Gold panning, rockhounding and fossil collecting laws in Arizona
Arizona is one of the best places in the country to hunt gold nuggets, fire agate and petrified wood, and a lot of it can be done without any paperwork. Most of the open desert is BLM land, where panning, drywashing, metal detecting and collecting rocks for personal use count as casual use.
The traps are elsewhere. State Trust Land looks like the same open desert but is closed to collecting, every state park bans panning and metal detectors, wildlife refuges and military ranges are closed, and a suction dredge always needs paperwork. This page covers what is specific to Arizona; the federal rules that apply everywhere are on our national rules page.
Last checked: October 2026. This page explains the rules in plain English, with the exact words of the law next to each rule; it is not legal advice. Laws change, so check with the agency before you go.
In short
- BLM land: gold panning, hand sluicing, hand or battery drywashers, metal detecting and collecting rocks for personal use need no permit. The BLM in Arizona sets the personal limit for rocks, minerals, common fossils and petrified wood at 25 pounds a day and 250 pounds a year.
- Suction dredges: never casual use on BLM land in Arizona. You need a notice or a plan of operations filed with the BLM (BLM Arizona ↗).
- State Trust Land: the recreation permit does not cover collecting. Removing rock, minerals or fossils from Trust land is a crime under A.R.S. 37-501 ↗.
- State parks: no panning, no metal detecting and no collecting, in any park (Arizona State Parks ↗).
- Tonto National Forest: about 10 pounds of rocks a day; drywashers, highbankers and dredges need the forest's authorization (Tonto NF ↗).
- Kofa National Wildlife Refuge: rock collecting only in the Crystal Hill Area, by hand, 10 pieces or 10 pounds a year. The other refuges are closed (Kofa NWR ↗).
- Reservations: collecting needs the tribe's permission; on the Navajo Nation, a permit (Navajo Parks ↗).
What you can do, land by land
BLM land (most of the open desert)
- Gold pan: Casual use, no permit
- Hand sluice: Casual use, no permit
- Drywasher: Hand or battery; engines under 10 hp fed by hand tools are allowed
- Highbanker or pump: Not named in the BLM Arizona guidance: ask the field office
- Suction dredge: Notice or plan of operations, never casual use
- Metal detector: Allowed, except in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area
- Rocks and minerals: 25 lb a day, 250 lb a year, personal use
- Meteorites: Surface finds, hand tools and detectors, 10 lb a year, not for sale
What the agency says
“You cannot engage in suction dredging at a Casual Use level on BLM-administered lands in Arizona.”
— BLM Arizona, operator information for casual use, notice and plan level operations ↗
BLM national monuments (Agua Fria, Ironwood Forest, Sonoran Desert, Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni and others)
Closed to new mining claims. The BLM's Arizona rockhounding brochure says collecting is prohibited in its national monuments, while the BLM's national FAQ of 2024 says collecting is generally allowed except for the objects a monument protects. Treat monuments as closed and ask the managing office.
What the agency says
“Collecting in BLM national monuments is prohibited.”
BLM wilderness areas
Closed to new mining claims, and motors and wheeled transport are out. Hand collecting only.
What the agency says
“Motorized equipment and equipment used for mechanical transport are generally prohibited”
Tonto National Forest
- Gold pan: Small scale: ground disturbance no bigger than a 32 oz water bottle
- Hand sluice: Digging with hand tools needs the forest’s permitting: ask the district
- Drywasher: Needs the forest’s authorization
- Highbanker or pump: Needs the forest’s authorization
- Suction dredge: Needs the forest’s authorization
- Metal detector: Not in wilderness areas
- Rocks and minerals: About 10 lb per person per day
- Fossils: Common invertebrates from the surface, personal use
What the agency says
“Generally, a reasonable amount is up to 10 pounds per person per day for rocks/minerals”
Other national forests (Prescott, Coconino, Kaibab, Coronado, Apache-Sitgreaves)
We found no forest-specific limits online. The national Forest Service rules apply: panning, non-motorized sluicing, metal detecting and battery drywashers need no notice; motors and dredges need a notice of intent to the district ranger. Lynx Creek, near Prescott, is a special case: see below.
State Trust Land
Not public land. The recreation permit covers activities such as hiking, camping, picnics and photography, not collecting, panning or metal detecting. Removing rock, minerals or fossils is a class 2 misdemeanor, and the Land Department can seize what was taken.
What the law says
“Knowingly extracts or removes oil, gas, coal, mineral, earth, rock, fertilizer or fossils”
— A.R.S. § 37-501(2): trespass on state lands, class 2 misdemeanor ↗
Arizona state parks
No panning, no mining, no metal detecting and no removing anything, in every park.
