Flattop Mountain Rock Collecting Area
Public area set aside for recreational collecting
Native material: you search the natural ground on site.
Season: Year-round, but summer heat is extreme: best from October to April.
Rock collecting area of the BLM Needles Field Office at the base of Flattop Mountain, with a plentiful supply of jasper and wide views over Ward Valley. Free, for personal noncommercial collecting. The area lies inside Mojave Trails National Monument: the BLM still lists it as a rock collecting area, but the monument's management plan is being written and could change the rules, so check with the Needles Field Office before you go.
Make a weekend of it
3 gem and mineral spots on open public land with no claim on record, within 50 miles.
There are more on the map, some of them with a possible mining claim.
Clubs and places nearby
- Lake Havasu Gem and Mineral SocietyClub · 36 mi
- Havasu Gold SeekersClub · 38 mi
- Savahia Peak Rock Collecting AreaFree public dig · 38 mi
- Marble Mountain Rock Collecting Area (Trilobites)Free public dig · 42 mi
- Chambless Rock Collecting AreaFree public dig · 43 mi
- Mohave County GemstonersClub · 53 mi
Where to buy gear nearby
- Bear's Archery, Guns and ProspectingShop · 36 mi
- Havasu RocksShop · 36 mi
- Miners DepotShop · 87 mi
- T-Rocks in QuartzsiteShop · 88 mi
Access
From Needles, drive west on I-40 about 20 miles to the Water Road exit. Go south and follow BLM route NS056 (Hightower Road) southeast about 5 miles, turn left on NS061 (Flattop Mountain Road) for about 4 miles, then right on NS064: the collecting area is on both sides of the route. A 4x4 vehicle is required.
Technique
Surface collecting with hand tools: walk the slopes and washes on both sides of the route and look for colorful jasper. Personal, noncommercial collecting only, in reasonable amounts.