Autumn is a great time for rockhounding in the southwest. Places that were way too hot a few weeks back are suddenly crisp and sunny. After an unexpected October heatwave, we gloried in the pleasant weather we found in central Nevada. The lovely weather followed us to Utah, where we enjoyed more of the same, at least for a time.
Better still, we found ourselves in a rockhound’s paradise.
There are so many awesome spots in this area, we had to limit ourselves — a bit. No way were we getting caught in another Utah snowstorm, or running out of time to see the ruins and high deserts further south — right?
Actually both of those things happened. But that’s a story for another time. In this post, we’ll share info about the rock-related places we visited over a few weeks worth of Autumn travel.
Trilobite Digging at Oak Springs, Nevada
We didn’t plan to visit this site. In fact, we didn’t even know about it. But driving across the remote desert of eastern Nevada, we caught sight of the BLM’s helpful sign and made a sharp left turn.
This is a great casual rockhounding/lunch spot, easily accessible by passenger car. The BLM provides picnic tables, a pit toilet, an information kiosk and map, even a box of loaner digging tools. The trail to the digging area is about a quarter mile long and easy to follow.
There are six types of trilobites that can be found here. They lived in this area roughly 500 million years ago, when most of Nevada was a shallow sea.
As the sign says, it’s hard to find an awesome fossil at Oak Springs. Most of the trilobites are in pieces. The heads are numerous, the bodies less so. Not likely you’ll find a whole one. But it sure is fun trying!
The fossils here are in crumbly layers of shale that are easy to split with the tools provided, or you can bring your own. We had a rock hammer, trowel, shovel and wedge, and these were more than adequate. To find the trilobites, dig down to untouched layers of shale, pull them out and split them…. or wander around and look through the smaller leaves of shale scattered over the surface. There are trilobite heads everywhere!
Also, free camping is allowed in the parking area and there are many BLM roads in this part of Nevada if you want to camp with more privacy.
Fossil Mountain, Utah
If you like remote, wide open spaces this spot is for you! We were here in mid-October and we saw no one — not a single truck, car or OHV — in three days.
Maybe this is because getting to Fossil Mountain is an adventure in itself. To get here, you’ll have to drive 14 miles of dirt roads and traverse at least six rocky washes. Some of these are a piece of cake. But some of them are require high clearance and nerves of steel. We put together a video about this place, including footage of SteVAN crossing the very worst of the washes, on our instagram, if you want to see what you are in for.
There’s plenty of space to boondock here. Just set up camp and walk toward the mountain range that looms to the West. Fossil Mountain has four strata of fossil-bearing rocks, all from the Ordovician Period when eastern Utah was a shallow sea. There are many marine fossils, mostly brachiopods but also some gastropods. Reportedly, trilobites are here, but we didn’t find any. This is a super helpful website if you want more info about the geology of the area.
The different strata are easily recognizable, and it it is great fun to walk here, noting changes in rock layers. The closer you get to Fossil Mountain, the more fossils you’ll see. We camped down in the valley (had enough driving that day) and walked into the fossil zone.
However you do it, this is a beautiful remote place, perfect for Autumn exploring. Don’t expect cell service though. We felt lucky to have our Starlink Satellite here. If we got stuck in one of those broad, rocky washes, at least we’d be able to call for help!
Also, if you are really keen on trilobites and don’t find them here, there’s a fee digging site farther east. We didn’t go. It was a bit pricey for us, and we were in a hurry to pick up our absentee ballots in Delta, UT and send them back to Florida ….lot of good that did.
Sunstone Knoll, Deseret, Utah
Though we knew about this spot from our trusty Rockhounding Utah Book, we didn’t plan on stopping here. Sunstones aren’t really our thing, I guess. But after voting, and restocking food and propane, we were on the hunt for a place to camp, and it was getting late in the day. So we checked out the boondocking options at Sunstone Knoll. This out-of-the-way spot offered a peaceful night’s rest… and since we were there, why not do a little rockhounding?
