2026 Field Trips
current active members only
May 30, Root River Gravel Bars:
This day-trip visits two gravel bars, near Houston and Peterson, MN. We will hunt for agate, jasper, fossils, and more. These sites are mostly flat, but the access includes some incline and a quarter mile of hiking and walking on gravel.
July 18-19: Moose Lake Agate Days:
This weekend trip to Moose Lake (4 hours from La Crosse) offers Agate Days events in the “agate capital of the world,” including the Agate Stampede (a free-for-all hunt through truckloads of river-rock spread onto a city street) as well as a gem and mineral show on Sunday.
July 26, Wisconsin Moonstone Mine:
This daytrip to Wausau (2 1⁄2 hours from La Crosse) will take place at a pay-to-hunt site. The moonstone on the site is plentiful, but to find higher quality pieces, you will likely need to bring a shovel to dig. If you plan to attend, you must purchase your own ticket now from the Moonstone website. Tickets sell out VERY quickly, so don’t wait. The site is easily accessible. https://wisconsinmoonstonellc.com/
August 15, Canoe Trip to Root River Gravel Bars:
This more strenuous trip includes a 10.5-mile canoe trip from Whalen to Peterson, MN, with stops on several gravel bars to hunt agates, fossils, jasper, and more. We have access to 20 or more MN-licensed canoes and a trailer to transport them. The trip requires five to six hours of paddling and the ability to walk on gravel bars. The group will meet at Whalen, and at the end of the trip, we will transport the participants and the canoes back to the starting point. This is a 10-hour trip.
Sept. 25-27, Keokuk Geode Festival, Keokuk, IA, and Hamilton, IL:
This annual festival, about five hours from La Crosse, features guided hunts for geodes twice a day on private land at over 10 different sites in Keokuk and Hamilton. A five-gallon bucket of rock costs $25. Be sure to bring buckets, a shovel, and cash to pay to the landowners. Sites vary in difficulty, but come prepared to walk in creeks and lots of sticky mud. The festival also attracts a parking lot full of rock venders at the local church. You must buy a $28.52 ticket in advance. Tickets go on sale June 15.
Oct. 3-6, Hawk’s Ridge Bluff/Haunted Ridge/Mary’s Lake, Near Cadet, MO:
A four-day trip to hunt drusy quartz and crazy-lace agate. Haunted Ridge is a pay site. We will use a private guide to access the other two sites. Cadet is an 8-hour drive from La Crosse.
Oct. 6-9, Cave-in-Rock and Rosiclare, IL:
Nine hours from La Crosse or 3 1⁄2 hours from Cadet, MO, Cave-in-Rock is a small town with a natural cave near the Shawnee National Forest. Nearby, Rosiclare, another very small town, is home to the annual Fluorspar Festival (Oct. , to an abandoned Fluorspar mine (the Minerva #1), and to a Fluorite museum. Another gem and mineral museum is 35 miles away via the ferry that connects Illinois and Kentucky. Purple and yellow fluorite can still be found in the forest and in the Minerva Mine tailings.
