Idaho’s state gem is the star garnet, and this is the only place on Earth you can go dig your own besides India. The garnets are almandine, deep purple to nearly black, and the good ones show a four-rayed or, rarely, six-rayed star when cut as a cabochon. You buy a permit from the Forest Service, they point you at the screening area on the creek, and you dig gravel and wash it in a sluice. PUBLIC dig with a USFS permit, Emerald Creek in the St. Joe National Forest near Fernwood.
Star garnet (four- and six-rayed)
Other places on the map within a couple of hours.
