Bayfield County: Agate & Jasper Rockhounding in Bayfield County, Wisconsin

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Bayfield County

State

Wisconsin

Nearest road

D Street

Postcode

54847

Coordinates

46.56842, -91.42026

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: Stick to the town and county beaches along Highway 13 (Port Wing, Herbster, Cornucopia); these are public and open to hand collecting below the high-water mark. Do not collect on Apostle Islands National Lakeshore land or in Big Bay State Park, where removing rocks is banned or requires permission. Fall and post-storm low water expose the freshest gravel.

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 Bayfield County

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: April to October. Typical highs run 77°F in midsummer and 20°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 2°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, BRULE RS station (8 mi away).

Geology at Bayfield County

This spot sits on Oronto Group; Freda Sandstone, mapped as arkose and siltstone that formed roughly 1600 to 1000 million years ago. Tough silica like agate, jasper, and chert typically weathers out of beds like these and collects as float in drainages and on deflation surfaces.

Mapped unit

Oronto Group; Freda Sandstone

Age

1600–1000 Ma (Mesoproterozoic)

Rock types

arkose and siltstone

Elevation

1,060 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.

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.

• Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey
• Wisconsin DNR property rules
• Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules