How to hunt for Idaho star garnets at Emerald Creek
Examining the once-in-a-lifetime experience to make your own jewelry
A pendant with a star garnet on display in Gem State Crystals of Moscow, Idaho | Cody Roberts
Long ago, in the fires of scorching earth below, garnets were formed. But 12 miles below Idaho, a master garnet heated to 1000 degrees was formed with a particular gift. In it twinkles a six-sided white star.
It sounds like something from Lord of the Rings, but this is real. And you can even go hunting for your own Idaho star garnet this summer. But don’t grab your shovel and pail and expect a garnet ring just yet.
There’s a process.
This land of fantasy is called Emerald Creek Garnet Area, a site on public land located west of the small unincorporated town of Clarkia. It’s famous as one of two places on earth that produce star garnets in any quantity.
Visitors at Emerald Creek Garnet Area sift through material and sluice for star garnets. | Courtesy of Patrick Lair
According to Patrick Lair, a public affairs officer for the Forest Service, this dig site used to be a free-for-all. Rock hunters would come out in droves, camp everywhere and dig all over the streambeds.
But as visitations increased, this started to cause concern for public safety, water quality and fish populations. So, the forest service began to manage access.
Now, they excavate the pockets of garnets themselves and dump them into piles. Visitors who bought tickets 90 days in advance come to the site and fill a bucket with the dirt. Then they wash their dirt in sluice boxes to reveal raw garnet material.
“I think most people, if they sift and sluice for the full three hours, can easily get two pounds of material,” Lair said.
But this material hardly resembles the pretty purple garnets you’d imagine. That’s because the gnarled raw ball of crud must be taken to a specialty stone cutter.
Raw garnet material sits on the counter at Gem State Crystals. According to lapidary Mogley Samter, large garnets can’t be processed or else they fall apart. | Cody Roberts
“There is definitely a special skill needed to coax a star out of a rough garnet,” said Nira Walters, the minerals administrator/geologist for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. “The normal approach to cutting a stone from the outside doesn’t work.”
One of just a few lapidaries that specialize in bringing out these stars happens to be in Moscow.
Mogley Samter, a lapidary at Gem State Crystals in Moscow, said the raw garnet material must be opened up to reveal its star. But many out of Emerald Creek have only a faint star or are too fractured to produce quality garnets.
But every so often, you strike gold… or garnet, that is. Some visitors walk away with a four or even six-pointed star.
But Idaho’s native star garnets aren’t in infinite supply.
According to Walters, the Forest Service has mapped 20 garnet areas, and seven have been excavated so far. The current process to dig up clusters for rock hunters to sift through will have enough material to last until 2033.
Information on how to purchase a permit to dig for your own star garnets can be found on the Forest Service website. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children 6-12.