Updated July 2026
29 mapped spots across 11 counties. Vermont produces a wide range of rockhounding-grade material: see the full list of spots, minerals, and access notes below.
The best rockhounding in Vermont is at Bennington in Bennington County (blue quartz, garnet), Little River in Lamoille County (gold), and White River in Orange County (gold). In total, 29 mapped collecting spots across 11 counties produce gold, calcite, and pyrite, 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 29 rockhounding spots in Vermont
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 Burlington, VT.
Geology rarely respects state borders. These states share mapped rockhounding country with Vermont — useful when Vermont 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 Vermont list, chosen for unusual mineralogy, documented public access, or both. Each card links to coordinates, access notes, and what to look for.
Top pickBennington County
A Precambrian road-cut on Route 9 east of Bennington yields cabochon-grade blue quartz along with garnet, feldspar, biotite, and hornblende, set in the Green Mountains along the Molly Stark Trail.
Blue Quartz, Garnet, Feldspar, Biotite
Top pickLamoille County
Little River, which drops from the hills above Stowe into the Waterbury Reservoir, is an aptly named Vermont gold stream with fine flour gold in its gravels.
Gold
Top pickOrange County
The White River around Bethel and Stockbridge is Vermont's best-documented placer gold reach, with USGS-mapped gold in the gravel bars and access through the Green Mountain National Forest at Peavine Park.
Gold
Top pickOrleans County
The Route 5A road-cuts along the east shore of Lake Willoughby expose granite pegmatite carrying beryl, garnet, vesuvianite, and books of plumose muscovite, set beneath the fjord-like cliffs of Mount Pisgah and Mount Hor.
Muscovite, Beryl, Garnet, Idocrase
Top pickRutland County
Devil's Den, high on Mount Tabor inside the Green Mountain National Forest, is one of the finest alpine quartz-crystal sites in the northeastern United States, producing smoky quartz and occasional amethyst in pockets in schist.
Smoky Quartz, Quartz, Pyrite, Ilmenite
Top pickWashington County
The Mad River in the Mad River Valley carries fine placer gold in its gravels, part of the same gold belt that runs through central Vermont.
Gold
Top pickWindham County
Adams Brook in the far southeast corner of Vermont tumbles varicolored serpentine boulders with red, orange, and green agate and clear quartz, a distinctive mix for the state.
Serpentine, Quartz, Red Agate, Orange Agate
Top pickWindsor County
The Route 103 road-cuts at Gassetts slice through silvery garnet-mica schist, one of Vermont's classic metamorphic mineral localities.
Quartz, Garnet, Tourmaline, Staurolite
Top pickWindsor County
A Route 103 road-cut just east of Ludlow village exposes black schorl tourmaline with diopside, calcite, talc, and pyrite in the metamorphic rock of the Black River valley.
Tourmaline, Pyrite, Talc, Calcite
Top pickWindsor County
Camp Plymouth State Park sits on Buffalo Brook and Echo Lake in Vermont's 1850s gold-rush country, where the old Rooks Mine once worked placer gold.
Gold
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 Vermont on a real map with public land overlays, weather, geology, and your saved finds.
