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| TREASURE HUNTING IN & AROUND: WASHINGTON Add what you know about this area to create a handy guide for other treasure hunters |
| THE BEST PLACES TO HUNT Cities and regions can have multiple good spots to go: Add details to build a complete guide. |
| Location #17: Little Naches General description: It was an awesome trip! Thanks for all the help Dan. My kids had a wonderful first experience hunting and finding eggs and crystals. We love adventures. It was fun meeting new people that share common interests and are willing to help you learn. We really do appreciate it. Yesterday one of my daughters ended up in a spot and was finding lots of eggs. The other daughter dug and dug and wasn't finding much...then we got in a good hole and found a bunch of green clay. She found a bunch of quartz. Girls love crystals. We dug and dug and didn't think we would ever get the crystal rocks out. It just kept growing and growing. After digging (for what seemed like hours and hours) I asked Dan to take a look and see if he had any suggestions for us or could help us. He looked at it and said that we needed dynamite! He thought hammers and chisels would help, but did we have those...NO. But then Dan couldn't stand just looking at those crystals and especially couldn't stand the thought of leaving them there. He had found a nifty tool with a curved pry part to it. Dan settled down there in that hole. Did some smacking, Did some scrapping and then put his brute strength into action prying. Next thing you know...POP....we had part of the crystal rock. My girls were delighted. Then Dan dug around a little more and POP..crystal rock number 2. My girls were ecstatic. Wendy | How to get there: |
| Grade this location: (A to F): A | GPS coordinates: N 47degrees, 01.339 W 121 degrees 05.677 Driving Directions: If you're coming from Yakima it's off of highway 410, between milepost 91 and 92. Take FR Rd 19, along the Little Naches River. Go about 2 miles to NF Rd 1901. It's a right turn, back toward Yakima. Go just over 4 miles up this road, staying on this road. Don't turn off on any other roads. There's a large parking area on the left hand side of the road. Trail takes off from the far side and goes up a little hill, levels off, goes up another hill and you're there. Can't miss the digging site, since it looks like it's been hit by artillery shells. Lots of stuff laying all over, some worth taking home too. For digging tools, I take a paleo pick and shovel. Bugs may or may not be a problem so take some bug juice. |
| Handy to bring along: 1. Water - it can be hot 2. Hand pick 3. Shovel 4. Rock hammer 5. Bucket 6. Chisel 7. Pry bar | Helpful notes to newcomers: Definitely wear very bright colors if you go in the fall, anywhere! Fall is hunting season. The walk is not bad at all. About 0.3 miles in, with a couple steep little hills on a good trail. You also have the short option, which is straight up the slope from below the digging site. It's quite steep and shaley. Having gone that route a time or two, I do not recommend it. Dan |
| Location #18: Boulder Creek General description: Agate Geodes | How to get there: From Seattle, go north on I-5 to Mt Vernon. Take Exit 230 on State Highway 20. Go past Sedro Wooley and take Baker Lake Road to Baker Lake. |
| Grade this location: (A to F): | GPS coordinates: |
| Handy to bring along: 1. Rock hammer 2.Hand tools My personal favorite is a Small Pick - Mattock 3. Rock bag | Helpful notes to newcomers: Located 15 to 25 miles north of Concrete, Washington. Campground is adjacent to Boulder Creek. Restrooms are provided. Boulder Creek Group consists of group site #1 only, the fee is $40 per night for 1 to 25 people. There are hiking opportunities nearby. The campground is walking distance to the lake. |
| Location 19: Spruce Ridge General description: Ankerite, Barite, Pyrite and Quartz (crystals, both sceptered and doubly terminated. Some sceptered crystals are amethystine) occur in a brecciated granodiorite. Spruce Ridge has become famous for producing some of the best pyrite and quartz combination specimens in the world. | How to get there: North Bend, Washington Middle fork of the Snoqualmie River. The property is located on the steep north sides of the rugged valley of the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River, northeast of North Bend. Access is gained by driving a rough, but scenic, route up a forest road, then hiking a very steep route through the forest. Collecting is allowed on a fee basis only. There is usually a waiting list to get on these trips. Spruce Ridge is owned and mined by Geology Adventures. A caretaker on the property prevents unauthorized visitors. http://www.geologyadventures.com/ |
