Mojave Desert & southeast California
Wiley Well, Hauser, Black Hills geode beds, Cady Mountains agate, fire agate at Saddleback Butte vicinity, and jasper across BLM lands east of Barstow.
Rockhounding in California
97 mapped spots across 22 counties. California covers a wide range of rockhounding: gold-bearing rivers in the Mother Lode, jade on the central coast, and agate and jasper in the Mojave. Collecting is allowed on most BLM and Forest Service land outside designated wilderness.
California rockhounding photos
Representative spot and material photos from locations in this state, shown where verified public image records are available.
Map showing 97 rockhounding spots in California
Top minerals found in California
Counts reflect how many spots in this list mention each mineral.
- Jasper17
- Agate12
- Chalcedony12
- Petrified Wood8
- Quartz7
- Jade6
- Serpentine6
- Rhodonite5
- Chromite4
- Gold4
- Jadeite4
- Lepidolite4
Notable areas: Big Sur jade, Mojave jasper, blue chalcedony, gold panning, and limited benitoite access are common California search terms.
Geology behind California rockhounding
California's collecting reflects its tectonic complexity. The Mojave's Tertiary volcanics produce agate, jasper, and chalcedony. The Sierra Nevada foothills hold the Mother Lode gold belt and its associated quartz, schist, and mariposite. The Coast Ranges expose serpentinite and the Franciscan complex — host to jade, nephrite, and rare benitoite. The Klamath and Salmon Mountains contribute garnet schist, gold, and platinum-group placers.
Best regions to focus your search
Mother Lode (Sierra Nevada foothills)
Recreational gold panning on the American, Yuba, Feather, and Mokelumne rivers; mariposite, quartz crystals, and copper minerals in old mine dumps. Stick to legal access points — much of the river bank is private or claimed.
Central Coast (Big Sur, Jade Cove)
Big Sur jade picked from the surf at Jade Cove — hand collecting only below the mean high-tide line within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary boundaries.
North Coast & Klamath
Beach agates, jade, and serpentine; rough country with active mining claims. The benitoite type locality in San Benito County is closed to public collecting.
Best season
Mojave: October through April. Sierra rivers: late summer through early fall when water is low. North Coast and Big Sur jade: year-round, with fresh material most likely after winter storms move gravel and nephrite in the surf.
What to bring
Mojave desert: gallon-per-person water minimum, spare tire, paper map, sun protection. Mother Lode: classifier, sluice box (legal restrictions apply — see CDFW dredging rules), and recreational gold pan. Jade Cove: snorkel or wade gear and a mesh bag.
Local collecting history
The 1849 California Gold Rush shaped mineral collecting across the West. Big Sur jade became better known in the 1970s, when divers and beach pickers began bringing nephrite out of the surf; the Big Sur Jade Festival still marks that local history.
Rockhounding near major California cities
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.
Rockhounding near Los Angeles
See all →6 closest spots to Los Angeles, CA.
- Area Near Redondo BeachLos Angeles County · Moonstone15 mi19 min drive
- Unnamed Location (LA County)Los Angeles County · Agate, Chalcedony27 mi33 min drive
- Tick CanyonLos Angeles County · Chalcedony, Banded Agate27 mi34 min drive
- Malibu Lake AreaLos Angeles County · Analcite29 mi37 min drive
- Escondido CanyonLos Angeles County · Amethyst Geode, Banded Agate31 mi39 min drive
- Howlands Landing (Catalina Island)Los Angeles County · Albite44 mi55 min drive
Rockhounding near San Diego
See all →6 closest spots to San Diego, CA.
- Victor MineSan Diego County · Cookeite, Albite40 mi50 min drive
- Himalaya Tourmaline Mine (Mesa Grande)San Diego County · Tourmaline, Lepidolite41 mi51 min drive
- Mine Dumps (San Diego Co.)San Diego County · Aquamarine, Beryl43 mi54 min drive
- Stewart MineSan Diego County · Bismuth46 mi58 min drive
- Unnamed Location (Allanite)San Diego County · Allanite46 mi58 min drive
- Unnamed Location (Apatite/Aquamarine)San Diego County · Apatite, Aquamarine47 mi59 min drive
Rockhounding near San Francisco
See all →6 closest spots to San Francisco, CA.
