The Rockhounding Guide for Beginners
Rock hounding is where one goes out and acquires or collects, rocks, minerals, gems, and or fossils from various locations. Many will call it rockhounding, others may call it amateur geology or rock and mineral collecting. Typically it is always considered a hobby.
A rock hound is a term to describe someone that collects rocks and minerals as a hobby. Being a rock hound will mean that someone will have some sort of a rock and mineral collection. This can seem a little strange for some people, but many will realize how addictive rockhounding can be when you go out on your first trip.
Before you decide to try this hobby out as a beginner, you may want to read up a little on what it takes to be a rock hound. It is important to be prepared and know a little about what your are doing and what to expect. This article will be a guide to give you more detail on how a beginner can get started with a rockhounding trip and how to prepare.
How do I start Rockhounding?
To start rockhounding you need to do the following:
- Research your Area
- Target Rocks and Minerals
- Plan How to Retrieve
- Map Out Your Path
- Acquire Rockhounding Tools
- Plan Your Rockhounding Trip
Let’s get into a little more detail on these topics to help you understand more about how to start rockhounding…
Research Your Area
The best way to find what it is you are looking for, is to know what is actually available in your area. What rocks and minerals are available to find will also depend on how far you are willing to travel.
Many rockhounders will to do a little research on what is accessible to them. The quickest way to find out what is available in your area, is to do an internet search for it. Typically, typing in “rockhounding” and your area, will yield you some sort of results.
If you are lucky in your search results, you can end up with locations and maps where people have gone before. These can help you to target certain types of rocks and minerals you are interested in. You may even be in an area where you can find some really fun stuff like gems and fossils.
The more you broaden your search for places to find rocks and minerals , the more will become available to you. After that, it is all up to you to plan that next trip to go and attempt to collect those rocks and minerals.
Target Rocks and Minerals
You will need to research what rocks or minerals you intend to look for while at a specific place. Knowing what rocks and minerals will look like will be important if you wish to have a successful rockhounding trip.
Not all rocks, minerals, gems, and fossils can be found in your near area. Expecting to look for certain rocks or minerals without knowing if they are in a particular area, will be no fun at all. So make sure you know what to expect to find while in the area.
If you are new to rockhounding and you wish to set up a rockhounding trip, you may find yourself with thoughts of what it is you really want to look for while out on that adventure. There are many different kinds of rocks, minerals, gems, and even fossils that can be found.
Many people are after the expensive minerals. Others like a certain color. It will be important to be informed if you wish to collect them.
We have a great list of many rocks and minerals to get you started in finding out what you may be interested in. Each rock and mineral in this list will go into some detail including uses, properties, color and worth.
Plan How to Retrieve
After you have determined what rock, mineral, gem, or fossil you are interested, you may be a little nervous on how to actually find and retrieve what it is you are aiming to collect.
Again, do a little more research on the actual area you plan to visit. You may find some videos and other information on where and how to retrieve the type of rock or mineral you are targeting for collection.
For example, one particular video showed me how to retrieve some geodes at a location I planned to visit. I had no idea that I should look for signs of where people had already been digging. I then would need to use a shovel to dig into the side of the hills where people have already been. Once the dirt was being removed, geodes would roll out onto the ground.
Without these kinds of details, I may have showed up thinking they were just laying on the ground.
The last thing you want is to show up to the site and get skunked, or go empty handed. You may end up going home thinking it was a horrible experience, wondering why you could not find anything.
Map Out Your Path
One of the bigger problems you might run into will be figuring out how to get to collection sites. Some authors have written some very good books on finding exactly where to go and give some great detailed instructions. I have found that google maps can be a very valuable tool to helping me find those rockhounding locations. At times I zoom in so close I can see exactly where I plan on parking my car or setting up camp.
Always keep in mind to not trespass on private property. Get permission if you need to. At times claims are posted in some areas. Do not be the one to “jump” someone’s claim. You can look up claims online to get more details if needed.
Acquire Rockhounding Tools
One of the basic Rockhounding tools for any serious rock collector will be a hammer, or a pick hammer. Some may call it a geologist hammer, but the basic use of this hammer is to smash rock with a more pointed end or a more flat end. This helps the rockhounder break into the rock to find what it is they are looking for.
Chisels and screw drivers are used for getting a little more delicate when extracting what you want from the rock. One can chip away smaller pieces of rock to expose what it is they are looking for. Typically in hopes that they don’t accidentally break what it is they are looking for.
Screens and pans are for looking through finer material, or smaller rocks. Like using a pan or screen when you are looking for gold, you can use those tools while hunting for other rocks and minerals.
Containers are used for holding your rocks. Once you have found the target rocks you are collecting, you will likely want to put them somewhere so as not to lose them. This is especially the case when you are looking for gems or gold. Finding that gem, only to drop it and have to find it again… well you get the picture.
If you are interested in learning more about rockhounding tools to take with you on a rockhounding trip, visit our article “Rockhounding Tools You Will Need for Your Next Trip”. These tools mentioned in this article are used by many rockhounders and are highly recommend for you next Rockhounding adventure.
Plan Your Rockhounding Trip
Now that you know where you are going, how to get there, what it is you are looking for and how to acquire it, and lastly what tools you will need, you can plan your trip.
I like to plan my trips around times where there will be less people there. Many like to do the weekend thing and if you take some time off from work during the week instead, you can find yourself all alone at a location.
As always, if you plan to do some camping or parking your RV, make sure you will not be breaking any laws like trespassing. If you do something wrong and get called out on it, be kind, plead your ignorance, and keep your cool. I have found people tend to respond much better to apologies from lack of knowledge than if you get heated and angry.
If there is a strong bit of advice I can give you while rockhounding, that would be bring plenty of water. If you are the agile type that likes to bang open a lot of rocks, you will need it!
Why Would You Want to get Started Rockhounding?
Many people go rockhounding as they simply love get beautiful rocks, minerals, gems, and fossils that exist on this wonderful planet. They also go rockhounding not only for the rocks, but also to get in some recreational fun while being out in nature with family and friends.
Rocks come in so many different colors, shapes, and sizes that they can be fairly breathtaking at times. With a collection of these beautiful wonders of the world, a rockhounder can access them at any time and even show them off to others. This showing off of rocks and minerals can come with a good story as well.
One of the foremost and best parts of Rockhounding is that typically younger kids love it. Planning a family vacation and packing up some Rockhounding gear is always a good way to fill some time with the family. Just keep in mind, those rocks may end up everywhere in the house.
A rockhounder typically loves to show off, or display, their rocks, minerals, gems, and fossils they have found. There are quite a few ways to display those rocks and minerals you find.
There can be many ways to show off your treasures. I have written an article about many of those ways “Displaying Rock and Mineral Collections“. One of the fun things in displaying your finds is to also share the adventure that went with it with family and friends. Who knows, they may want to join in on the next trip.
If you do join a good rockhounding club you can do a bit of sharing, or bragging if you will, with fellow rockhounder’s. Just like trading fishing stories it can be fun to share those stories, and show something for it to fellow rockhounder’s. In this, you can gain more knowledge about other places to hunt for rocks, minerals, gems, and fossils
Interested in Rockhounding?
If you think you might be interested in the wonderful hobby of Rockhounding, feel free to poke around this website. As mentioned, there are other articles that have been written, including a lot of information on various rocks and minerals.
Rockhounding is a nice way to relax, get a little exercise, and have fun with family, especially with kids. I don’t know many younger kids that don’t like cool looking rocks. In fact they may have a small collection of their own.
