This post is part of our record of fun things to do along the way. We are hoping that the information in these short posts, will help you in planning awesome adventures of your own… and help us in remembering and recording some of the things we’ve done while on the road
Fairburn Agates are a beautiful and rare form of agate found in Southwest South Dakota. They have well defined bands of color and are so vivid they hardly seem natural. They are also super rare.
While in South Dakota, we took a few days to hunt for “Fairburns” in the well known (to rock hounds) agate beds beside French Creek in Fairburn South Dakota.
There is free camping here, with picnic tables, trash cans and a pit toilet. If you want to camp a bit closer to the agate beds, dispersed camping sites line the rough road closer in. The beds themselves are miniature “badlands” with a variety of awesome treasures weathering out of them.
In two days’ of poking about the hills and washes, we found agate, jasper, chert, petrified wood, and rose quartz– perfect for polishing. I (Perri) even found one very small Fairburn Agate(!)
Even better was the adventure of roaming this vast and subtly beautiful land. The hills and eroded patches of badlands go on for miles. We highly recommend stopping here if you are nearby!
A few things to know:
You will not be alone. This is a relatively popular rockhounding area. In the two days we were there (in September) we ran into about 6 others hunting the elusive agates. Rock hounds are a friendly lot and we enjoyed chatting with these folks and checking out their finds.
There are rattlesnakes and cactus in this area, so make sure that you can see where you are stepping. Don’t reach under rock ledges or anywhere else you can’t see. Some folks wear gaiters here to keep the “cheatgrass” from sticking to their socks.
There is no cell reception in the campground or agate beds. We were able to get one bar (Verizon) at the turn off for the camping area.
Keep an eye on the weather. Aside from head-pounding heat during the peak of summer, this roads through the agate beds, even the beds themselves, are impassable during wet weather.
Cows! This spot part of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland, a “multiple use” area. When we were there, a curious herd of black angus heifers stopped by in the evening. They interested in Milo (which he did not much appreciate). Barking only brought them in closer. And they took some time admire Steven too.