Grade this location: (A to F): A+!  and Jeff Schwartz (right) at Washington Minerals: http://www.washingtonminerals.com | GPS coordinates: |
| Handy to bring along: 1.Rock Hammer 2.Hand Pick 3.Rock bag | Helpful notes to newcomers: |
Location #20: Grandy Creek  General description:jade, garnierite, olivine, serpentine, botryoidal chalcedony, peridote and lots of green chert (jasper if you will), some botryoidal nephrite has been found as well | How to get there:From Seattle head North on I-5. take exit 230 on State Highway 20. Go past Sedro Wooley and take Baker Lake Road to Grandy Lake. Mapquest link |
| Lots of pictures of the material can be found here:Grandy Creek wiki album and here: Grandy Creek wiki album #2 Feel free to add your own to the albums. Grandy Creek Jade Gallery (pages 1-5 also have material from this locality) and the new one up soon Grandy Creek Jade Gallery 2.0 | GPS coordinates: |
| Handy to bring along: 1.Bucket/bag 2.Rock pick 3.Lunch! 4.Serpentinite detection kit (i.e an old pocket knife and a good magnet) 5.Machette 6.Spray bottle | Helpful notes to newcomers:The easiest access to the main creek draining Grandy Lake is just past mile post 4 (marked as "B" on the map link above), but anywhere you can park and scramble/bushwhack down is good (and less picked over). If you are feeling adventurous you can bushwhack up either the west or east fork. The logging road up the east fork has been gated and has been locked every time I have gone up there. Late Spring and into the summer the lower creek is over-run with bamboo, just plow through it. Honestly, although I've found a lot of jade there in the lower creek area, there really isn't a lot. And they are often just small display specimens. The creek down there may just be picked over, so if you are a serious jade hunter, you should hike up either of the forks. JadeJunkee's profile and pages are devoted to finding the green stuff in Washington, more information can be found there. |
Location #21: Deer Creek,Oso   | How to get there: Mapquest Link: "B" = bridge "C" = Lake Cavanaugh Rd. with other possible access points(with permission) as well as being the route from Mount Vernon. On the other side of the creek there is an area that is public access (i.e. not private land) where the road runs up against the creek (Mapquestlink), but parking is limited to pulling over on the grass, and you have to wade across the creek to get to the gravel bars. Further stretches of the upper creek are difficult to access Fs 17 and 18, when not snowed in, are good starting points, but the jade bearing gravels are a bit lower down the creek. There are also some logging roads (gated private) around the Lake Cavanaugh area that could be exploited to gain access to the upper reaches, but we are talking a hike here. The very upper creek doesn't seem to be jade bearing at all (though I could be wrong). Access would be by 17/18 as above, at the bridge across the creek, but the terrain is steep, not a fun outing. There are suppose to be old jade and hydrogrossular mines somewhere above and along deer creek, but their location is unknown to me right now, though I don't believe there are any current claims. However if you see a claim post, respect it. It is a felony to collect on them! |
| Deer Creek Album of roughs and rocks Album of worked jade and hydrogrossular from deer creek Collection with notation more Deer Creek Jade Jade Gallery Page 8 and a new one up soon Deer Creek Jade Gallery 2.0 | GPS coordinates: |
| Handy to bring along: 1.Spray bottle 2.bucket 3.rock pick 4. Serpentinite detection kit (i.e. an old pocket knife and a good magnet) | Helpful notes to newcomers:Easiest access is under the bridge. Most areas along the bottom of the creek are private property, so be respectful. Altho the locals seem to be friendly to rock hounds. There is an individual who runs tours up the creek for a fee, though he may be retiring from that endeavor soon. Rock clubs also make Deer Creek a site for the group outings often. Don't lick the rocks! Deer creek had a problem with old septic tanks, so parts of the lowest areas of the creek still smell a little funny at times, especially around the old rail bridge. But the areas past most of the settled land are fine for swimming . The creek is regulated for any collecting other than unassisted rockhounding. That is, no backhoes! JadeJunkee's profile and pages are devoted to finding the green stuff in Washington, more information can be found there. |
