Rockhounding at Crater of Diamonds State Park, Arkansas
ALLOWED
No permit required
Key Conditions
- Admission only — $15 for adults over 12, $7 for children 6–12, free under 6. No rockhounding permit, mineral license or state prospecting registration exists for this site.
- Any rock, mineral or gem found in the search area is yours to keep, diamonds included, with no cap on value or count.
- No motor-operated or battery-operated searching equipment and no ladders; one hand-pushed or hand-pulled wheeled device per visitor, six cubic feet maximum.
- No more than the equivalent of five gallons of processed concentrate may leave the search area per paying customer per day, and unprocessed soil may not be removed at all.
- Excavations must be sloped at least 1½:1, may not be tunneled, and are refilled daily.
Pearadin Schumacher American Dream Diamond — 6.03 carats, confirmed February 2026
Jack Pearadin of Nashville, Arkansas and Michael Schumacher of Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin dug at the south end of the search field in late December 2025 and screened the material down to concentrate before leaving. Pearadin spotted the stone on 25 January while working through the bucket at home on a TikTok livestream — weeks after the dirt left the park, entirely within the five-gallon concentrate allowance. Staff weighed it at 6.03 carats on 6 February. It ranks as the fourth-largest yellow diamond and the 22nd-largest diamond of any color registered since Crater of Diamonds became a state park in 1972, and was the 27th diamond registered in 2026.
The crystal appears to be a hexoctahedron — 48 faces. Most diamonds out of this field carry 12 or 24.
The rule that shapes a good day here has nothing to do with digging. It governs what you carry to the car: up to five gallons of processed concentrate per paying customer per day, and no unprocessed soil whatsoever. Screen your material on site and it goes home with you. Shovel it into a bucket and it stays.
That single line in 22 CAR § 50-104 quietly turns a day trip into a two-stage hunt, and the park's own 2026 headline find proves the point — dug in December, screened on site, spotted at a kitchen table in January.
Underneath the field is the Prairie Creek pipe, a lamproite diatreme that punched up from the mantle in the Early Cretaceous and carried diamonds with it. The 37.5 acres you walk on is the eroded top of that vent. Arkansas plows it, rain sorts the heavy material downslope into the drains, and the whole arrangement still works because nothing has ever been mined out at scale — two rival companies spent forty years trying and failed, which is why the ground was still full when the state bought it in 1972.
- Admission is the only fee; there is no collecting permit and no state mineral license for this site
- Any rock, mineral or gem found in the search area belongs to the finder
- No motor-operated or battery-operated searching equipment, and no ladders
- One hand-operated wheeled device per visitor, six cubic feet maximum; all other gear must hand-carry through a 32-inch by 81-inch doorway
- Five gallons of processed concentrate per paying customer per day, no exceptions; unprocessed soil stays in the field
- No digging within 15 feet of the base of a tree or shrub
- No claims — any ticketed visitor may search anywhere in the marked field
- Soliciting the sale of diamonds or gemstones on park property is prohibited
Source: Code of Arkansas Rules 22 CAR § 50-104 (Rules for the Search Area, PD 2205)
Why the hole you dig has a legal shape
Most collecting sites regulate how much you take. This one also regulates the geometry of your excavation, because lamproite soil holds a vertical face just long enough to be dangerous.
Every hole must maintain an angle of repose of at least 1½:1 — one and a half feet of width for every foot of depth, measured at the surface. A four-foot-deep hole therefore has to be at least twelve feet across at the top. Past four feet, you must cut safely constructed earthen steps so you can get out. Tunneling is prohibited outright, and every excavation is refilled before you leave for the day.
In practical terms this is a hard ceiling on depth for one person with a shovel. Moving a twelve-foot-wide cone of soil to reach four feet is most of a day's work on its own, which is a large part of why experienced visitors dig shallow and screen more.
Four ways to work the field
| Method | What you actually do | Where it works | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surface searching | Walk the plowed ground looking for a stone with a glassy, rounded, oily-looking surface — no digging at all | Best in the low drains after rain, and in the first hours after the field is plowed | Lowest yield per hour, but needs no gear and turns up a disproportionate share of the largest stones |
| Dry sifting | Shovel soil onto a screen and shake it dry, discarding the fines | Dry spells, and when the wash troughs are queued | Fast, but clay coats the material and hides small crystals |
| Wet sifting | Screen at the wash troughs through a ¼-inch mesh over a roughly 1/16-inch mesh, washing the clay off | Any time; the method park interpreters point repeat visitors toward | Hardest physical work of the four and confined to the trough pavilion |
| Dig, screen, carry out | Screen down to concentrate on site, then take up to five gallons home to sort at leisure | Multi-day visits and anyone driving a long way | Only processed concentrate qualifies — raw dirt is stopped at the gate |
Methods and rules verified against Arkansas State Parks materials and 22 CAR § 50-104, September 2026.
