Where to Find Jasper in South Dakota

South Dakota has 9 mapped collecting spots that report jasper, spread across 6 counties. The largest share sits in Custer County County with 2 spots. 8 of the spots are on land mapped as publicly accessible.

Standout jasper spots in South Dakota

Hand-picked from the full list below, with the reason each one earns a trip.

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.

Best counties for jasper in South Dakota

Ranked by the number of mapped jasper spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.

Every jasper spot we track in South Dakota

Sorted by county. Coordinates open in Google Maps.

Spot	County	Minerals	Coordinates	Access
Hell CanyonHell Canyon Trail	Custer County	Banded Agate Jade Jasper Geode Fossils	43.7494, -103.8421	Public
Pleasant Valley Creek	Custer County	Banded Agate Jade Jasper Fossils Geode	43.5552, -103.7211	Public
ArdmoreEast Ardmore Road	Fall River County	Fairburn Agate Agatized Wood Jasper Chalcedony Rose Quartz	43.0107, -103.4691	Public
Oelrichs	Fall River County	Fairburn Agate Jasper Calcite Agatized Wood	43.1256, -103.1669	Public
InteriorBen Reifel Road	Jackson County	Jasper Chalcedony Agate	43.7320, -101.9454	Public
Sioux FallsEast Rice Street	Minnehaha County	Agate Catlinite Jasper	43.5846, -96.6669	Public
Oglala	Oglala Lakota County	Agate Chalcedony Jasper	43.2963, -102.9105	Public
Red ShirtTatanka Numpa Road	Oglala Lakota County	Agate Chalcedony Jasper	43.6741, -102.8991	Public
ScenicEast Highway 44	Pennington County	Blue Chalcedony Carnelian Aquamarine Beryl Garnet Jasper Agate	43.7522, -102.4966	Permission

Before you go

Read the jasper identification guide so you know what a keeper looks like in the field: Jasper in the encyclopedia.

Jasper in South Dakota FAQ

Where can you find jasper in South Dakota?+

The mapped spots concentrate in Custer County County, Fall River County County, and Oglala Lakota County County. Every spot on this page appears on the map above with coordinates and access notes.

How many jasper spots are mapped in South Dakota?+

9 spots across 6 counties. The RockHoundR app keeps the same spots on an offline map with public land overlays, geology layers, and your saved finds.

Is it legal to collect jasper in South Dakota?+

Hand collecting of common rocks and minerals in small amounts for personal use is generally allowed on BLM and U.S. Forest Service land, with limits set by the local field office. National parks, most state parks, and tribal land are closed to collecting. 8 of the 9 mapped spots here sit on land marked public. Always confirm current rules with the managing agency before you dig.

Where else to find jasper

More minerals to hunt in South Dakota

Hunt jasper 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.