Where to Find Agatized Wood in South Dakota
South Dakota has 6 mapped collecting spots that report agatized wood, spread across 4 counties. The largest share sits in Fall River County County with 3 spots. 6 of the spots are on land mapped as publicly accessible.
Map of 6 agatized wood collecting spots in South Dakota
Standout agatized wood spots in South Dakota
Hand-picked from the full list below, with the reason each one earns a trip.
Fairburn
Custer County County
These are the classic Fairburn agate beds, the type locality for South Dakota's official state gem, sitting in the eroded badlands and surface gravels just east of the village of Fairburn. Fairburn agates are prized fortification agates that occur in nearly every color combination, and the same ground also yields agatized wood and yellow jasper. The hunting is surface picking, best after rain or snowmelt freshly exposes material.
Ardmore
Fall River County County
The badlands and surface gravels east and southeast of the near-ghost town of Ardmore are a well-documented Fairburn agate locality, producing Fairburn agate, agatized wood, jasper, chalcedony, and rose quartz. This is the southern end of the Fairburn agate belt that continues into the Nebraska grasslands, giving collectors a less-crowded alternative to the main Fairburn beds.
Oelrichs
Fall River County County
The grassland south and east of Oelrichs is a long-recognized Fairburn agate area, also producing jasper, cone-in-cone calcite, and agatized wood. It sits in the same southwestern South Dakota agate belt as Fairburn and Ardmore, with badlands erosion continually exposing fresh material at the surface.
Mobridge
Walworth County County
The Missouri River banks and gravels around Mobridge are one of the few South Dakota localities that produce opalized wood, a blend of petrified wood and silica or precious opal, along with agatized wood. It rounds out the list with a distinctive fossil-wood material from the central Missouri River corridor.
Best counties for agatized wood in South Dakota
Ranked by the number of mapped agatized wood spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.
- Fall River County3 spots
- Custer County1 spot
- Todd County1 spot
- Walworth County1 spot
Every agatized wood spot we track in South Dakota
Sorted by county. Coordinates open in Google Maps.
| Spot | County | Minerals | Coordinates | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairburn | Custer County |
| 43.6683, -103.0269 | Public |
| ArdmoreEast Ardmore Road | Fall River County |
| 43.0107, -103.4691 | Public |
| Oelrichs | Fall River County |
| 43.1256, -103.1669 | Public |
| Parker Peak | Fall River County | 43.4053, -103.6753 | Public | |
| MissionSoldier Creek Road | Todd County | 43.3066, -100.8828 | Public | |
| Mobridge | Walworth County | 45.5202, -100.4125 | Public |
Before you go
Read the agatized wood identification guide so you know what a keeper looks like in the field: Agatized Wood in the encyclopedia.
Agatized Wood in South Dakota FAQ
Where can you find agatized wood in South Dakota?+
How many agatized wood spots are mapped in South Dakota?+
Is it legal to collect agatized wood in South Dakota?+
Where else to find agatized wood
More minerals to hunt in South Dakota
Hunt agatized wood in South Dakota with the map in your pocket
RockHoundR puts these spots on an offline map with BLM and Forest Service overlays, geology layers, and a log for your finds.
