Rockhounding in Virginia

93 mapped spots across 42 counties. Virginia produces a wide range of rockhounding-grade material — see the full list of spots, minerals, and access notes below.

Top minerals found in Virginia

Counts reflect how many spots in this list mention each mineral.

Rockhounding near major Virginia 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 Virginia Beach

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6 closest spots to Virginia Beach, VA.

Rockhounding near Richmond

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6 closest spots to Richmond, VA.

Rockhounding near Roanoke

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6 closest spots to Roanoke, VA.

Neighboring states with rockhounding

Geology rarely respects state borders. These states share mapped rockhounding country with Virginia — useful when Virginia is the start, not the whole trip. Each card links to the closest county across the line.

Rockhounding by county in Virginia

County pages are linked once we have at least 3 mapped spots for a focused guide with coordinates, mineral notes, and nearby spots.

Every rockhounding spot in Virginia

Sorted by county. Tap coordinates to open in Google Maps, or open RockHoundR for the full map view with land overlays and weather.

Spot	County	Minerals	Coordinates	Access
Virginia Weslyan UniversityAnoka Avenue	-	Clam Geode	36.8627, -76.1879	Public
Buck Mountain CreekBuck Mountain Road	Albemarle County	Agate	38.1495, -78.5395	Public
CharlottesvilleVirginia Way	Albemarle County	Amethyst	37.9454, -78.4683	Public
Cove CreekMonacan Trail	Albemarle County	Amethyst	37.8748, -78.7228	Public
FaberGreen Creek Road	Albemarle County	Azurite Cerussite Chalcopyrite Fluorite Galena Pyromorphite Smithsonite Sphalerite +1 more	37.8316, -78.6669	Public
Moormans RiverSugar Hollow Road	Albemarle County	Epidote Jasper	38.1287, -78.6902	Public
Red Hill QuarryRed Hill Road	Albemarle County	Epidote Microcline Unakite	37.9617, -78.5989	Public
ShadwellMilton Road	Albemarle County	Green Quartzite Unakite Epidote	38.0110, -78.4079	Public
Southwest Mountains	Albemarle County	Chalcopyrite	38.0858, -78.3485	Public
Stockton CreekHeather Crest Place	Albemarle County	Amethyst	38.0422, -78.7007	Public
Amelia CountyButlers Road	Amelia County	Fluorite	37.3572, -77.9111	Public
Amelia Court HouseButlers Road	Amelia County	Amazonite Amethyst Feldspar Cleavelandite Quartz Blue Topaz Beryl Tourmaline +3 more	37.3582, -77.9185	Public
Sayler's CreekSayler's Creek Road	Amelia County	Amethyst Quartz	37.3109, -78.2301	Public
AmherstAmethyst Lane	Amherst County	Amethyst	37.5466, -79.0112	Public
Fancy HillThrashers Creek Road	Amherst County	Amethyst Quartz	37.6702, -79.1263	Public
Wreck Island CreekQuarry Road	Appomattox County	Chrysocolla	37.4901, -78.8895	Public
ArlingtonCustis Memorial Parkway	Arlington County	Jasper	38.8983, -77.0925	Permission
ArlingtonFour Mile Run Trail	Arlington County	Blue Quartz	38.8494, -77.1032	Public
Chestnut Ridge	Bath County	Quartz	38.0924, -79.5232	Public
BedfordFalling Creek Road	Bedford County	Moonstone	37.2722, -79.4200	Public
Chestnut MountainHazelwood Terrace	Bedford County	Garnet Biotite Quartz Tourmaline	37.2757, -79.8430	Public
MonetaReindeer Point	Bedford County	Garnet Pyrite Quartz Rutile Perthite Tourmaline Zoisite	37.1947, -79.5686	Public
Peaks of OtterSharp Top Access Trail	Bedford County	Beryl Columbite Feldspar Garnet Quartz Amethyst Tourmaline	37.4329, -79.6043	Public
Walker MountainSouth Scenic Highway	Bland County	Quartz Agate	37.0505, -81.2256	Public
Willis MountainWillis Mt Plant Road	Buckingham County	Kyanite Manganese Apatite Corundum Feldspar Garnet Hematite Pyrite +4 more	37.4779, -78.4619	Public
