Flattop Mountain Rock Collecting Area

Jasper is the stone here, and the Bureau of Land Management describes the supply as plentiful. The Flattop Mountain Rock Collecting Area lies along both sides of BLM Route NS064, at the base of the mountain it is named for. From that ground the view runs out over the Ward Valley area. Collectors are invited to wander about and collect.

The way in begins on the interstate. From Needles, I-40 runs west about 20 miles to the Water Road exit. South of the exit, BLM Route NS056, Hightower Road, goes southeast about 5 miles. A left onto BLM Route NS061, Flattop Mountain Road, carries on about 4 miles to NS064, and a right turn there puts the collecting area on either side of the route. The distance from town is short, but the BLM states that a four-wheel-drive vehicle is required.

The rules are those that govern the Bureau’s public lands generally, set out in 43 CFR 8365.1-5(b)(2). A person may take reasonable amounts of rocks, mineral specimens, and semiprecious gemstones for noncommercial purposes, which means not for sale or financial gain. A permit is generally not required. Collectors may search the ground surface or prospect with hand tools such as pans, shovels, and metal detectors, provided the work causes no more than minor surface disturbance. Collecting on an existing mining claim is prohibited without the claimholder’s permission. Cultural items stay where they lie. These include pottery, beads, historic bottles, horseshoes, arrowheads and other stone tools, remnants of cabins and railroads, and any coins other than modern money. The agency prints its advice for uncertain cases plainly: “When in doubt, check first before collecting objects!”

That checking is done with the Needles Field Office, which manages the area from 1303 South U.S. Highway 95 in Needles. The BLM lists biking, camping, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, wildlife viewing, and photography among the activities nearby.