I got this information from another group and thought that some of you would appreciate knowing... Location Location Location by Mic Mcintyre at RockHounders Beaches 🏖 RockHounding Beaches is limited to one gallon per day and three gallons per year, in Oregon. According to the BLM, Rockhounding is restricted in Wilderness Areas only. Beaches at the coastal town of Gold Beach and gravel bars up the lower Rogue River are great sites to search quartz, agate, and jasper. The Oceanside Beach is a favorite agate hunting spot for many visitors to this small community. The agate here comes from the creeks that wash them into the ocean. On the Central Oregon Coast, the stretch of beach between Otter Rock and Newport is famous for agates, including the appropriately named Agate Beach. Further south you will find some good agate beaches between Yachats and Florence. If you’re looking for more crystal stuff. then look 👀 here The beaches stretching from the Road's End to Siletz Bay in Lincoln City, the coastline near Newport, Yachats and Florence are considered to be the most productive areas for collecting gem quality minerals that sparkle ✨ Oregon Rivers North Fork and South Fork of the Umpqua River Minerals may be found on the river gravel beds along the banks of the North and South Forks of the Umpqua River. There are small pullouts at North Fork Umpqua River along Highway OR 138 from the town of Glide, but a river access can be steep and slippery. For the South Fork of the Umpqua River, take Tiller Trail Highway, running east of Canyonville. Find pullouts with the riverbank access. Check the river gravel beds near I-5 under the bridge in the town of Myrtle Creek. Days Creek Bridge - South Umpqua River South Umpqua River - Days CreekThis site is a perfect roadside swimming hole and a great gravel bed to search quartz, agate, jasper, pyrite, and schist. South Umpqua Bridge Rockhounding A gravel bar on the northeastern bank of the river provides opportunities to find excellent minerals throughout the gravels including quartz, agate, jasper, pyrite, and schist. If you drive east, turn left as soon as you cross the bridge onto the dead-end road. You can park your car near the highway or drive to the end of the road where you will find a hardly visible trailhead between blackberry bushes. The path goes down and then turns right before it reaches the river. Follow the trail to the river gravels. The trail is very steep and can be slippery during rains, so it is not suggested for children and the elderly. Nickel Mountain Mine - Riddle Rockhounding Nickel Mountain in Douglas County is the only area in Oregon where garnierite and chrysoprase are produced. Though most land in the area is private property, the tailing pile of a closed nickel mine provides the opportunity to find limited amounts of garnierite and chrysoprase for general public. The site is located at Cow Creek Back County Byway 3 miles southwest of a small city of Riddle. Garnierite is a green-colored nickel ore mineral embedded within pockets of weathered ultramafic rocks. Chrysoprase is a variety of chalcedony also containing trace quantities of nickel salts that give minerals apple-green color. The Nickel Mountain Mine was discovered in 1864 and used to produce nickel ore. Mining operations started in 1882 and continued until 1987. Once the nickel was nearly depleted, the mine was repurposed for extracting slag and at the same time gave rock collectors a chance to get some unique minerals. The rockhounding spot consists of a big pile of rocks dumped right next to the gate. The mine owners allow collecting minerals along the outer side of the pile that faces the road. In order to extract minerals, you would need a hammer, a gad, and a chisel. Check traces of green color among rusty masses of limonite. Garnierite is more common here while chrysoprase is significantly rarer. There are no services or camping on the site. This site is located on Cow Creek Back Country Byway that connects the cities of Glendale, Riddle, Tri-City, and Interstate-5. The scenic route offers a journey through history with numerous spots for swimming, fishing, gold panning, and rockhounding. Sunstone (Oregon State Gemstone) Oregon’s state gemstone is a feldspar crystal that weathers out of certain lava flows in south-central Oregon. Sunstone color relates to the amount of copper in the stone – 20 parts per million for yellow, 200 parts per million for red. It may be collected on BLM land near Lakeview. Collecting on mining claims is prohibited. For information, contact BLM, 1000 South Ninth, PO Box 151, Lakeview, OR 97630, phone 541-947-2177. Agates & Jasper Agate and jasper are part of the chalcedony family, a variety of quartz. Distinctly banded specimens that differ in color and in degree of translucency are called agate; and mottled yellow, red, brown or green chalcedony is called jasper. These semiprecious gemstones can be collected at many sites along the Oregon coast, including Agate Beach at Newport, in some of the streams draining the Western Cascade, near the town of Antelope and around Prineville in central Oregon, near Hart Mountain and Lakeview in south-central Oregon, and at Succor creek. Thunderegg (Oregon State Rock) The thunderegg (geode) was named state rock by the 1965 Legislature after rockhounds throughout Oregon voted it first choice. The thunderegg is a structure created in welded tuff or perlitic rocks. Thunder-eggs range in diameter from less than one inch to over four feet. Nondescript on the outside, they reveal exquisite designs in a wide range of colors when cut and polished. They are found chiefly in Crook, Jefferson, Malheur, Wasco and Wheeler counties. Oregon’s state rock can be collected at fee and free sites in central and southeastern Oregon. Unimpressive on the outside, these spherical rocks contain colorful silicic material and, when sliced and polished, make beautiful collector’s items. Thunderegg Sites For information on places to collect in central Oregon, contact: Madras Chamber of Commerce, 197 SE 5th St., Madras OR 97741, phone 541-475-2350; Prineville Chamber of Commerce, 390 North Fairview, Prineville, OR 97754, phone 541-447-6304. In Southeastern Oregon, contact the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), 100 Oregon Street, Vale OR 97918, phone 541-473-3144, To find out more about Thunderegg Days (held for five days around the first of June), in Nyssa, contact the Nyssa Chamber of Commerce at 541-372-3091. Obsidian Obsidian is volcanic glass and can be flaked to an edge much sharper than any knife or razor edge. Obsidian can be collected in central Oregon at Glass Butte (a rockhounding site on BLM land) on Highway 20 between Bend and Burns. An enormous flow of obsidian can also be seen at Newberry Crater, south and east of Bend, but no collecting is permitted in this national monument. " Fossil & Mineral Collecting Collecting Fossils and Common Fossils You Can Find in the John Day Basin Rockhounding (BLM) Oregon Fossil Collecting Regulations The North American Research Group (NARG) provides a forum for individuals who possess a passionate interest in fossils. Central Oregon Rockhounding Map (BLM) Rockhounding on Public Land (BLM) Field identification of minerals for Oregon prospectors and collectors by Ray C. Treasher, 1940, 133 p. If this is old information, please forgive me.