11 legal places to look for quartz crystals in Arkansas — fees, seasons, and official sources below. The historic record adds the underground story: 29 entries.
Hours, fees, and access rules change. Verify with the operator or land agency before you go.
Avant Mining at Fisher Mountain
Mount Ida, AR
quartz crystalsquartz clusters
Fee dig · Fee · public dig $25/adult, $20 for 60+, $10 for ages 7-17, 6 and under free; tool kits $25 or bring your own, no power tools; guided private pocket digs run $1,000 to $10,000 per group with a 10% deposit
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Mena, AR
quartz crystalsquartz clusters
Fee dig · Fee, seasonal · $35 for a first visit and $25 for return visits, age 16 and up; children under 16 free with a paying adult, limit four free kids per paid adult; no minimum age
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Murfreesboro, AR
diamondamethystjasper
State park dig · Fee · $15/adult (over 12), $7 for ages 6-12, under 6 free; tickets available online or at the gate; tool rental and wash pavilion extra
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Crystal Seen Trading Co. crystal dig
Mount Ida, AR
quartz crystalsquartz clusters
Fee dig · Fee · $20/adult, $10 for ages 7-11, 6 and under free; group rates available
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Crystal Vista Recreation Area, Ouachita National Forest
Mount Ida, AR
quartz crystalsmilky quartz
Forest Service collecting area · Free · free - the Forest Service states plainly that Crystal Vista is not an active mine and there is no fee to collect quartz for personal use
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Jessieville, AR
quartz crystalsquartz clusters
Fee dig · Fee · $15 plus tax per day for age 10 through adult; children 9 and under free; school, church and scout groups are tax-exempt
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Ouachita National Forest general quartz collecting
Mount Ida, AR
quartz crystalsnovaculitesmall geodes
Public land, rules apply · Free with permit · no charge, but the forest requires advance contact with the applicable ranger district and says a permit may be required
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Oden, AR
quartz crystalsquartz clusters
Fee dig · Fee · reservation-based full-day and half-day digs; the per-person base rate is not published on the site - extending a half day runs $35/hour. Book through pineridgecrystals.com or call ahead for the current rate
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Jessieville, AR
quartz crystalsquartz clusters
Fee dig · Fee · day dig $25 for ages 15 and up, $20 for seniors 55+, $6 for ages 5-14, under 5 free; the zipline and mine tour are priced separately
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Story, AR
quartz crystalsquartz clustersfluorite
Fee dig · Fee · fees are not published by any source we could verify - the operator's former website is no longer under the mine's control. Phone (870) 867-0104 and confirm the price before you drive out
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Mount Ida, AR
quartz crystalsquartz clusterssmoky quartz
Fee dig · Fee · Crystal Forest dig $19/person for two hours on site with transportation included, two-person minimum; the tailings pile and the guided Phantom Mine dig are also offered but their prices are not published online - call (870) 867-2309
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Mineral history, not an invitation. This mineral history comes from a federal record of historic mines, prospects, and occurrences. It is not a list of places to collect. Historic mine sites are usually on private land, under active mining claims, or unsafe to enter — and often all three. The places you can actually collect are in the legal-access directory below.
The federal record lists 29 historic entries involving quartz crystals in Arkansas , clustered in Montgomery, Saline, Garland counties. That geography is the honest clue about which corners of the state carry the right rocks — read it as geology, then pick a legal place to test it.
Records from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System, a legacy federal database last revised August 2022 and no longer updated.
Start with the 11 legal places listed on this page — each shows what you can find, its fees, and its season, with a link to the official source. Hours, fees, and access rules change. Verify with the operator or land agency before you go.
Treat Arkansas's historic mines as history, not destinations. Most sit on private land or active mining claims, and old workings are dangerous even to walk. The mineral record on this page tells you what the ground holds — the directory tells you where you are welcome to look for it.