Entry No. 43 — the Butte file — filed under: roadside-oddity

Crystal Park

A 220-acre Forest Service site at 7,800 feet where the decomposed granite is laced with quartz crystals you are allowed to dig out and keep. Crystals turn up clear, cloudy, gray, or rare amethyst purple, from fingernail-sized to several inches. Only hand tools are permitted, and there is a five-day-per-person seasonal digging limit. Because of snowpack the digging area is only open roughly mid-June through mid-October.

The move: Bring a trowel and a screen and spend an afternoon sifting the high-mountain gravel for amethyst, keeping what you find.

📍 Before you go Open ~mid-June to mid-October only; $5/person day-use fee; hand tools only; high elevation, long gravel byway.

📍 Pioneer Mountains (near Dillon), MT
💸 Free
⚡ Up for anything
🌗 Outdoors

Where: Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway (FR 73), Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, MT

Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.

⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.

#roadside-oddity #outdoor-weird #hands-on #rockhounding #seasonal

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3

last checked: 2026-06-24