Getting There and Getting In
Fees and hours confirmed from Arkansas State Parks' own park page and FAQ, September 2026. The seasonal Diamond Springs water park is ticketed separately and is not part of search-area admission.
When to Come
Winter (Dec–Feb)
GoodThin crowds and cold, workable ground. Rain is frequent enough to keep washing heavy material into the drains, so you can surface-search a wet field in the morning without competing for a spot. The wash troughs are cold work — bring gloves you don't mind soaking.
Spring (Mar–May)
GoodThe strongest combination of the year: plowing resumes, spring storms wash freshly turned ground, and temperatures still allow a full day in an unshaded field. Also peak school-trip season, so arrive at opening.
Summer (Jun–Aug)
PoorThe search area is 37.5 acres of bare plowed ground with no shade, and it closes at 4 p.m. regardless of daylight. Heat rather than regulation is the limiting factor — most summer visitors last two or three hours. The separately ticketed water park runs in this window, which also makes it the busiest season.
Fall (Sep–Nov)
GoodPlowing continues while weather permits, crowds thin after Labor Day, and the ground is usually dry enough for comfortable dry sifting and wet enough after autumn rain for surface searching. The best shoulder window if you dislike queuing at the troughs.
What to Bring — and What Won't Get Past the Door
- OptionalPaired screens (¼-inch over ~1/16-inch)— The pairing used at the wash troughs. Rentable on site if you'd rather not travel with them.
- OptionalHand shovel, trowel and a bucket— All legal. The test is whether it hand-carries through the visitor center and a 32-inch by 81-inch doorway.
- OptionalWheelbarrow or garden wagon— One per visitor, six cubic feet maximum, hand-pushed or hand-pulled only. Child-carrying wagons and baby carriages don't count against the limit.
- OptionalKnee pads and work gloves— Compacted clay-rich lamproite is hard on hands and knees over a full day.
- OptionalRubber boots and a change of clothes— Wet sifting is ankle-deep, muddy and unavoidably messy.
- RequiredSun protection and water— There is no shade anywhere in the search area.
- OptionalMotorized or battery-powered searching equipment— Prohibited under 22 CAR § 50-104, as are ladders. Leave both at home rather than at the gate.
Fill your five gallons before you fill your day
If you're driving more than a couple of hours, treat the concentrate allowance as the actual objective. Dig and screen through the middle of the day, keep the coarse concentrate rather than trying to sort it in the sun, and carry your five gallons out at closing. Sorting concentrate at a table at home — dry, unhurried, under good light — catches small stones that nobody picks out of a wet screen at 3 p.m. It is also exactly the sequence behind the 6.03-carat stone registered in February 2026.
Permits & Licenses
| Permit | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond search area admission | Yes | Paid at the visitor center on the day. This is an admission fee, not a collecting permit — Arkansas issues no separate rockhounding permit, mineral license or prospecting registration for this site, and none is needed. |
| Search equipment rental | No | Shovels, buckets, screens and wagons rent at the visitor center and must be returned daily. Bringing your own is allowed as long as it clears the tool rules in 22 CAR § 50-104. |
| Identification and diamond registration | No | Park staff identify and weigh rocks and minerals at no charge, and register diamonds brought to the desk. The park's published find totals — 351 diamonds registered by guests in 2026 as of late August — come from this counter, not from any legal requirement to declare a find. |
Time & Seasonal Restrictions
- Search area open 8 a.m.–4 p.m. daily; visitor center, gift shop and Diamond Discovery Center 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Closed on major holidays.
- No motor-operated or battery-operated diamond-searching equipment anywhere in the search area, and no ladders (22 CAR § 50-104).
- One hand-operated push or pull wheeled device per visitor, maximum six cubic feet of cargo — about a standard wheelbarrow. Baby carriages and children's wagons used to carry children are exempt.
- All other equipment must be capable of being hand-carried through the visitor center and through a standard 32-inch by 81-inch doorway.
- Digging under trees and shrubs within 15 feet of the base of the trunk is strictly prohibited.
- Excavations must hold an angle of repose of at least 1½:1 — a four-foot-deep hole must be at least 12 feet across at the surface. Tunneling is prohibited, holes deeper than four feet need safely constructed earthen steps for exit, and all holes are refilled daily.
- Removal is capped at the equivalent of five gallons of processed concentrate per paying customer per day, with no exceptions. Unprocessed soil may not be removed from the search area.
- No claims: a paid ticket entitles any visitor to search anywhere in the marked field, and no one may reserve, hold or sell ground.
- Soliciting the sale of diamonds or other gemstones on park property is prohibited.