What the agency says
“No. In order to conserve and protect the resources of the parks, we do not allow mining or panning of any kind.”
County parks (Maricopa, Pima)
Maricopa County parks ban metal detecting and recreational prospecting; Pima County bans collecting rocks without written approval from its parks department.
What the agency says
“No, metal detecting is NOT allowed in the parks because you may not stray off of the trails”
National wildlife refuges
Kofa allows rock collecting only in the Crystal Hill Area, by hand, 10 specimens or 10 pounds in any 12 months; the rest of Kofa is closed. Cabeza Prieta, Imperial and Havasu ban rockhounding and prospecting.
What the agency says
“Recreational (noncommercial) rock or mineral collecting is restricted to the 1.5 square mile Crystal Hill Area”
— U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kofa NWR brochure, January 2025 ↗
National parks and recreation areas (Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Saguaro, Glen Canyon, Lake Mead and others)
Nothing may be collected, and metal detectors are prohibited (36 CFR 2.1). At Petrified Forest the minimum fine for taking petrified wood is 325 dollars.
What the agency says
“Do not remove any natural or cultural object from the park, including fossils, rocks, animals, plants, and artifacts.”
— National Park Service, Petrified Forest: laws and policies ↗
Military ranges (Barry M. Goldwater Range, Yuma Proving Ground, Fort Huachuca)
The Goldwater Range needs an access permit and bans prospecting, rock collecting and metal detectors. Yuma Proving Ground and Fort Huachuca ranges are closed to collecting.
What the agency says
“Prospecting, removal, or disturbance of sand, gravel, rocks and minerals is prohibited.”
— Barry M. Goldwater Range East, visitor regulations (56th Range Management Office) ↗
Tribal lands (Navajo Nation, Tohono O’odham, San Carlos Apache and others)
Collecting, prospecting or metal detecting needs the tribe’s permission. On the Navajo Nation, collecting rocks needs a permit.
What the agency says
“Special permits are required from the Navajo Minerals Department and Natural Heritage Program to collect rocks and/or plants.”
— Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation, rules and regulations ↗
Private land
With the owner's permission: panning, drywashing, digging, rocks, fossils and meteorites. Human remains and funerary objects are protected by state law even on private land.
Green: allowed. Amber: allowed with a notice or a permit. Red: not allowed. Gray: ask the agency.
Where you can actually go
BLM land is the big open door: there casual prospecting needs no permit, just a pan, a drywasher, a metal detector and hand tools. But the desert where Arizona prospectors work, from Quartzsite to the hills around Wickenburg, is a patchwork of BLM land, State Trust Land and private land. Before you dig, check whose land it is and that nobody holds a mining claim on the spot: our gold map shows the open spots and flags the claims.
For fire agate, the BLM runs two rockhound areas near Safford, Black Hills and Round Mountain, with no fees or permits. In the Tonto National Forest, quartz crystals are collected at the Diamond Point collection area.
What the agency says
“The site is open for digging by the public without fees or permits.”
What looks open often isn't. State Trust Land covers large parts of the desert next to BLM land, and from the road you cannot tell the two apart; neither can a casual glance at a paper map. The spots on our maps sit on federal land open to prospecting, never on Trust land.
State Trust Land: the most common mistake
Many rockhounding guides treat Arizona State Trust Land as open desert. It isn't. Trust land is held to earn money for schools and other beneficiaries, and the Land Department says so plainly.
What the agency says
“Arizona State Trust lands are different than "public lands" which are common within State Parks and Federal lands.”
To go onto Trust land for recreation you need a recreation permit ↗: 15 dollars a year for one person, 20 for a family. The permit lists what you may do, from hiking and horseback riding to picnics, photography and bird watching, with up to 14 nights of camping a year. Collecting rocks, gold panning and metal detecting are not on the list, and land leased for mining is closed to recreation altogether.
Taking anything is a crime. State law makes it a class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to four months in jail, to remove rock, minerals or fossils from state land, and the Land Department ↗ can seize what was taken without going to court. The Arizona Administrative Code ↗ repeats the ban.
What the law says
“Knowingly extracts or removes oil, gas, coal, mineral, earth, rock, fertilizer or fossils”
What the law says
“seize and take any product or property unlawfully severed from the land, whether it has been removed from the land or not”
The only door to minerals on Trust land is a mineral exploration permit ↗: a commercial permit with a 500-dollar application fee and a rental of 2 dollars an acre, meant for companies exploring for a mineral lease, not for hobby collecting.
