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Land status before the shovel

The best sites are not secret. They are legal.

BLM, Forest Service, state trust, and private land are four rulebooks. RockhoundTrails starts with who manages the ground, then the rock.

Open the land-status toolsIndependent diagnostic advice, transparent public cost data, and vetted operator matching.
Casual useconfirm on blm.gov
Claimsare not open season
Free guidesno account
A desert wash and rock hammer on public land
status first
The method

Land status decides where you can dig.

Stack 01 / manager

Name the surface manager

If you cannot, you are not legal yet.

Stack 02 / claim

Check claims

Active claims are not a hobby site.

Stack 03 / limit

Casual use has limits

Confirm current pounds and tools on blm.gov.

Why this site is trustworthy

Built like the paperwork it teaches.

A social pin is not land status.

No secret pins as permission

National Parks generally prohibit collecting.

Parks are closed

Casual use is not a sales license.

We do not sell your finds

This is a new publisher. We do not show customer reviews. The cards above describe how the site is built.

Who it is for

Four ways people arrive.

Beginners

The legal map comes before the shovel.

Club trip planners

Permission is the scarce resource.

Parents

A wash that is actually public.

Travelers

State survey guides beat apps.

Questions

Direct answers.

Can I collect in a national park?

Generally no. Confirm on nps.gov.

Are BLM limits the same everywhere?

No. Confirm the current casual-collection rule for that field office.

Can I sell what I pick up?

Casual-use collecting on federal land is generally not for sale.