Colorado River at Smithville: Petrified Palm Wood & Petrified Wood Rockhounding in Bastrop County, Texas

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Bastrop County

State

Texas

Nearest road

TX 71

Postcode

78957

Coordinates

30.01599, -97.14782

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: Enter at Vernon L. Richards Riverbend Park off Highway 71 in Smithville, a free city park, and search loose gravel on the state-owned riverbed below the high-water line. Stay on the public bed, avoid the no-collecting state parks nearby, and note a state permit is needed to remove gravel in quantity.

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 Colorado River at Smithville

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: October to May. Typical highs run 95°F in midsummer and 63°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 39°F. Summer heat here is intense, so carry more water than you think you need and work the early morning.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, SMITHVILLE station (1 mi away).

Geology at Colorado River at Smithville

This spot sits on Terrace deposits, mapped as sand that formed within roughly the last 3 million years. Petrified wood typically travels as tough float, and worked gravels like these are exactly where weathered pieces tend to collect.

Mapped unit

Terrace deposits

Age

3 Ma to present (Pleistocene to Holocene)

Rock types

sand

Elevation

300 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.

State guidance last verified: April 1, 2026

• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
• Bureau of Economic Geology, Texas geology
• Big Bend National Park, Rules
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules