Bennington: Blue Quartz & Garnet Rockhounding in Bennington County, Vermont

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Bennington County

State

Vermont

Nearest road

Vermont Route 9

Postcode

05201

Coordinates

42.87848, -73.11608

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: Collecting is from the highway road-cut on the north side of Route 9, several miles east of Bennington; park well off the road and watch traffic. Keep to the right-of-way and off posted private land.

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 Bennington

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: April to November. Typical highs run 78°F in midsummer and 29°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 10°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, BENNINGTON MORSE STATE AP station (7 mi away), adjusted for elevation.

Geology at Bennington

This spot sits on Biotite-quartz-plagioclase gneiss, mapped as gneiss that formed roughly 1600 to 1200 million years ago. Metamorphic terrain like this typically carries quartz veins and sweats, and weathered crystals tend to end up in the soils and streams below.

Mapped unit

Biotite-quartz-plagioclase gneiss

Age

1600–1200 Ma (Mesoproterozoic)

Rock types

gneiss

Elevation

1,560 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.

• Vermont Geological Survey
• Green Mountain National Forest
• Vermont State Parks, Camp Plymouth
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules