MAP: Hotspots To Find Opals, Agates In Southern Idaho

With April just days away, all the wonderful "seasons" that coincide with the warmer weather are just about underway. Grilling season, boating season, camping season, and yes, rock hunting season are all so close we can feel it.

For most outdoor Idaho activities that include water, currents and levels might still be too high and rough in some areas of the Gem State. The shallower, calmer waters of the state's great rivers is still a couple of months away, but conditions for activities such as gem hunting are already prime.

I'm a big fan of the outdoors. Kayaking, camping, gold panning, and float tubing are all things my family and friends get together to do typically during the late-spring and summer months. For me, the hunt is what makes rockhounding so much fun, and there's no state in America that offers more stones and gems than Idaho.

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There Are An Incredible Amount Of South Idaho Spots To Find Hidden Gems

The topic of rockhounding comes up on websites like Meta and Reddit quite often. I found myself reading a chat chain the other day where one Idahoan asked other state residents to chime in on where the best places to find stones are. The responses offered up some great advise for novice, as well as seasoned, stone adventurers.

READ MORE: Spots To Hunt In Idaho For A World's Most Cherished Gemstone

I just came across this Idaho Guide To 99 of the State's Best Rockhounding Sites that was published back in 2018, and I thought I'd pass it along. This detailed, helpful map has been viewed well over two million times. There are several locations pinpointed on the map from Pocatello to Boise, and everywhere in between.

"I live in Boise and like the Owyhees or Gem County for easy gratification. Opals and Agates can be found in the lava beds below Squaw Butte!," said one Reddit user.

Happy rockhounding! Remember to never enter private property while searching for stones in Idaho.