts from the North Dakota list, chosen for unusual mineralogy, documented public access, or both. Each card links to coordinates, access notes, and what to look for.
Top pickBillings County
Medora sits in the badlands of Billings County, ringed by the Little Missouri National Grassland where the Forest Service permits casual collection of petrified wood, agate, and chalcedony.
Agate, Chalcedony, Silicified Wood
Top pickBurleigh County
Bismarck fronts the Missouri River, the one North Dakota waterway the courts have held navigable, meaning the state owns the bed below the ordinary high water mark.
Agate, Chalcedony, Silicified Wood, Jasper
Top pickStark County
Richardton sits in the gravels of Stark County at the eastern edge of the Little Missouri badlands collecting country, where the Bullion Creek and Sentinel Butte formations shed agate, chalcedony, agatized wood, jasper, and blades of selenite.
Agate, Chalcedony, Agatized Wood, Jasper
Top pickMcHenry County
The Souris, or Mouse, River loops through the drift prairie of north-central North Dakota, and its glacial gravels carry quartz, agate, chalcedony, and jasper eroded from Canadian bedrock and dropped by the ice sheets.
Quartz, Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper
Top pickMcKenzie County
McKenzie County holds the largest share of the Little Missouri National Grassland, the one broadly reliable place in North Dakota to collect on public land.
Montana Moss Agate, Jasper, Silicified Wood
Top pickMcKenzie County
The Little Missouri River drains the heart of the North Dakota badlands, and its gravel bars concentrate Montana moss agate, agatized wood, and jasper eroded from the Sentinel Butte and Bullion Creek formations and carried down from Montana.
Montana Moss Agate, Jasper, Agatized Wood
Top pickMorton County
Mandan lies in the Cannonball Formation belt that produces Teredo-bored petrified wood, North Dakota's state fossil: ancient driftwood riddled by marine shipworms and later silicified.
Agate, Chalcedony, Chert, Teredo Petrified Wood
Top pickRansom County
Lisbon marks the eastern end of North Dakota's Teredo petrified wood belt, which runs across the state from the Mandan badlands to the Sheyenne River valley.
Quartz, Teredo Petrified Wood
Top pickWilliams County
Williams County ranks among North Dakota's better counties for Montana moss agate and jasper, which wash into the Missouri and Yellowstone river gravels and glacial drift of the state's northwest corner.
Montana Moss Agate, Red Jasper, Yellow Jasper
Top pickDunn County
Killdeer is the seat of Dunn County, the core of the Knife River flint source area, a glossy brown chalcedony that prehistoric knappers quarried and traded across much of the continent.
Knife River Flint
Sorted by county. Tap coordinates to open in Google Maps, or open RockHoundR for the full map view with land overlays and weather.
Open the RockHoundR app to see North Dakota on a real map with public land overlays, weather, geology, and your saved finds.