- Coyote PointSan Mateo County · Chert, Jasper14 mi17 min drive
- Crystal Springs ReservoirSan Mateo County · Chromite16 mi20 min drive
- Alum Rock ParkSanta Clara County · Albandite, Hausmannite43 mi53 min drive
- Guadeloupe CreekSanta Clara County · Dendritic Agate48 mi1 hr drive
- New Almaden Area MinesSanta Clara County · Chert, Cinnabar53 mi1 hr 6 min drive
- Coyote CreekSanta Clara County · Siderite63 mi1 hr 19 min drive
Neighboring states with rockhounding
Geology rarely respects state borders. These states share mapped rockhounding country with California — useful when California is the start, not the whole trip. Each card links to the closest county across the line.
Rockhounding by county in California
County pages are linked once we have at least 3 mapped spots for a focused guide with coordinates, mineral notes, and nearby spots.
- San Bernardino County8 spotsTop: Jasper, Blue Agate, Chalcedony
- San Diego County8 spotsTop: Lepidolite, Quartz, Beryl
- Los Angeles County7 spotsTop: Banded Agate, Bloodstone, Chalcedony
- Trinity County7 spotsTop: Jade, Anthophyllite, Chalcedony
- Kern County6 spotsTop: Agate, Jasper, Chalcedony
- Siskiyou County6 spotsTop: Agate, Petrified Wood, Bloodstone
- Del Norte County5 spotsTop: Agate, Arsenopyrite, Chalcedony
- Fresno County5 spotsTop: Andalusite, Apatite, Epidote
- Mendocino County5 spotsTop: Jadeite, Nephrite, Actinolite Prisms
- San Luis Obispo County5 spotsTop: California Jade, Jade, Jadeite
- Santa Clara County5 spotsTop: Albandite, Apophyllite, Chert
- Humboldt County4 spotsTop: Agate, Bementite, Brecciated Jasper
- Mariposa County4 spotsTop: Chromite, Jade, Mariposite
- Riverside County4 spotsTop: Amazonite, Axinite, Chalcedony
- Modoc County3 spotsTop: Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper
- Monterey County3 spotsTop: Nephrite Jade, Serpentine, Axinite
Top picks in California
10 best spotsHand-picked standouts from the California list, chosen for unusual mineralogy, documented public access, or both. Each card links to coordinates, access notes, and what to look for.
- No photoTop pick
Happy Camp Jade Mines
PublicSiskiyou County
Happy Camp gives the top-10 list a Klamath Mountains jade and gold locality rather than another Mojave silica field. Mindat records ferro-actinolite-tremolite series material at the Chan Jade Mine and placer native gold from the Happy Camp region, which fits the area's serpentinite and historic placer-mining setting.
Jade, Gold, Serpentine, Gold-laced Jade
Top pickTrinity River
PublicTrinity County
The Trinity River is a north-state benchmark because it combines historic placer-gold country with Klamath Mountains metamorphic and ultramafic source rocks. USGS mapping documents the basin's complex bedrock setting, while the RockHoundR candidate minerals add chalcedony, jasper, jade, and petrified wood to the river's placer-gold identity.
Chalcedony, Gold, Jasper, Jade
Top pickGlass Mountain
PublicSiskiyou County
Glass Mountain represents California's northern volcanic-glass collecting better than any ordinary agate wash, with Forest Service materials identifying designated obsidian collecting areas in the Modoc country. Mindat's Siskiyou County records place Glass Mountain and Little Glass Mountain among mapped pumice and obsidian-related localities, tying the material directly to young Cascade volcanism.
Obsidian
- No photoTop pick
Jacolitos Canyon
PublicFresno County
Jacolitos Canyon adds a Coast Range sedimentary and fossil-bearing locality to a list otherwise dominated by volcanic glass, agate, jade, and gold. USGS work on the Coalinga district documents the Jacalitos fossil context, while the candidate record makes the site useful for jasper, petrified wood, and fossilized coral on lawful public ground.
