Crystal Vista
Arkansas
Find: Quartz
GPS: 34.50389, -93.6124
Nearest city: Hot Springs, AR
Recommended Vehicle: Any
Season: Accessible year round, Spring or Fall are likely best for weather.
Summary:
Crystal Vista is within National Forest lands in Arkansas. It is a great spot for both avid collectors and families, with plentiful quartz crystals able to be found following a beautiful hike up the mountain. The quartz here isn’t as striking in size or character as you might find at some of the area’s paid dig sites, however.
The hike is steep but not overbearing, but there isn’t much shade in the digging area. As of 2025, they’ve done some work up top to put in new fencing they’d like you to stay within. There is still plenty to be found within the fencing.
With some good luck, I hit a nice small pocket on the first hole I chose to dig in. There could truly be small crystal veins just about everywhere in here - or I just picked the right place to point the shovel. Unfortunately, I was only able to spend a single day here.
I found that a 3lb hammer and flat chisel were most productive for digging through hard rock to search for pockets of small quartz crystals. The crystals I found were embedded in an orange clay. A deer antler or tent stake are helpful to dig quartz crystals and minimize the chance of scratching them.
Please backfill the holes that you dig here at the end of the day.
3 Helpful Tools
D-Handle Mini Shovel
A good short-handle shovel will help you clear out your tailings as you clear out pieces of hard rock when digging holes.
1-inch Flat Chisel
I used a 1 inch x 12in chisel with a handguard while digging here and it did well.
3lb Hammer
A 3lb hammer is a great weight to go with to balance hard-hitting with swinging it all day.
This is the relatively steep hike up to the dig site.
Here's a Google Earth measurement of the rough path. 0.7 miles
This is the newly added fenceline that creates a boundary along the dig area. Admittedly, I worried at first but there is plenty of room to dig.
It looks like dirt, but this is the bedrock you'll be digging in.
One of my better points.
An elongated piece.
A small 3-pointed cluster, where they all pointed towards each other.
The largest cluster I was able to pull out of there.
Lots of fun, but hard work!