Stansbury Mountains: Gold Prospecting in Tooele County, Utah
- Minerals reported
- 4
- Elevation
- 8,060 ft
- Best months
- April to October
Stansbury Mountains is a mapped rockhounding spot in Tooele County, Utah. Reported finds include cerussite, galena, gold, pyrite. Below: coordinates, access notes, nearby spots, and trip-planning links.
Plan your visit
Permission required before collecting
- County
- Tooele County
- State
- Utah
- Nearest road
- FR 546
- Coordinates
- 40.51761, -112.63741
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 Stansbury Mountains
Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)
Best months: April to October. Typical highs run 80°F in midsummer and 25°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 7°F. At about 8,060 ft, snow can block access from late fall well into spring, so check conditions outside of summer.
Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, GRANTSVILLE 2W station (9 mi away), adjusted for elevation.
Geology at Stansbury Mountains
This spot sits on Prospect Mountain Quartzite, mapped as light-brown, grayish-olive, and and white quartzite with scattered iron specks that is medium to coarse grained with cross-beds that formed roughly 1000 to 510 million years ago. Gold in metamorphic belts like this is typically tied to quartz veins and shear zones, with placer color in the creeks that cut them.
- Mapped unit
- Prospect Mountain Quartzite
- Age
- 1000–510 Ma (Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian)
- Rock types
- light-brown, grayish-olive, and and white quartzite with scattered iron specks that is medium to coarse grained with cross-beds
- Elevation
- 8,060 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.
Today's weather
Is today a good day to go?
The app shows live weather, recent rain, and a daily rockhounding score for Stansbury Mountains.
Get the appSources & 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.
State guidance last verified:
- BLM Utah, Rockhounding overview
- Utah Geological Survey, collecting guidelines
- SITLA, surface use rules
- Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules
Found at Stansbury Mountains
Each name opens all spots that produce that material; the encyclopedia link opens the full ID and field guide.
Nearby rockhounding spots
Other rockhounding spots within driving distance of Stansbury Mountains.
- Johnson PassTooele County, Utah · 13 mi awayOnyx, Calcite, Galena
- OphirTooele County, Utah · 22 mi awayGalena, Gold, Pyrite
- Bear GulchSalt Lake County, Utah · 25 mi awayGold
- MercurTooele County, Utah · 26 mi awayCinnabar, Gold, Orpiment
- Bingham CanyonSalt Lake County, Utah · 27 mi awayActinolite, Barite, Bismuth
- Great Salt LakeSalt Lake County, Utah · 28 mi awayAragonite, Bloedite, Gypsum
- FairfieldUtah County, Utah · 31 mi awayChalcedony, Chert, Limonite
- Wells CanyonUtah County, Utah · 31 mi awayCalcite, Quartz, Smithsonite
Across the state line from Stansbury Mountains
Stansbury Mountains is close enough to the Utah border that the next-closest rockhounding spots are in a neighboring state. Worth knowing if you are already on the road.
Stansbury Mountains FAQ
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More rockhounding in Utah
See all 270 Utah spots →Open Stansbury Mountains on the map
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