RocksdayRockhounding in Wyoming
BLM calls rockhounding a legitimate recreational pursuit on nearly all of Wyoming's 18 million acres of public land, which are open to everyone for limited amounts of rock material, free of charge. Wyoming's rules are mostly about claims: Wyoming is jade country, and a claim staked for jade does not close the ground to other minerals.
This guide is for general education only. It is not legal advice. Collecting rules change and differ by parcel. Before you dig, confirm land ownership and current regulations with the land manager (BLM, US Forest Service, state lands, state parks, or the fee-dig operator). National Park Service units generally prohibit collecting. Respect mining claims, tribal lands, and private property — when in doubt, do not collect. Last verified 2026-10-28.
Where to dig in Wyoming
Only sites whose land manager or operator publishes them for collecting. For recorded mineral occurrences across Wyoming, see the rockhounding map; an occurrence is not permission to collect.
Honeycomb Buttes Wilderness Study Area
Public collecting area · BLM Rock Springs Field Office
Badlands of colored bluffs and side canyons in a 39,908-acre BLM area, with petrified wood and fossilized turtle shell scattered across the buttes. BLM lists rockhounding among the activities here. It is a wilderness study area, so ask the Rock Springs office what is allowed before collecting.
Finds: Petrified wood, Fossilized turtle shell
Access: No fee; stay limit 14 days. From Farson, State Highway 28 east for 38 miles, then southeast on County Road 10-446 for about 10 miles to the area boundary.
Access and fees can change. Verify on the manager's official page before you go.
Wyoming rules
Claims and jade on BLM land in Wyoming
BLM Wyoming says patented claims are private land, while unpatented claims are still public land where rockhounds may collect as long as they do not interfere with mining or take the mineral the claim was located for. If a claim is located for jade, you may collect any mineral except jade. Claimants often locate for all locatable minerals, in which case rockhounds may not collect any. A claim owner may not legally charge fees for recreational use of unpatented claims.
- Petrified wood: up to 25 pounds plus one piece per day, no more than 250 pounds per calendar year without a permit.
- Hand tools only; explosives and power equipment are not acceptable for collecting minerals.
- Vertebrate fossils (bones, teeth, footprints) cannot be collected, and no fossil collected from public land can be sold, traded or bartered.
Federal land rules that apply in Wyoming
The same federal regulations apply in every state. The full explanation is on rockhounding rules on public land.
Bureau of Land Management land
On BLM public land you may collect reasonable amounts of rocks, mineral specimens and semiprecious gemstones for noncommercial purposes, generally without a permit. This does not apply on developed recreation sites, in areas that are closed and posted, where there are active mining claims or other authorized mineral uses, or where the mineral estate is privately owned. BLM can close or limit collecting in specific areas through its land use plans.
- Noncommercial only: the collector is not selling the items for a business or financial gain.
- No explosives, motorized or mechanical devices to aid collecting, except metal detectors.
- A permit may be needed if you use certain equipment, cause more than negligible surface disturbance, or camp longer than the posted limit.
Source: 43 CFR § 8365.1-5, Property and resources; Public Collection of Rocks, Mineral Specimens, and Semiprecious Gemstones on Public Lands for Noncommercial Purposes: FAQ (Feb. 28, 2024)
BLM national monuments and wilderness
Collecting reasonable amounts for noncommercial purposes is generally allowed on BLM land inside national monuments and wilderness areas, except for rocks and minerals that a monument's proclamation, law or plan names as monument objects. In designated wilderness you may use non-motorized hand tools only, with minimal surface disturbance.
Petrified wood on BLM land
BLM land is open to free collecting of petrified wood unless a Federal Register notice says otherwise, within fixed weight limits, for personal use only.
- Up to 25 pounds plus one piece per person per day.
- No more than 250 pounds per person per calendar year; quotas may not be pooled.
- No explosives or power equipment.
- It may not be sold or bartered to commercial dealers.
Fossils on BLM and National Forest land
Casual collecting covers common invertebrate and plant fossils only: a reasonable amount for personal, noncommercial use, picked from the surface or dug with non-powered hand tools, with negligible disturbance. It is allowed on BLM land and National Forest land that is not closed to it. National monuments within the National Forest System are closed. Fossils outside that definition, such as vertebrate bones and teeth, need a permit.
- BLM: up to 25 pounds of common invertebrate and plant fossils per person per day; a larger slab may be taken with hand tools to keep an embedded fossil intact.
