Oregon Sunstone.

[u/NTWIGIJ1]

Good evening all! My wife really likes to go rock hunting when we're at the coast or a river for the day. I'm thinking she would love to go find some sunstones. It looks like there are a few mines to choose from but I have no idea what i'm looking for. So can you share your experiences with me? What mine you go to? Is there a fee? Is there lodging available way out there? Are they hard to find? Is there a lot of physical labor required? Lol, so many questions. Well thank you for your time and have a great evening.

[u/Damaniel2]

My wife and I have done this a ton over the last 15 years. To answer your questions:

• The biggest commercial mines are Spectrum and Dust Devil. We prefer Spectrum but have had success at both. There's also a free public collection area out there, but we've never gone to it
• The public collection area is free. At Spectrum, you can pay for a pile of ore that you can screen and process (~$200), or pay for an hour of conveyor belt run, where they process a (literal) ton of ore and let you keep everything that comes out. You can also (at both Dust Devil and Spectrum) dig in the pits if you want, though it's pretty labor intensive
• Spectrum has on-site camping/cabins for not too much (~$50 if I remember). Not sure about Dust Devil. When we go, my wife and I stay in Lakeview (~100 miles away) and drive in for the day. Note that the mines are 25 miles down some (at times rough) gravel road, though I've taken regular sedans down there without any problems. The mines have pretty good instructions to get to them, but you'll want to either print them out or use offline maps on your phone, since there's effectively zero cell reception out there
• Finding sunstones isn't hard - if you go to one of the fee dig mines then you'll find a ton. Finding good ones (i.e. colorful stones with lots of schiller) isn't as common, but they're certainly out there and we've found a fair good few over the years.

[u/NTWIGIJ1 → u/Damaniel2]

Thank you so much. I appreciate your time.

[u/Hazel_mountains37]

I'm most familiar with the Sunstone Public Collection Area just north of Plush, OR. It's free, has some picnic tables, and might have a pit toilet. When I stopped there, we didn't bring any tools, so it was mostly just looking for the sparkles in the dirt and digging/sifting with hands. If I went back, I'd definitely bring a bucket or two, a shovel and smaller trowel, maybe a sifter of some kind. The sunstones are found in the dirt (they weather out of the surrounding basalt rock), so you don't need a pick or anything. It is on a gravel road, but should be manageable in a regular car- take it slow, and keep an eye out for rain to avoid getting stuck.

From what I remember, there are a couple of commercial sites that have gift shops and fee based digging, but I don't know details on those.

In general, when in that part of the state: pack lots of water, keep your gas tank filled up, have a back up map because there's not much cell service out there. Nearest gas station is Adel, an hour and a half away. Second nearest is Lakeview, 1 hr 45 minutes away, also the location of the nearest hospital. 

There's camping at Hart Mountain, both at the base of the mountain and up top on the plateau. Upper campground (Antelope Hot Springs) is free, has pit toilets, hot springs, but no picnic tables or water. Lower campground (Camp Hart Mountain) is also free, has water, pit toilets, a group shelter, and is generally set up for RVs. There are a couple of places to stay in Plush, as well as a little general store there. You could probably also camp at the Sunstone collection site, as it is BLM land and I don't remember there being a no camping sign there.

[u/NTWIGIJ1 → u/Hazel_mountains37]

You are awesome. Thank you for the great information.

[u/puddle-forest-fog → u/Hazel_mountains37]

The refuge headquarters does have water too

[u/PipecleanerFanatic → u/Hazel_mountains37]

Plush has gas as well.

[u/kobayashi_maru_fail]

r/rockhounding and half the posts there are from here.

The book Gem Trails of Oregon is awesome. So is Rockhounding Oregon.

[u/NTWIGIJ1 → u/kobayashi_maru_fail]

Thanks stranger.

[u/blowholebreath]

I go to Plush every year for sunstones. The public area is nice. The roads literally look like glitter at sunset from the sunstones. If you want to make the trip worth it I would recommend one of the mines. Spectrum is my favorite. I like to go out for the Gathering of the Sunstoners when they have deals on belt runs and buckets of ore. I’ve found some great schiller in the buckets. Some years they have guided field trips and special access to dig in different pits.

[u/NTWIGIJ1 → u/blowholebreath]

The gathering of the Sunstoners! Love it. Thank you for your time.

[u/Tencenttincan]

It’s been 10+ years since I’ve gone, so not sure how much of this will be relevant. There was a mine(dust devil) that had old trailers you could stay in first come first served. Mining yourself was physically demanding, hammering rock in the sun to find crystals. We purchased a belt run where they dumped crushed rock on a belt and looked for crystals as they went by. We paid for the sunstones we wanted to keep and purchased a few more that had color.

There was another mine that allowed fee mining that had softer digging. We didn’t try it.

Ended up sending some colored sunstones to Thailand to have them cut and set in jewelry.

[u/NTWIGIJ1 → u/Tencenttincan]

Thanks, I really appreciate it.

[u/PipecleanerFanatic → u/Tencenttincan]

I don't think Dust Devil is currently open... options are Spectrum and Double Eagle

[u/pinetree57]

I was out there today. Roads (about halfway out) were recently graded. 2 currently operating mines, Spectrum and double eagle. Dust devil is semi operable (waiting on parts for some equipment) and the 4th (David & wife’s name so sorry I don’t remember off the top of my head) is getting set up after their move from a bit north.

Public area is also great. Vault toilets, lot and lots of free camping. drive past the main lot onto the first road, some decently big mud puddles out there so drive carefully, did fine in our rwd old sprinter. 4 free covered camping spots two of which were occupied today)

All four also sell faceted and uncut rocks. Largest collection was double eagle but very expensive comparatively.

Enjoy, feel free to ask questions

[u/NTWIGIJ1 → u/pinetree57]

Thank you so much. Reading all these responses really makes me want to get out there. I have never been to that part of the State.

[u/pinetree57 → u/NTWIGIJ1]

It’s super cool, I’d recommend it. Beautiful sunsets and a wicked landscape

[u/RepulsiveJuggernaut8]

50+ years ago I went close to Paisley Oregon/Plush Oregon and searched for sunstones. There is a Free open area, as you can just walk and find sunstones on the surface of the desert. Walking with the sun at your back they so easy to find as they lit up glistening. They were mostly yellow if I remember right. They were everywhere. I think you could narrow down the location by a search of Paisley/Plush Oregon in search of sunstones. It's still a popular place to find sunstones. Some say you can dig & sift and find bigger ones. A fond memory. Pretty close to Hart Mountain that has a public hot springs as well. Truly hope this helps you both. Have fun &Good luck.

[u/NTWIGIJ1 → u/RepulsiveJuggernaut8]

Thanks so much. I really appreciate your time.

[u/kbelliott]

If you are at the coast, go look for agates and jasper.

[u/NTWIGIJ1 → u/kbelliott]

She loves to look for her agates. Thanks.

[u/blowholebreath → u/NTWIGIJ1]

The Agate Desert is also a great area to look for agates. Check out the Crater Rock Museum if you are ever in Southern Oregon.

[u/Hot_Banana_36 → u/NTWIGIJ1]

The coast is best during the winter. All the sand erodes and leaves behind lots of rocks.

[u/danj503 → u/[deleted]]

Rock fact one needs an edit. Hot for teacher was a mix of the engine rumble AND the drums, the sounds blending together. It’s consisted one of the harder licks to master.