Summer has officially arrived in Idaho. This means it's time to grab your rockhounding tools and begin to map out your top stone digging destinations throughout the Gem State.

For Idaho collectors of smoky quartz, one of the state's best-reported regions for finding these beautiful rocks is about 115 miles northwest of Twin Falls near Anderson Ranch Reservoir. The actual reported site is a few miles north of the reservoir near an area known as Featherville. Four-wheel drive is a great option to reach the final mile or so to this destination, which is surrounded by the Boise National Forest and near the south fork of the river.

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Smoky quartz is a highly desirable stone for collectors, according to rockhoundresource.com. The YouTube channel, The Rugged Rockhound, recently featured the site north of Anderson Ranch reservoir, and the host of the channel and a friend unearthed some terrific stones.

Smoky quartz is an almost transparent combination of minerals that some believe possesses healing properties. Idaho is a terrific state to hunt for these types of rocks, and most forest service and Bureau of Land Management sites allow for rockhounding.

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Just remember to never rock hunt on private lands, or territories known to possess Native American artifacts. That's when you can get into trouble and risk fines from the state. There are dozens of gems known to be found in Idaho, and there are many YouTube channels that showcase sites throughout the state.

Happy rock hunting!

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