Drywashers, highbankers and dredges
Drywashers are the Arizona tool, and on BLM land they are casual use. The BLM's Arizona guidance goes further than the national rules: small drywashers with gas engines under 10 horsepower are allowed too, as long as you feed them with hand tools.
What the agency says
“Small scale mining devices such as dry washers having engines with less than 10 horsepower are allowed”
— BLM Arizona, operator information for casual use, notice and plan level operations ↗
Suction dredges are the opposite. In Arizona the BLM never treats them as casual use, whatever the size of the nozzle: you need a notice or a plan of operations under the federal mining rules before you start.
What the agency says
“Suction dredging can only be done pursuant to a Notice or Plan, filed under 43CFR 3809.”
— BLM Arizona, operator information for casual use, notice and plan level operations ↗
Highbankers and power sluices are a gray zone. The BLM's Arizona guidance does not name them; a pump that moves water and gravel is closer to a dredge than to a pan, so ask the field office before you set one up. In the Tonto National Forest the answer is written: drywashers, highbankers and dredges all need the forest's authorization. In the other forests, motorized equipment needs a notice of intent ↗ to the district ranger.
Water is a second gray zone. We found no Arizona permit program for recreational dredges and no statement on them from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, which since 2023 also runs its own surface water protection program ↗. Whether a dredge in a stream needs a federal permit is a question for the Army Corps of Engineers. Ask both before you put a dredge in the water; contacts are under Who to ask.
Lynx Creek and the Prescott National Forest
The Lynx Creek Gold Pan Day Use Area, near Prescott, is the best-known public panning spot in the state. The Forest Service describes it as a day use area for recreational gold panning, with no fee.
What the agency says
“This day use area is primarily used for recreational gold panning.”
The Forest Service does publish equipment rules for the area, on the Prescott National Forest's rockhounding and prospecting page ↗:
What the agency says
“Except for gold pans, metal detectors and hand tools, such as picks and shovels, it is prohibited to use any motorized or mechanical equipment or mining aids used for mineral extraction within the boundaries of the withdrawal area, as defined on the attached map.”
— Forest Service, Prescott National Forest, Rocks & Minerals (updated April 2025) ↗
So at Lynx Creek it is a pan, a metal detector and hand tools. A sluice box or a drywasher is a mining aid used for mineral extraction, so we read the rule as no sluices and no drywashers; if you want it in writing, ask the forest.
What is not clear is the mining claims. The land around Lynx Creek was withdrawn from mining claims by public land orders of 1995 and 2000 ↗, each for 20 years, and we found no extension, although the Forest Service still writes about a withdrawal area. Before you dig, look for claim posts and ask the Prescott National Forest; it is listed under Who to ask.
How much you can take, and the special areas
On BLM land in Arizona the personal limit for rocks, minerals, semiprecious stones, common invertebrate fossils and petrified wood is 25 pounds a day and 250 pounds a year, with no motorized tools, and nothing collected this way may be sold or bartered.
What the agency says
“Metal detectors are acceptable, with the exception of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area.”
The federal petrified wood rule allows 25 pounds a day plus one piece, up to 250 pounds a year (43 CFR 3622.4 ↗); for a bigger log, ask the BLM office. Petrified wood sold in Holbrook comes from private land outside the national park.
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is the one refuge where you may collect, and only in a small area with tight rules: no digging at all, not even with hand tools, and the refuge is closed to mining claims.
What the agency says
“Possession of rocks is limited to 10 specimens or 10 pounds (whichever occurs first) in any 12 month period.”
— U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kofa NWR brochure, January 2025 ↗
What the agency says
“Digging, including the use of simple hand tools, is prohibited.”
— U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kofa NWR brochure, January 2025 ↗
Tonto National Forest also limits how much ground you may disturb without a permit, and keeps metal detectors out of wilderness.
What the agency says
“Metal detecting is also not permitted in Wilderness areas.”
Fossils, meteorites and artifacts
Fossils. On BLM and national forest land you may pick up common invertebrate and plant fossils for personal use; vertebrate fossils need a federal permit. On state land, the Arizona Antiquities Act ↗ forbids collecting vertebrate fossils and archaeological specimens without a permit, and permits go only to scientific institutions, through the Arizona State Museum ↗. Petrified wood is Arizona's state fossil, but that title gives it no extra protection.
