Reddit reviews Gem Trails of Oregon

That really is the best, and if you like

mushrooms https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Demystified-David-Arora/dp/0898151694
or https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883

or rocks https://www.amazon.com/Gem-Trails-Oregon-Garret-Romaine/dp/1889786446

I don't know about Oregon, but I know that rock hunting is a blast, and finding anything gem grade is unusual, as most of the good locations are privately owned. Pick up a copy of Oregon Gem Trails or search for gem and mineral clubs in your area.

If you go to local creeks with gravel bars, you will see a little bit of everything the creek cuts through, if you spot something interesting you can trace it upstream to its origin. I'm under the impression there is a lot of agate in volcanic parts of Oregon. Gem grade agate is unusually colorful, has strong patterns, and no empty voids or fractures; that material is less common, but you should be able to find agate.

How about gem and mineral specimens?

one more

Here's a decent book on rockhounding in Oregon:

http://www.amazon.com/Gem-Trails-Oregon-Garret-Romaine/dp/1889786446/

Get the 2009 version, not the earlier one.

There's certainly plenty of places to do that here. Lots of places to look at fossils in museums and displays as well. My grandpa did lots of rockhounding many years ago, there's so many great places to do that in Oregon. You might check out Gem Trails of Oregon for some maps and hot spots.

Get yourself a copy of Tim Fisher's Ore-Rock-On DVD (http://www.orerockon.com/) or a copy of "Gem Trails of Oregon" (http://www.amazon.com/Gem-Trails-Oregon-Garret-Romaine/dp/1889786446) by Garrett Romaine (NOT the old version by Mitchell, it's WAY out of date). The Ore-Rock-On DVD is way more intensive and has maps, GPS coordinates, etc for Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

My mom lives in Parkdale, so I've rockhounded in the area a bit. Shellrock Mountain is off the side of I-84 at or around the 56-57 milepost marker, people apparently find little amethyst crystals and several zeolite minerals, though I've only ever found tiny little bits of datolite, never found any amethyst myself. Aside from that and off the top of my head, there's the Dalles exit from I-84 where little pineapple calcites can be found, Biggs Junction - the origin of world famous Biggs picture jasper, and many other places near by. The Gorge area is rife with good rocks.