Summary:

This is a spot far off the beaten path that I stumbled across after looking for some rockhounding near Quartzite, Arizona. (It’s a large annual show in January in Western AZ). The spot I was in doesn’t have a formal name, really. It was right past a campground known as Wiley’s Well, which is the name of the road to get out here as well. The coordinates will actually be closer to a second campground which goes by the name of Coon Hollow.

Here, you will find plenty of chalcedony and possibly fire agate - much like you would at a place like Saddle Mountain or Round Mountain in Arizona. Over the course of 2 days, I hiked probably a mile or two and found plenty of material. There were some really large chunks here too, which could make for a cool lapidary material. They are quite hard to cut on the saw, though.

I will warn you if you continue to the photo album below, you will see a very large spider. Apparently tarantulas call this area home as well. Seeing one in real life was a surreal experience that almost outshined the beautiful rocks that can be found here. It was far less “spooky” than I’d imagined.

As far as navigating goes - you will benefit from an AWD SUV or a truck to get out here. If you are a skilled driver, you could possibly make it out here in a car but I would not recommend it. The road was a sandy gravel that didn’t seem to be graded too often. If you plan on going on going further down this road, you can eventually reach the Hauser Geode Beds. The road transitions from a sandy gravel to rougher stone road slightly after you hit the Coon Hollow Campground area, which is roughly where I’ve dropped the map pin.