| Location #22: Lewis River graphic Rhyolite. This is hard stuff and takes a great polish. This was listed in Jackson's little book many years back. I stopped by in early May of this year and yarded out another 20 lbs. The colors range from cream-white to pink, red, purple, green. Many pieces will display pictures when cut. I have a small tumbled piece collected back in the 90s that displays a letter 'B'; my last name initial  General description: | How to get there: Exit I-5 at Woodland and take the Lewis River Road; SR-503; continue past Cougar following the main FS road. When you reach the middle Falls, there is a FS roadoff to the left. The material is in the roadcut a few 100 yards up. There is a nice, primitive campsite a few miles up the main road; after crossing Quartz Creek. Firerings; you bring the rest Main road is paved except for one small patch near the collecting site. Any vehicle can make the trip. |
| Grade this location: (A to F): | GPS coordinates: -121.86783, 46.17039 |
| Handy to bring along: 1.Hammer 2.Chisels/prybars 3.Small shovel/trowel | Helpful notes to newcomers: The last stop for supplies is a small place; Northwoods at the east end of Swift Reservoir |
| Location #23: Tower Hill Monroe (Local beach, park, etc) General description: | How to get there:Google Map "B" on the map is where the dirt road starts...also where the first gate is. It is sometimes open. if not it isn't too bad of a hike to the collecting spots. "C" on the map is a good locality for jaspers in matrix. The road it is by is blocked by two ditches. just behind that you will see a small mound and some exposed bedrock. Digging anywhere in that mound (or similiar ones in this area) is your best bet. "D" on the map is where you can find the agate...some blue. i found it best to dig into the large mound here rather than working the bedrock of the cliff surrounding it. |
| Grade this location: (A to F): | GPS coordinates: |
| Handy to bring along: 1.bucket of water 2.shovel 3.pick | Helpful notes to newcomers: there is no water, so it is a good idea to bring your own to wash off the rocks...if the gate is open I would suggest bringing a bucket of water with you. the dirt is a sticky red mud. bring shovels too. |
| Location #24: (Local beach, park, etc) General description: | How to get there: |
| Grade this location: (A to F): | GPS coordinates: |
| Handy to bring along: 1. 2. 3. | Helpful notes to newcomers |
| Location#25: (Local beach, park, etc) General description: | Details on how to get there: |
| Grade this location: (A to F): | GPS coordinates: |
| Handy to bring along: 1. 2. 3. | Helpful notes to newcomers: |
| Location#26: (Local beach, park, etc) General description: | Details on how to get there: |
| Grade this location: (A to F): | GPS coordinates: |
| Handy to bring along: 1. 2. 3. | Helpful notes to newcomers: |
| Location#27: (Local beach, park, etc) General description: | Details on how to get there: |
| Grade this location: (A to F): | GPS coordinates: |
| Handy to bring along: 1. 2. 3. | Helpful notes to newcomers: |
| Location#28: (Local beach, park, etc) General description: | Details on how to get there: |
| Grade this location: (A to F): | GPS coordinates: |
| Handy to bring along: 1. 2. 3. | Helpful notes to newcomers: |
| VIDEO FROM THIS AREA Upload a YouTube or Google video of geocaching or treasuring hunting excursions from this area. |
| PHOTOS FROM THIS AREA Upload pictures of your geocaching or treasuring hunting excursions from this area. |
pvjjh |
Latest page update: made by pvjjh
, Jul 6 2012, 1:28 AM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
added driving directions and gps
- pvjjh
144 words added view changes - complete history) |
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Keyword tags:
deer creek
grandy creek
hydrogrossular garnet
jade
national directory
nephrite
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More Info: links to this page
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| washatonian | Attention Moderators (page: 1 2 3 4) | 61 | Oct 31 2010, 9:27 AM EDT by ModerndayEdison | ||
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Thread started: Oct 12 2010, 10:26 AM EDT
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What happened to our Washington collecting sites #1 thru #16??????????????? They have dissapeared.
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| maryiwalton | help | 1 | Oct 3 2010, 8:47 PM EDT by muddugger | ||
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Thread started: Oct 8 2009, 1:19 PM EDT
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need to know where at in lewis county washington near glenoma and morton to go rockhounding
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Showing 2 of 2 threads for this page