BrooknealWickliffe Road	Campbell County	Amethyst	37.0612, -78.9329	Public
LynchburgStage Road	Campbell County	Virginia Greenstone Calcite Kyanite Pyrite Ankerite Magnetite Rutile Epidote	37.3910, -79.0400	Public
Red House	Campbell County	Amethyst	37.2054, -78.8676	Public
LadysmithGalyen Lane	Caroline County	Green Beryl Feldspar Quartz Black Tourmaline	37.9821, -77.5831	Public
Galax	Carroll County	Green Apatite Chalcopyrite Pyrite Rutile Selenite Calcite Siderite Blue Vivianite	36.7117, -80.9408	Public
Hanks KnobCoal Creek Road	Carroll County	Garnet Pyrite Pyrrhotite Quartz Rutile	36.6272, -80.8589	Public
HillsvilleMitchels Crossroads Road	Carroll County	Arsenopyrite Azurite Barite Chalcocite Chalcopyrite Chrysocolla Cuprite Galena +4 more	36.8454, -80.7239	Public
Laurel ForkFireside Drive	Carroll County	Quartz	36.7276, -80.5062	Public
Pipers GapPipers Gap Road	Carroll County	Hornblende Serpentine Talc	36.6426, -80.8445	Public
Charlotte CourthouseDogwood Road	Charlotte County	Amethyst Quartz	37.0522, -78.6777	Public
MoselyOtterdale Road	Chesterfield County	Petrified Wood Opalized Wood	37.4236, -77.7276	Public
SkinquarterLedo Road	Chesterfield County	Petrified Wood Opalized Wood	37.4096, -77.7743	Public
CentrevilleCompton Road	Fairfax County	Amethyst	38.8208, -77.4664	Public
Potomac RiverGeorgetown Pike	Fairfax County	Apatite Specularite Tourmaline	38.9776, -77.2331	Public
Chestnut Creek WetlandsKyle Weeks Road Southwest	Floyd County	Quartz	36.8470, -80.4462	Public
FloydValley Drive Northwest	Floyd County	Quartz	36.9290, -80.3569	Public
Byrd CreekShannon Hill Road	Fluvanna County	Gold Quartz	37.8155, -78.1456	Public
Kidd's StoreRolling Road South	Fluvanna County	Rhodonite	37.8097, -78.3641	Public
Glade Hill	Franklin County	Yellow Apatite	36.9696, -79.7449	Public
Spruce RunSpruce Run Road	Giles County	Quartz	37.2729, -80.5531	Public
Elk CreekCarsonville Road	Grayson County	Chalcedony	36.7182, -81.1485	Public
GalaxState Route 625	Grayson County	Spessartine Garnet	36.5870, -81.0152	Public
Mink RidgeHighlands Parkway	Grayson County	Soapstone	36.6261, -81.4043	Public
New River	Grayson County	Magnetite	36.5925, -81.0876	Public
TroutdaleHazelwood Road	Grayson County	Epidote Red Jasper Unakite	36.6750, -81.4035	Public
WhitetopHelton Creek Spur	Grayson County	Calcite Fluorite Selenite Siderite	36.6492, -81.5661	Permission
Bacon HollowBrokenback Mtn Road	Greene County	Unakite	38.2723, -78.5680	Public
Ashland area fieldsMount Hermon Road	Hanover County	Staurolite	37.7557, -77.4536	Public
Ashland MillI 95	Hanover County	Mica Quartz Moonstone Amazonite Feldspar Kyanite Rutile	37.8138, -77.4613	Public
North Anna Battlefield ParkLittle River Drive	Hanover County	Moonstone	37.8596, -77.5114	Public
Hanover CountyDoran Road	Henrico County	Unakite	37.4527, -77.3289	Public
AxtonMovie Movers East	Henry County	Garnet	36.6651, -79.6905	Public
Fairy Stone State ParkGoose Point Road	Henry County	Staurolite	36.7779, -80.0924	Public
Henry CountyRiverside Drive	Henry County	Blue Quartz	36.7425, -79.9653	Public
Loudon CountyCochran Mill Road	Loudoun County	Calcite Datolite Epidote Natrolite Stilbite Diopside Magnetite Prehnite +1 more	39.0819, -77.5219	Public
Mineral	Louisa County	Actinolite Garnet Pyrite Serpentine Tremolite	38.0371, -77.8990	Public
Morefield Gem MineGlen Aire Road	Louisa County	Amazonite Amethyst Topaz Mica	37.9131, -77.8727	Paid / fee
TreviliansBrickhouse Road	Louisa County	Amethyst Quartz	38.0083, -78.1267	Public
Blakely Ridge fire towerBurnt Ridge Fire Trail	Madison County	Blue Quartz	38.4238, -78.3381	Public
Dark HollowRapidan Fire Road	Madison County	Copper	38.5108, -78.4219	Permission
Rose RiverOld Blue Ridge Turnpike	Madison County	Unakite Epidote Jasper Blue Quartz Smoky Quartz Quartz Black Chert	38.4849, -78.3233	Public