Meteorites. Arizona's desert is good meteorite country, and on BLM land surface finds are casual use under the BLM's meteorite policy: hand tools and detectors, no digging with machines, up to ten pounds a year, not for sale. We found no special BLM rule for the Gold Basin strewn field near Kingman. On State Trust Land a meteorite is rock like any other, and taking it is trespass.
What the agency says
“up to a maximum of ten pounds of meteorites per individual, per year”
Artifacts and burials. Digging an archaeological site on state land is a felony under Arizona law ↗. On private land too, human remains and funerary objects are protected: if you find bones, stop and report them.
What the law says
“A person shall not intentionally disturb human remains or funerary objects.”
Mining claims in Arizona
In Arizona a new claim must be recorded with the county recorder within 90 days and marked on the ground with monuments: six for a lode claim, posts at least four feet tall or stone piles at least three feet high, and corner monuments for a placer claim, with the location notice posted on one of them (A.R.S. 27-203 ↗, 27-204 ↗, 27-205 ↗). Posts with notices in a desert wash mean someone holds the mineral rights there: leave them alone and move on.
Arizona has no special law on taking gold from someone else's claim; the general theft law applies. On our maps, spots with a possible claim are marked, and the date of the last check is on every spot.
Permits and costs
Panning, drywashing, metal detecting, rock collecting on BLM land
What you need: Nothing: casual use
Cost: Free
Suction dredge on BLM land
What you need: Notice or plan of operations filed with the BLM field office
Cost: Set by the BLM office
Drywasher, highbanker or dredge in the Tonto National Forest
What you need: Authorization from the forest
Cost: Not published
Motorized equipment in other national forests
What you need: Notice of intent to the district ranger
Cost: No fee
State Trust Land recreation permit (no collecting)
What you need: Buy online from the State Land Department
Cost: 15 dollars a year; family 20 dollars
Mineral exploration on State Trust Land (commercial)
What you need: Mineral exploration permit from the State Land Department
Cost: 500 dollars application, plus 2 dollars an acre rental
Barry M. Goldwater Range access (no collecting)
What you need: Range access permit for each adult
Cost: Not published
Collecting rocks on the Navajo Nation
What you need: Permit from the Navajo Minerals Department and Natural Heritage Program
Cost: Not published
Archaeological or vertebrate fossil work on state land
What you need: Antiquities Act permit, issued only to institutions
Cost: Not for individuals
Who to ask
Where the rules leave a gray zone, ask the office in charge directly, and get the answer in writing if you can.
BLM Arizona State Office
Ask about: Casual use, notices and plans of operations, national monuments
Phone: 602-417-9200
Email: blm_az_asoweb@blm.gov
Address: One North Central Ave., Suite 800, Phoenix, AZ 85004
BLM Hassayampa Field Office
Ask about: Wickenburg and central Arizona, Agua Fria National Monument, Hassayampa wilderness
Phone: 602-867-5400
Email: blm_az_pdoweb@blm.gov
Address: 2020 E. Bell Road, Phoenix, AZ 85022
BLM Kingman Field Office
Ask about: Northwest Arizona, meteorites at Gold Basin
Phone: 928-718-3700
Email: BLM_AZ_KFOWEB@blm.gov
Address: 2755 Mission Blvd., Kingman, AZ 86401
BLM Safford Field Office
Ask about: Black Hills and Round Mountain rockhound areas
Phone: 928-348-4400
Email: blm_az_sfoweb@blm.gov
Address: 711 14th Avenue, Safford, AZ 85546
Other BLM field offices
Ask about: Yuma (Quartzsite area) 928-317-3200, Lake Havasu 928-505-1200, Tucson 520-258-7200, Arizona Strip 435-688-3200
Tonto National Forest, Supervisor’s Office
Ask about: Authorization for drywashers, highbankers and dredges; collecting limits
Phone: 602-225-5200
Address: 2324 E. McDowell Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85006
Prescott National Forest, Supervisor’s Office
Ask about: Lynx Creek: where the withdrawal area ends, whether it is still closed to claims, and whether sluices count as mining aids
Phone: 928-777-2200
Address: 735 N. Highway 89, Chino Valley, AZ 86323
Other national forests in Arizona
Ask about: Coronado (Tucson) 520-388-8300, Coconino (Flagstaff) 928-527-3600, Kaibab (Williams) 928-635-8200, Apache-Sitgreaves (Springerville) 928-333-6280
Arizona State Land Department
Ask about: Recreation permits, what is allowed on State Trust Land, mineral exploration permits
Phone: 602-542-4631
Email: ms@azland.gov
Address: 1110 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Surface Water Protection
Ask about: Whether a dredge or pump in a stream needs a state water permit
Phone: 602-771-4651
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, Arizona regulatory office
Ask about: Whether dredging in a stream needs a federal permit for dredged or fill material
Address: 3636 N. Central Ave., Suite 900, Phoenix, AZ 85012
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge
Ask about: Rock collecting at Crystal Hill
Phone: 928-783-7861
Address: 9300 E. 28th Street, Yuma, AZ 85365
Arizona State Museum, Antiquities Act permits
Ask about: Archaeological and paleontological finds on state land
Phone: 520-621-4795
Email: ASM-AAAPermits@arizona.edu
Navajo Nation Minerals Department
Ask about: Permits to collect rocks on the Navajo Nation
Phone: 928-871-6588
Questions and answers
Is gold panning legal in Arizona?
