Jade Cove
Public area set aside for recreational collecting
Native material: you search the natural ground on site.
Season: Year-round. Best at very low tides and after big winter swells, which shake loose new pieces. The surf here is dangerous.
A series of small coves on the Big Sur coast where nephrite jade comes out of the serpentine cliffs and the sea floor. The land down to the mean high tide line is Los Padres National Forest; the water and the beach below it are part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, whose federal rules allow small-scale collecting of loose jade in the Jade Cove area.
Make a weekend of it
1 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
- Santa Lucia RockhoundsClub · 49 mi
- Benitoite Mining CompanyPay-to-dig · 54 mi
- Carmel Valley Gem & Mineral SocietyClub · 56 mi
- San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral ClubClub · 63 mi
- Santa Cruz Mineral & Gem SocietyClub · 80 mi
- Orcutt Mineral SocietyClub · 92 mi
Access
Off Highway 1, at the Jade Cove day-use area about 10 miles south of Lucia. A short but steep trail leads down to the cove: watch your step and never turn your back on the waves.
Technique
Only jade that is already loose, and only below the mean high tide line: nothing may be taken above it and nothing may be dug out of the cliffs. The only tool allowed is a hand tool with no moving parts, no longer than 36 inches, to move or lift a stone or scratch it to see if it is jade. Divers may use lift bags; bigger pieces need a sanctuary permit. Jade is heavy for its size, very tough and waxy when wet.