Where to Find Quartz in Washington

Washington has 7 mapped collecting spots that report quartz, spread across 5 counties. The largest share sits in Okanogan County County with 2 spots. 5 of the spots are on land mapped as publicly accessible.

Spot list checked against source data on April 1, 2026.

Standout quartz spots in Washington

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

Tunk Creek
Okanogan County County
Tunk Creek is one of Washington's few documented thulite localities, where rose-pink thulite, a variety of zoisite, occurs in lenses up to three feet across within hornblende schist. The same schist hosts corundum, including blue sapphire and pink to red crystals associated with the thulite, an unusual pairing recorded by the USGS Mineral Resources Data System and mindat. Quartz and plagioclase round out the assemblage in the Okanogan highlands.

Best counties for quartz in Washington

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

Every quartz spot we track in Washington

Sorted by county. Coordinates open in Google Maps.

Spot	County	Minerals	Coordinates	Access
Denny Mt.Denny Creek Trail	King County	Calcite Quartz Amethyst Opal Pyrite	47.4332, -121.4486	Permission
Lyman LakeNational Forest Development Road 500	Okanogan County	Gold Quartz	48.5273, -119.0236	Public
Tunk CreekKeystone Road	Okanogan County	Quartz Blue Corundum Pink Corundum Thulite Plagioclase	48.5615, -119.4866	Public
Long BeachDiscovery Trail	Pacific County	Agate Chalcedony Quartz	46.3608, -124.0643	Public
Ocean ParkBay to Ocean Trail	Pacific County	Agate Chalcedony Quartz	46.4924, -124.0587	Public
Mt. AdamsPacific Crest Trail	Skamania County	Agate Carnelian Chalcedony Jasper Quartz	46.2359, -121.5474	Permission
ChattaroyNorth Crescent Road	Spokane County	Garnet Quartz	47.8872, -117.3565	Public

Before you go

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

Quartz in Washington FAQ

Where can you find quartz in Washington?+

The mapped spots concentrate in Okanogan County County, Pacific County County, and King County County. Every spot on this page appears on the map above with coordinates and access notes.

How many quartz spots are mapped in Washington?+

7 spots across 5 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 quartz in Washington?+

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. 5 of the 7 mapped spots here sit on land marked public. Always confirm current rules with the managing agency before you dig.

Where else to find quartz

More minerals to hunt in Washington

Hunt quartz in Washington 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.