Yes, on BLM land as casual use, in most national forests, and on private land with the owner's permission. Not in state parks, not on State Trust Land, and not in national parks, wildlife refuges or military ranges.
Can I rockhound on Arizona State Trust Land?
No. The recreation permit does not cover collecting, and removing rock, minerals or fossils from Trust land is a class 2 misdemeanor under A.R.S. 37-501 ↗.
Do I need a permit for a drywasher in Arizona?
Not on BLM land: hand and battery drywashers are casual use, and the BLM in Arizona also allows small gas drywashers under 10 horsepower fed by hand tools. In the Tonto National Forest a drywasher needs the forest's authorization.
Can I use a suction dredge in Arizona?
Only with paperwork. On BLM land a dredge always needs a notice or a plan of operations. We found no state permit program for recreational dredges, so ask ADEQ and the Army Corps of Engineers about the water before you start.
Can I metal detect in Arizona state parks?
No. Arizona State Parks ↗ does not allow metal detecting, panning or collecting in any park.
How much petrified wood can I take in Arizona?
On BLM land, 25 pounds a day plus one piece, up to 250 pounds a year, for personal use. Nothing at all in Petrified Forest National Park, where the minimum fine is 325 dollars, and nothing from State Trust Land.
Can I keep a meteorite I find in Arizona?
On BLM land, surface finds up to ten pounds a year are casual use and may not be sold. On State Trust Land, in parks and refuges, no. On private land, the owner decides.
Where can I collect rocks at Kofa?
Only in the Crystal Hill Area, by hand and without digging, up to 10 specimens or 10 pounds in any 12 months. The rest of the refuge is closed to collecting.
More about Arizona
Sources
- BLM Arizona: operator information for casual use, notice and plan level operations
- BLM Arizona: Rockhounding in Arizona brochure
- BLM: rock collection FAQs (2024)
- BLM: Black Hills Rockhound Area
- BLM: Round Mountain Rockhound Area
- BLM: Hassayampa River Canyon Wilderness
- Agua Fria National Monument proclamation
- Ironwood Forest National Monument proclamation
- Sonoran Desert National Monument proclamation
- Proclamation 10606: Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument
- BLM Instruction Memorandum 2012-182: meteorites
- 43 CFR 3622: petrified wood
- Forest Service, Tonto National Forest: geology
- Forest Service: Lynx Creek Gold Pan Day Use Area
- Forest Service: Rocks & Minerals, Prescott National Forest
- Public Land Order 7439 (2000)
- 36 CFR 228.4: Forest Service notice of intent
- Arizona State Land Department: FAQ
- Arizona State Land Department: permit fees
- Arizona State Land Department: recreation permit terms
- A.R.S. § 37-501: trespass on state lands
- A.R.S. § 37-502: damages and seizure
- A.A.C. R12-5-533: trespass on state land
- A.R.S. § 27-251 and 27-252: mineral exploration permits
- Arizona State Parks & Trails: FAQ
- Arizona State Parks & Trails: agency rules
- Maricopa County Parks and Recreation: FAQ
- Pima County Parks rules
- A.R.S. § 41-841 and 41-842: Arizona Antiquities Act
- A.R.S. § 13-3702.01: excavating archaeological sites
- A.R.S. § 41-865: human remains on private land
- Arizona State Museum: Antiquities Act permits
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Kofa NWR brochure (2025)
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Cabeza Prieta NWR rules
- 50 CFR 27: prohibited acts on national wildlife refuges
- National Park Service: Petrified Forest laws and policies
- 36 CFR 2.1: National Park Service resource protection
- Barry M. Goldwater Range East: visitor regulations
- Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation: rules and regulations
- ADEQ: Surface Water Protection Program
- A.R.S. § 27-203, 27-204, 27-205: locating mining claims