Camp Plymouth State Park: Gold Prospecting in Windsor County, Vermont

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Windsor County

State

Vermont

Nearest road

Scout Camp Road

Coordinates

43.46550, -72.70560

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: Camp Plymouth is a day-use Vermont state park with parking and a small seasonal entry fee. Recreational panning with a pan and hand tools is permitted, but sluice boxes require a state Mineral Prospecting Permit and motorized dredging is banned. Pan the brook gravels and avoid disturbing banks or vegetation.

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 Camp Plymouth State Park

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: April to November. Typical highs run 81°F in midsummer and 29°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 7°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, CAVENDISH station (8 mi away), adjusted for elevation.

Geology at Camp Plymouth State Park

This spot sits on Hoosac Formation - chlorite albite schist and granofels member, mapped as granofels and quartz feldspar schist 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

Hoosac Formation - chlorite albite schist and granofels member

Age

1000–510 Ma (Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian)

Rock types

granofels and quartz feldspar schist

Elevation

1,100 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