There Is No Better Place To Go Rockhounding Than Southern Idaho

The one thing we do not lack in Idaho is rocks. If rockhounding is your thing, there is no better place to be than here.

If you're new to rockhounding, we're talking about amateur geology. Thank you Wikipedia for breaking it down for us.

Amateur geology (known as rockhounding in the United States and Canada, and regionally known as rock hunting in southern Oregon) is the recreational study and hobby of collectingrocks and mineral specimens from their natural environment.

There are do's and don'ts when it comes to what the state of Idaho will let you do with its rocks. Here's the 2 second explanation from the Idaho Department of Lands.

All state endowment trust lands are open to casual exploration for gemstones and mineral specimens, provided the lands are not under a valid exploration location or mineral lease. Information regarding status of state endowment trust lands can be obtained from the IDL field offices.

In Southern Idaho, we have some completely epic locations to poke around the geology. City of Rocks, Craters of the Moon, Hagerman. But, the one place you HAVE to go to if you love star garnets is the Emerald Creek Garnet Area near Clarkia, Idaho. It's closed for the season now, but put this on your rock bucket list for spring 2017.

So many rocks in Southern Idaho and so little time. Do keep in mind that many of our rocks in Southern Idaho do have snakes underneath them, so there's that.