abalonehound
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2021
Posts: 14
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Post by abalonehound on Feb 27, 2021 17:24:18 GMT -5
Hi friends! I'm going to be taking a road trip in May from San Francisco, CA to Winchester, Oregon, and I'd like to make it a 2-3 day trip with several stops to rockhound instead of a 9-hour straight drive.
With that, I'm looking for some recommendations for specific areas or locations along the path for rockhounding. The path I'll be taking is through Shasta Trinity National Forest and Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, and I'd prefer to have recommendations that stick along this route, though I am willing to go an hour or two out of the way for a very promising tip.
I'm really not looking for mining spots as I have no mining experience. Mostly, I'd like notes for areas where I can safely rockhound on the surface, such as gravel beds or creeks.
My interest currently is mainly in agates and jasper, though I'd be really interested in fossils as well, particularly tooth fossils and petrified wood!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,681
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 1, 2021 14:17:23 GMT -5
All river and creek areas! Gold in most of the Northern Cali and southern Oregon areas!! Lots of other rock materials also, eyes to the ground and have fun..
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Post by stephan on Mar 2, 2021 10:26:52 GMT -5
Don't forget to look for jade in those rivers
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,652
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Post by Tommy on Mar 2, 2021 11:45:11 GMT -5
Hi friends! I'm going to be taking a road trip in May from San Francisco, CA to Winchester, Oregon, and I'd like to make it a 2-3 day trip with several stops to rockhound instead of a 9-hour straight drive. With that, I'm looking for some recommendations for specific areas or locations along the path for rockhounding. The path I'll be taking is through Shasta Trinity National Forest and Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, and I'd prefer to have recommendations that stick along this route, though I am willing to go an hour or two out of the way for a very promising tip. I'm really not looking for mining spots as I have no mining experience. Mostly, I'd like notes for areas where I can safely rockhound on the surface, such as gravel beds or creeks. My interest currently is mainly in agates and jasper, though I'd be really interested in fossils as well, particularly tooth fossils and petrified wood! The route up hwy 5 towards Redding does not have a lot of super productive spots where camping and rockhounding can be accomplished - the one that comes to mind is not very far into your journey - Black Butte lake/Stony Cree/Burris Creek but the two main campgrounds at the lake have been closed for covid ... which makes zero sense but I digress. Might be worth keeping an eye on that location for campgrounds reopening. Gaumer's rock shop in Red Bluff is a must stop if they are open. Once you get to and through Redding and start climbing through Shasta Trinity you are in a granite formation and aren't going to find much until you come down the other side and get up closer to the OR border where there is a lot of petrified wood etc. Copco Dam for a clear agate with black inclusions like Montana agate but mostly underwater or picked out/private property, etc. So much of the area from Shasta to Oregon is private property that it gets tough to find places to hound OR places to pull out and boondock if that's what you want to do. If you decided to head up the north eastern California route instead there are a lot more options that are worth a look - Cedar Mountain is a good walk for agates, Cedarville area for pet wood, Alturus area Davis/Lassen Creek for obsidian (if it's open). Grab a rockhounding guide book and that can at least point you in the right directions.
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NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
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Post by NevadaBill on Mar 3, 2021 14:27:48 GMT -5
Most of the large creeks or rivers North of San Francisco can be absolute gold mines for gemstones. The trick however is finding some of which is not located on private property; as much of it in fact covers private land. Knocking on some doors probably would not hurt.
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