4 legal places to look for garnets in Maine — fees, seasons, and official sources below. The historic record adds the underground story: 41 entries.
Hours, fees, and access rules change. Verify with the operator or land agency before you go.
Deer Hill Mineral Collecting Area
Stow, ME
amethystsmoky quartzfeldspar
Forest Service collecting area · Free with permit · free; a mineral collecting permit is required and is self-issued at the trailhead, valid for one day at one collecting site. The permit itself carries the volume limit and hand-tool terms, so read it when you sign
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Dig Maine Gems / Maine Mineral Adventures
West Paris, ME
tourmalineaquamarineberyl
Fee dig · Fee, seasonal · Mount Mica Sunday field trip $65/adult and $35 for ages 8-16; the West Paris sifting site is cheaper. Limited shovels, sifting screens, potato diggers and rinse water provided
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Lord Hill Mineral Collecting Area
Stoneham, ME
topazphenakitesmoky quartz
Forest Service collecting area · Free with permit · free; self-issued mineral collecting permit at the site, valid for one day at one collecting area. Collecting limits and tool rules are printed on the permit
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Auburn, ME
tourmalineapatitequartz
Public land, rules apply · Free · free, no permit and no special permission required; the City of Auburn owns and administers the park under municipal ordinance
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 41 historic entries involving garnets in Maine , clustered in Oxford, Sagadahoc, Androscoggin 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Records from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System, a legacy federal database last revised August 2022 and no longer updated.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 4 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 Maine'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.