Broken Boot Gold Mine: Gold Prospecting in Lawrence County, South Dakota

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Lawrence County

State

South Dakota

Nearest road

US Highway 14A

Postcode

57732

Coordinates

44.37071, -103.74232

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: BLM records active mining claims in this area. Collecting from inside an active claim needs the claim holder's permission.

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 Broken Boot Gold Mine

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: March to November. Typical highs run 83°F in midsummer and 38°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 14°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, DEADWOOD station (1 mi away).

Geology at Broken Boot Gold Mine

This spot sits on ground mapped as Alluvial deposits that formed within roughly the last 3 million years. Stream-worked gravels like these are where placer gold tends to concentrate, settling toward bedrock, inside gravel bars, and behind boulders.

Mapped unit

Alluvial deposits

Age

3 Ma to present (Pleistocene to Holocene)

Elevation

4,720 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.

• BLM Montana-Dakotas rockhounding rules
• Buffalo Gap National Grassland
• South Dakota Geological Survey
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules