Where rockhounding is actually allowed: a plain English primer

Land ownership determines what you are legally allowed to collect, and it is worth understanding the basics before you plan a trip. In the United States, land managed by the Bureau of Land Management generally allows reasonable personal use collecting of common rocks, minerals, and petrified wood in small quantities, but specific rules, quantity limits, and closures vary by field office, so it is always worth a quick call or website check before you go. National Forest land, managed by the US Forest Service, has broadly similar personal use allowances in most areas. National Parks and National Monuments are essentially always off limits to collecting without a special permit, and most State Parks are the same. None of this applies to active mining claims, which are privately held even when they sit on public land, collecting on a staked claim without the claim holder's permission is trespassing regardless of whether the surrounding land is otherwise open. Tribal land requires separate permission from the tribe and is governed by its own rules entirely. When in doubt, the local BLM field office or Forest Service ranger district is the actual authority on current rules for a specific area, not a forum post or a general rule of thumb.