Reddit reviews Rockhounding Utah (Rockhounding Series)

Utah is still a wonderful place for rockhounding and fossil hunting. Especially between Delta, UT and Tooele, UT (western border of the state).

Consider getting this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Rockhounding-Utah-William-Kappele/dp/1560444460

Talk to these folks:
http://thomasrangermtours.com

For the record, I don't get any financial gain from either of these recommendations.

Happy hounding!

I'm in the Provo area, where are you?

Keep an eye out for the 2013 Timpanogos Gem and Mineral Society show at the Spanish Fork Fair Grounds... They usually sell a small orange pamphlet with directions to some really good locations. It's part of the fund raiser so worth the $5-$7, and of course ask the guys at the booth they love chatting about rocks. Gem Fair also comes to the South Town Expo center a few times a year but that is 70% beads and fake crap.

My favorite site for locations...
http://user.xmission.com/~jbdaniel/index.htm
Lots of good detail and some not very active forums.

I like the book Rockhounding Utah , http://www.amazon.com/Rockhounding-Utah-William-A-Kappele/dp/1560444460

You can use Amazon preview and google books preview to check out the most of the sites. Also, Google the table of contents listings and you're sure to find plenty of articles about the particular site.


Personally my favorite places are as follows (google to find directions etc).

The Dugway Geode beds are excellent, get directions online, take plenty of water and a high clearance vehicle (needed for the last 1 mile or so). Drive around until you find the pits with the tractor. DO NOT dig the pit the tractor is next to, leave that for the claim owner. He is okay with rock hounds digging the other pits though.

Looking for trilobites near delta is fun, although you may want to try some of the commercial pits rather than the public one next to UDIGG. If you are spending the time and gas $ to get out there you may want pay to work to the prime areas. I've spent a lot of hours smashing rocks in the public quarry with very little luck. However, if you are in it for the adventure searching around online should lead you to some directions to some pretty decent sites.

I tumble a lot of the stuff I collect so I go after a lot of agate and jasper. There is some pretty good agate out near Wendover near the salt flats. Take the road that heads toward Silver Island Mountains (lots of directions online and in books). That road gets graded every so often and I have found some amazing stuff just sitting off the side of road in the berm. Drive slow with your widow rolled down and eyes peeled.

Last Chance Road on I-70 between Salina and Grand Junction has some really nice agate. Be warned though, the sign at the start of the road warning about washed out roads is SERIOUS. Last year it was impassable by all but the toughest 4x4's, I came upon on sorry traveler that had been stuck in the mud for 8 hours before a truck came along that was capable of pulling him out. If it's a dry year like now it's no problem with a car.

The "ghost town" area on Joy, UT in the Drum Mountains (near Delta) has some nice agate and jasper. Look for a location called Agate Hill, I find lots of red/yellow jasper further up the road closer to the hills.

Vernon and Salina wonder stone are super easy to collect and look pretty neat. It's won't polish all that well but it makes for great decorative pieces as is.

A really good place for collecting obsidian is on highway 257 between Delta and Milford. There is a turn off for a dirt road that leads to Kanosh, most directions online and in books will mention a sign that says "Kanosh 26" don't bother looking, it burned down a few years back. Keep an eye out the side of the road for black chunks of obsidian. When you start seeing a bunch of it get out and walk around. It's all over. Lots and lots of black stuff, some areas have some rather large mahogany chunks. If you climb of some of the hills you will find some very small pieces of really bright read obsidian, but all the deposits I have found are really fragmented smaller pieces.