Diamond hunters swarm US park to unearth pricey precious gems — that visitors are allowed to keep

You tin make a beautiful penny astatine this park.

This American nationalist parkland is nan only 1 successful nan world wherever visitors tin excavation and return location existent diamonds from their original volcanic source.

Crater of Diamonds State Park, located successful Murfreesboro, Arkansas, has been visited by jewel hunters since 1972.

The 37-acre site, which sits atop a volcanic crater, is unfastened for find regular from 8 americium until 4 p.m. — except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Thousands of hopefuls sojourn nan parkland each twelvemonth to scour nan grounds for a flashy find — and galore person travel distant successful.

An mean of 1 to 2 mini diamonds are recovered per day.

Over 35,000 diamonds person been recovered to date, including nan largest gem ever unearthed successful nan US: nan 40.23-carat chromatic called “Uncle Sam.”

It’s now connected show astatine nan Smithsonian’s mineral and gem postulation astatine nan National Museum of Natural History successful Washington, D.C.

Scott Kreykes is simply a regular astatine nan park.

In 2022 he collected nan 35,000th diamond recorded astatine nan site. Coincidentally, it was nan 50th gemstone he’d recovered location that twelvemonth and nan 80th of each his searches.

For his achievement, Kreykes received a free two-night enactment astatine an Arkansas authorities park and a typical show for his gem and registration card.

Diamonds discovered astatine nan parkland are typically white, yellow, aliases brown.

Amethyst, garnet, jasper, agate, quartz, and different rocks and minerals tin besides beryllium found.

Admission to nan Diamond Search Area costs $7 for children aged 6 to 12 and $15 for anyone 13 years and older.

Visitors tin rent instrumentality aliases moreover bring their own— but battery-operated aliases motor-driven mining devices are strictly prohibited.

Each personification is besides allowed to time off pinch 1 five-gallon bucket of sifted gravel location pinch them per time to hunt again astatine home.

The parkland squad provides mining demonstrations and will place immoderate findings.

The latest find to make headlines was a 3.81-carat brownish gem that a man astir looked over, initially mistaking it for a candy wrapper.

David DeCook and his relative Derek visited nan parkland connected April 21 erstwhile David noticed thing successful nan ungraded pinch a metallic, tinfoil-like shine, which he first thought was a discarded candy wrapper.

However, upon person inspection, David realized he had deed nan jackpot. The gem, which he named The Duke Diamond successful grant of his dog, is nan largest to beryllium recovered successful nan parkland this year, according to officials.

The imaginable value of his gemstone has not been determined, but it is apt worthy thousands.

In 2013, teen Tana Clymer found a very uncommon 3.850-carat canary diamond. Officials estimated it to beryllium worthy betwixt $50,000 to $60,000.

While nan gem section is nan main attraction, Crater of Diamonds State Park besides offers stepping trails, picnic areas, a campground, a sportfishing lake, and a mining-themed waterpark called Diamond Springs.