Jasper, Petrified Wood, Fossilized Coral
Top pickNew Almaden Area Mines
PublicSanta Clara County
New Almaden is not just a cinnabar stop, it is one of California's classic mercury districts, hosted in altered serpentinite and silica-carbonate rock. Mindat records cinnabar, native mercury, metacinnabar, apophyllite, gyrolite, chalcedony, and opal, while USGS Professional Paper 360 makes the district one of the state's best documented quicksilver localities.
Chert, Cinnabar, Apophyllite, Gyrolite
Top pickBig Sur area
PublicMonterey County
Big Sur is California's clearest public jade locality because sanctuary rules specifically allow loose nephrite collection in the Jade Cove authorized area below mean high tide. Mindat records jade and nephrite at Big Sur, and Los Padres National Forest planning documents note historic jade collecting around Plaskett Creek, Jade Cove, Willow Creek, and offshore.
Jade, Nephrite, Serpentine
- No photoTop pick
Unnamed Location (Fire Agate)
PublicRiverside County
The Wiley Well and Mule Mountains area is one of California's best documented public desert collecting districts, with BLM specifically identifying the Wiley Well District Geode Beds for rockhounding. Mindat records nearby fire agate, chalcedony, agate, amethyst, quartz, and opal, giving the area more mineral range than a single-specimen stop.
Chalcedony, Fire Agate
Top pickAfton Canyon
PublicSan Bernardino County
Afton Canyon pairs documented BLM rockhounding access with a strong Mojave silica suite: Mindat lists opal, opalite, chalcedony, plume agate, agate-jasper, petrified wood, and jasper in the canyon area. The locality also has unusual field context because the Mojave River flows above ground here year-round, cutting through one of the region's more recognizable volcanic and sedimentary exposures.
Opalite, Jasper
- No photoTop pick
El Paso Mountains
PublicKern County
The El Paso Mountains stand out because BLM identifies the area as a place where rock hounds find material among dark volcanic mesas, red buttes, and fossil-bearing badlands. Mindat ties the range and its Last Chance Canyon localities to agate-jasper, opal, gold, and petrified wood, a compact record of Mojave volcanic and sedimentary collecting.
Agate, Opal, Jasper, Gold
- No photoTop pick
Gem Hill
PublicKern County
Gem Hill is a focused Kern County silica locality, with Mindat recording agate, chalcedony, iris agate, jasper, petrified wood, native gold, and uranium minerals nearby. Its appeal is the Rosamond Hills mix of lapidary material and desert mineralization, but claim and parcel checks matter because the district has a long mining history.
Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper, Uraninite
Every rockhounding spot in California
Sorted by county. Tap coordinates to open in Google Maps, or open RockHoundR for the full map view with land overlays and weather.
California rockhounding FAQ
Is rockhounding legal in California?+
Yes on BLM and most USFS land outside designated wilderness. All national parks (Yosemite, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Sequoia, etc.), the Mojave National Preserve, and California State Parks are closed to collecting. Suction dredging for gold is heavily regulated by CDFW.
Can I take Big Sur jade from Jade Cove?+
Yes — Jade Cove allows hand collecting of jade below the mean high-tide line. You may not use power tools, dig the cliffs, or remove jade from above the high-tide line. The cove sits within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which adds federal rules over the surface waters.
Where can I gold pan in California legally?+
Recreational hand panning is legal on most BLM and USFS land on public stretches of the American, Yuba, Feather, Mokelumne, and Trinity rivers. Avoid posted private property and active mining claims. Suction-dredge mining is separately regulated by CDFW and is currently restricted statewide.
What's the BLM rockhounding limit in California?+
Up to 25 pounds plus one piece per day, with a 250-pound annual cap per person, for common rocks, mineral specimens, and semiprecious gemstones. Petrified wood is capped separately at 25 lb/day and 250 lb/year.
What rocks and minerals can you find in California?+
Common targets include agate, jasper, chalcedony, opal, jade (Big Sur), gold (Mother Lode and Klamath placers), garnet, tourmaline (Pala district pay-to-dig), and aragonite and zeolites in various volcanic exposures.
Map every California spot in the app
Open the RockHoundR app to see California on a real map with public land overlays, weather, geology, and your saved finds.
