garnet hill

Garnets are in rhyolite; you can either bust up the rock with a hammer or scour the ground for loose garnets. Over several trips we have found a few that over 1 cm; most are much smaller. Picnic tables and an outhouse at the parking area.

if you do get to Ely Nevada this is a have to do thing. Follow the map to Garnet hill, have a lunch and start searching the grounds for the little gems. Great family fun.

A great place to visit to collect garnets. Check along the road ditches too for strays that washed out of the matrix rock. Just west of Ely, follow the brown signs up the hill to the parking area. The BLM has removed some of the top layer to expose more dirt, you will see the digs from others who have been there. Have fun!

If you are interested in looking for 'rocks', this is a good place to go. BLM has set up a good lunch site with rest room. Nature has set up the site for finding dark red garnets. The road there will change with time, but most vehicles in good shape should be able to make it there on the gravel, then dirt (sometimes fairly steep) roads. We would not recommend going to this site if it has or is going to rain. Be safe. Take a hammer, chisel, gloves, bucket, WATER, and if you have enough room, a little something to protect your knees or "-" as you get down into the rocky soil. The garnets are embedded in the light colored rock, and comes in a variety of sizes - mostly extra small. Although not jewelry quality (my opinion) they are very nice and will make great conversation pieces. We found none bigger then our fingernail. Be aware of altitude (6600), beautiful scenery, plus a birds-eye view of the massive active silver mine across the canyon.

This was a fun way to spend an hour. Did this during a trip to Ely while visiting the Great Basin National Park. We heard about this, and decided to stop by. Did not expect to find any garnets, but we found several. When you arrive - go a bit farther back than the first rock pile you come to - and you will definitely find them. Look for some tan/grey colored rocks, with dark black/red spots glinting in the sun on the surface. You might like to take some gloves as it is rough on your hands. We did not have shovels or hammers - and had no problems just picking up some small rocks and finding some nice small garnets on the surface of the rocks.

Second time searching for garnets. This time we found one as big as my thumbnail. Had a blast searching. We were with 3 young boys and they loved it. Bring your hammers/screw drivers etc. to the mountain. We usually go toward the bottom to search in the rubble. Great free entertainment. I think the garnets are a low quality BUT still fun to find.

We were driving Hwy 50 across Nevada and decided to stay in Ely for the night. Since it was in the heat of summer, we decided to check in to our hotel and grab dinner before exploring Garnet Hill. There is about a 3 mile drive on a dirt road to the parking area. There are restrooms and picnic tables, along with steel tables to break up the rocks you find. Look for the sign just below the parking lot, which tells you what to look for in the rocks. There is a great view of activity in the open mine across the road. With hammers in had, we explored the hillside and managed to find a few small garnets. It was a lot of fun, and something different to break up the long drive on the loneliest highway.

My family takes day trips up there and enjoy the views. The kids love to go hunting for garnets and are always looking for the biggest one. There are picnic tables and grills for picnicking. The restrooms are fairly clean and it makes a nice day trip.

We went out to Garnet Hill outside of Ely and enjoyed looking for garnets in the mine tailings. We found a few low-grade samples. This would be a fun activity for kids.

This was a pleasant morning activity in September, 2013. We spent an hour or so collecting rocks to examine later for garnets. We did find two or three with small garnets without any hammer, Road access is dirt but pretty well maintained. We missed the sign on the way into town but, luckily, found some information and directions online. Great views of the copper mine across the highway, too.

The thought of finding a nice gem for a holiday memento sent us to the hardware store for a cheap hammer & chisel (Bath Lumber Co in Ely, $15). Turned out we didn't need them, as my wife found more garnets just by eye! We spent 3 hrs up there, and came away with half a dozen very dark hazelnut-sized stones and lots of smaller ones. Some still embedded in their natural stone setting, which is actually prettier. But if not for the wife's sharp eyes, I'm not sure I'd have returned with anything, besides a sore thumb!

After traveling for so long in the middle of nowhere, it was nice to get out and do something the whole family enjoyed! Garnet filled rocks line the whole side of a mountain. The sign located on the highway was well marked, but after that we kind of winged it. Great experience over all!