Sunstones are tiny, shiny, champagne-colored crystals. The knoll itself is a Pleistocene-era volcanic vent. The semiprecious gems are scattered all over it and on the plains surrounding it too. The best way to spot them is to walk towards the sun and look for twinkles in the dry grass.
In a few minutes of searching, we had handfuls of them. Not sure what we’ll do with them (aquarium gravel comes to mind) but they were fun to find, and we got a good night’s sleep too.
Obsidian Hunting, Black Rock Desert, Utah
The obsidian collecting area in Western Utah is vast and beautiful. It’s just south of Sunstone Knoll, and after filling our pockets with teeny crystals, we stopped here for a quick look around… and breakfast. Gotta have breakfast. We found more obsidian in a few hours than we could ever hope to carry.
This spot is relatively easy to drive to (only a few miles from pavement on relatively smooth roads). Chunks of black obsidian litter the ground, glinting in the sunlight. We also found snowflake obsidian and small bits of mahogany obsidian as well.
It was a fun morning, and an easy rockhounding adventure. There are acres of dispersed boondocking spots in this area. So, if obsidian (or free, semi-arid grassland/desert camping) is your thing, you can hang here to your heart’s content. And you are pretty well guaranteed to find obsidian.
Agate and Jasper near Hanksville, Utah
Hanksville, Utah is a rockhound’s paradise! In every direction, there are interesting (and beautiful) geological features. Last time we were here, we camped just outside Goblin Valley State Park, explored some awesome slot canyons, and found some agate too.
Back then, we were newbie nomads, and we ended up getting snowed in and having to make a run for the warmth of Southern Arizona. This year, temperatures were lovely…at first.
But October is a fickle month, and by the time we reached Hanksville, the wind was ripping and the sky threatened rain… or hail or snow or all of these in quick succession. We knew we didn’t have long at this latitude. But we did turn stop near Factory Butte to do a little rockhounding.
How could we not? We found this spot back in chilly 2022 (thanks to our trusty Rockhound’s Guide) and couldn’t resist another quick stopover. There are large colorful chunks of agate, jasper and chert all over the hills here, along with pieces of petrified wood. As with most of the spots in this post, you can camp here for free. You can do that almost anywhere around Hanksville, actually. We only spent a few hours in this spot then hustled on to town to do our laundry.
Petrified Wood of Little Egypt, Utah
Little Egypt Geological Area would be a great place to visit even if there wasn’t agate and petrified wood hidden here. Entrada sandstone forms cool, climbable hoodoos and other formations. And, if you venture into the deep, rocky canyons beyond the geological area, there are even more colorful layers of rock to gawk at, many from the Jurassic and Cretaceous time periods. Also: petrified wood, giant logs of it! We didn’t collect any of these but they were really amazing to see. Also: free camping.
Due to van-rattling winds, we set down right in the relatively sheltered Little Egypt parking area. In the three days we spent here, only two cars stopped by. Other than that: peace and quiet… and rocks. Lots of beautiful rocks. There are many dispersed sites around the southern edge of the geological area, if parking lot camping isn’t your thing.
The weather was all over the place while we were here, alternately violently windy and pleasantly balmy. We watched snow accumulate on the Henry Mountains to the east and even got spit on by some aggressive hail. But we also climbed and explored and rockhounded all over the place! I imagine that a more ambitious hound could explore the network of dirt roads in this area and find some amazing things.
Explore More!
Really, there is no end to the adventures you can have in the wild places of Nevada and Utah. Aside from rockhounding, we poked around Pahranagat Lake Wildlife Refuge, Nevada, Cathedral Gorge State Park, Nevada, hiked just outside the bounds of Capitol Reef National Park, in Hovenweep National Park, all over the canyons of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Bears Ears National Monument, and in Glen Canyon, among many others.
Really, just go…. but watch that tricky Autumn weather!