Equipment Notes
- Paired wet-sifting screens — a ¼-inch mesh top screen over a roughly 1/16-inch bottom screen, the pairing park interpreters describe for the washing troughs
- Garden trowel, hand shovel and a bucket — all permitted, provided they hand-carry through the visitor center
- One wheelbarrow or garden wagon per person, six cubic feet maximum, hand-powered only
- Knee pads and work gloves — the field is compacted, clay-rich lamproite soil that punishes bare hands
- Rubber boots or old sneakers for the washing troughs; wet sifting is an ankle-deep, muddy job
- Sun protection and your own shade — 37.5 acres of plowed, treeless ground with no cover at midday
What People Find Here
- Diamonds in white, brown and yellow — the park averages one to two registered diamonds a day across all sizes
- Yellow (canary) diamonds, the least common of the three colors here, tinted by nitrogen absorbed during crystal growth
- Amethyst, garnet, jasper, agate and quartz — all keepable, and far more likely than a diamond on any given visit
- Lamproite itself, the diamond-bearing volcanic host rock exposed across the plowed surface
Penalties for Violations
← Scroll to see all columns
| Violation | Statute | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Removing unprocessed soil, or more than five gallons of processed concentrate per paying customer per day | 22 CAR § 50-104 | Repeated violation may result in suspension of searching privileges, a written citation, arrest, or any combination of the three |
| Using motor-operated or battery-operated searching equipment, or a ladder, in the search area | 22 CAR § 50-104 | Same escalating enforcement — suspension of searching privileges, written citation, or arrest |
| Tunneling, or leaving an excavation open, under-sloped or without earthen steps at the end of the day | 22 CAR § 50-104 | Ejection and suspension of searching privileges; the rule exists because under-sloped holes in this soil collapse |
| Soliciting the sale of diamonds or other gemstones on park property | 22 CAR § 50-104 | Prohibited conduct, enforced by park staff up to citation or arrest |
Etiquette & Leave No Trace
- Refill your hole before you leave for the day, even if you plan to return to the same spot tomorrow — the rule is daily, not per-trip
- Leave the wash troughs clean; the next person has to put their hands in the same water
- Do not dig within 15 feet of a tree trunk even where the ground looks untouched — root damage is the reason for the rule, not appearance
- Return rented screens, buckets and wagons the same day so the morning queue isn't waiting on your gear
- If you find something and want it identified, take it to the desk rather than asking other visitors — staff identification is free and correct
- Don't offer to buy a stranger's find on park grounds; on-site solicitation is a rule violation, not just bad manners
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really keep a diamond I find at Crater of Diamonds?
Yes. Any rock, mineral or gem found in the search area belongs to the finder, with no value cap, no royalty and no obligation to surrender it. The policy dates to 1952, when the site first opened to paying visitors under private ownership, and Arkansas kept it when the state bought the property in 1972.
Can I take a bucket of dirt home and search it later?
Not raw dirt — unprocessed soil may not leave the search area at all. What you may take is up to five gallons of processed concentrate per paying customer per day, meaning material you have already screened down on site. That distinction is not a formality: the largest diamond registered in 2026 was spotted at home, weeks after the dirt it came from was screened and legally carried out under this rule.
Is surface searching or wet sifting the better use of a day here?
Wet sifting is the more thorough method and the one park interpreters point regular visitors toward — two screens, a ¼-inch mesh over roughly 1/16-inch, worked in the wash troughs. Surface searching is faster and needs no gear, and it accounts for a disproportionate share of the biggest stones, because a large crystal sitting clean on plowed ground after rain is visible in a way a small one in gravel never is. Most visitors with a full day do both: walk the drains early, sift what they dig after.
When is the field plowed, and should I plan around it?
The park plows roughly monthly through spring, summer and fall, weather permitting, and does not run a fixed published schedule. Call the park at 870-285-3113 before a long drive if you want freshly turned ground.
Do I need an Arkansas rockhounding permit or mineral license?
No. Admission is the only thing you pay, and there is no state permit, claim or license attached to searching here.
How deep can I dig, and do I have to fill the hole in?
There is no published maximum depth, but the geometry is regulated: every excavation must hold at least a 1½:1 slope, so a four-foot hole has to be twelve feet wide at the top, and anything past four feet deep needs earthen steps cut for a safe exit. Tunneling is banned outright and every hole is refilled the same day.
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Disclaimer
Information is provided for general guidance only. Regulations change frequently. Always verify current rules with the official jurisdiction before relying on this information for legal decisions. Permitted Pursuits is not a substitute for official agency guidance. Report an error.
Sources
- Arkansas State Parks — Crater of Diamonds State Park(accessed 2026-09-07)
- Arkansas State Parks — Crater of Diamonds FAQs (admission, hours, rentals)(accessed 2026-09-07)
- Code of Arkansas Rules 22 CAR § 50-104 — Rules regarding public use of the search area of the Crater of Diamonds State Park(accessed 2026-09-07)
- State of Arkansas — "Grandfather Finds Gorgeous 2.29-Carat Diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park" (2026 find statistics)(accessed 2026-09-07)
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas — Crater of Diamonds State Park (Prairie Creek pipe, 1906 discovery, 1972 state purchase)(accessed 2026-09-07)
Last verified: 2026-09-07 · Last updated: 2026-09-07