Bonys RunBonys Run Road	Montgomery County	Smithsonite	37.1407, -80.2509	Public
RoselandRoseland Road	Nelson County	Blue Quartz Ilmenite Rutile	37.7450, -78.9759	Public
Saunders FarmTye Brook Highway	Nelson County	Amethyst	37.7215, -78.9707	Public
IdaIda Road	Page County	Azurite Chrysolite Cuprite Epidote Jasper Malachite Hematite	38.6089, -78.4201	Public
JollettThe Point Overlook	Page County	Unakite Apatite Chlorite Zircon	38.4636, -78.4635	Permission
Hurricane KnobKettle Hollow Lane	Patrick County	Kyanite	36.7075, -80.4520	Public
StuartCommerce Drive	Patrick County	Almandine Garnet Staurolite Corundum Kyanite	36.6312, -80.2390	Public
GretnaMillstream Drive	Pittsylvania County	Blue Quartz	36.9512, -79.3388	Public
HurtMeadow Trail	Pittsylvania County	Blue Quartz	37.0925, -79.3250	Public
Leigh MountainFire Tower Drive	Prince Edward County	Garnet Kyanite Rutile Staurolite Topaz	37.2033, -78.3609	Public
MinnievilleRunning Creek Drive	Prince William County	Amethyst Quartz	38.6359, -77.3997	Public
AirpointBent Mountain Road	Roanoke County	Unakite Apatite Rutile	37.1761, -80.1108	Public
Blue RidgePine Needle Drive	Roanoke County	Staurolite	37.1749, -79.9523	Public
SalemFallbrooke Drive	Roanoke County	Agate	37.2523, -80.1759	Public
Big Mary's CreekBig Mary Forest Road	Rockbridge County	Unakite	37.8758, -79.2102	Public
Irish CreekIrish Creek Road	Rockbridge County	Blue Moonstone Cassiterite	37.8499, -79.1704	Public
LexingtonFlower Lane	Rockbridge County	Calcite Chalcopyrite Dolomite Pyrite	37.7763, -79.4302	Public
SpottswoodOtterbein Farm Lane	Rockbridge County	Quartz	37.9490, -79.2695	Public
Tye River GapTye River Turnpike	Rockbridge County	Epidote Unakite Beryl Quartz	37.8869, -79.1565	Public
South Fork Shenandoah RiverOld Spotswood Trail	Rockingham County	Quartz	38.4081, -78.6354	Public
Marion	Smyth County	Barite Calcite Iron Limonite Malachite Pyrite	36.7883, -81.5297	Public
BrokenburgCourthouse Road	Spotsylvania County	Beryl Feldspar Quartz	38.1465, -77.7005	Public
QuanticoSouth Elrod Avenue	Stafford County	Petrified Wood Opalized Wood	38.4852, -77.3139	Public
Stafford CountyMount Hope Church Road	Stafford County	Vivianite	38.3878, -77.4058	Public
Front RoyalDeerhaven Road	Warren County	Biotite Quartz Unakite Copper	38.9153, -78.1349	Public
RivertonI 66	Warren County	Calcite Quartz	38.9483, -78.1831	Public
Wythe CountyWalton Furnace Road	Wythe County	Aragonite Calcite Fluorite Bornite Marcasite Smithsonite Sphalerite Dolomite +2 more	36.8835, -80.9322	Public

Virginia rockhounding FAQ

Is rockhounding legal in Virginia?+

Casual hand collecting is allowed on most BLM and U.S. Forest Service land in Virginia, with daily and annual limits set by the managing field office. National parks, most state parks, and tribal lands are off-limits. Always confirm rules with the local agency before a trip.

What rocks and minerals can you find in Virginia?+

Virginia spots in this list most commonly produce Quartz, Amethyst, Unakite, Pyrite, Epidote. The full list across all spots is broader.

How many rockhounding sites are in Virginia?+

RockHoundR currently lists 93 rockhounding spots in Virginia across 42 counties. Many more exist; the app keeps your private finds saved alongside the public ones.

Can I take rocks home from Virginia public land?+

On most BLM and Forest Service land, recreational hand collecting of common rocks and minerals is allowed in reasonable amounts. Vertebrate fossils, archaeological items, and posted mining-claim minerals are not. Check the field office for current limits.

Map every Virginia spot in the app

Open the RockHoundR app to see Virginia on a real map with public land overlays, weather, geology, and your saved finds.