- Fossils from National Forest land may not be sold, including casually collected ones.
- No casual collecting of any fossil on National Park Service or Fish and Wildlife Service land.
Source: 43 CFR §§ 49.800–49.810, Casual collecting of paleontological resources; 36 CFR §§ 291.11–291.12, Casual collecting on National Forest System lands
National Forest land
Forest Service mining rules list collecting mineral specimens with hand tools, gold panning, metal detecting and non-motorized hand sluicing among activities that need no notice of intent when they cause no significant surface disturbance. Forest Service rules also prohibit damaging or removing any natural feature, and individual forests set their own closures, so ask the ranger district before you collect.
Source: 36 CFR § 228.4, Plan of operations and notice of intent (National Forest mining rules); 36 CFR § 261.9, Property (National Forest prohibitions)
National parks and other NPS units
National Park Service rules prohibit possessing, removing or disturbing minerals, rocks, cave formations and fossils in park areas. Possessing or using a metal detector is prohibited too, unless it is broken down and packed away.
Source: 36 CFR § 2.1, Preservation of natural, cultural and archeological resources (National Park Service)
Mining claims
BLM says collecting is generally not allowed where there are active mining claims. Claim boundaries are not always marked on the ground, and some designated collecting areas have private claims around or inside them. Search the BLM Mineral & Land Records System, or ask the field office, before you dig.
Source: Public Collection of Rocks, Mineral Specimens, and Semiprecious Gemstones on Public Lands for Noncommercial Purposes: FAQ (Feb. 28, 2024); Sunstone Collection Area; Mineral & Land Records System (MLRS)
Artifacts and historic sites
Removing or disturbing archaeological, historic or cultural resources is prohibited on BLM, National Forest and National Park land. Leave arrowheads, tools and old structures where they are.
Source: 43 CFR § 8365.1-5, Property and resources; 36 CFR § 261.9, Property (National Forest prohibitions); 36 CFR § 2.1, Preservation of natural, cultural and archeological resources (National Park Service)
Collecting to sell
Collecting from BLM land for sale or barter to commercial dealers requires a contract or permit from the BLM first.
Abandoned mines, desert heat, flash floods, and wildlife are real hazards. Share a trip plan, carry water, and never enter unstable workings.
Rockhounding in Wyoming FAQ
What can you find rockhounding in Wyoming?
At the sites in this guide, the land managers list petrified wood and fossilized turtle shell.
Where can you rockhound in Wyoming?
This guide lists one site that land managers or operators publish for collecting: Honeycomb Buttes Wilderness Study Area (public collecting area).
Can you collect jade in Wyoming?
Only where no one has a claim on it. BLM Wyoming says that if an unpatented claim is located for jade, rockhounds can collect any mineral on it except jade, and that patented claims are private land.
Sources
We cite primary sources (federal regulations, state rules, and land-manager sites). Third-party listicles are not used as citations.
- Honeycomb Buttes WSA — Bureau of Land Management (accessed 2026-10-28).
- Rockhounding on Public Lands (WYNF-0007, May 2018) — Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming (accessed 2026-10-28).
- 43 CFR § 8365.1-5, Property and resources — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (accessed 2026-10-28).
- Public Collection of Rocks, Mineral Specimens, and Semiprecious Gemstones on Public Lands for Noncommercial Purposes: FAQ (Feb. 28, 2024) — Bureau of Land Management (accessed 2026-10-28).
- 43 CFR § 3622.4, Petrified wood collection rules — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (accessed 2026-10-28).
- 43 CFR §§ 49.800–49.810, Casual collecting of paleontological resources — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (accessed 2026-10-28).
- 36 CFR §§ 291.11–291.12, Casual collecting on National Forest System lands — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (accessed 2026-10-28).
- 36 CFR § 228.4, Plan of operations and notice of intent (National Forest mining rules) — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (accessed 2026-10-28).
- 36 CFR § 261.9, Property (National Forest prohibitions) — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (accessed 2026-10-28).
- 36 CFR § 2.1, Preservation of natural, cultural and archeological resources (National Park Service) — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (accessed 2026-10-28).
- Sunstone Collection Area — Bureau of Land Management (accessed 2026-10-28).
- Mineral & Land Records System (MLRS) — Bureau of Land Management (accessed 2026-10-28).
Last verified 2026-10-28. Corrections welcome: if a rule or site has changed, tell us and we'll re-verify.