Crater of Diamonds SP in Arkansas
Taking some advice from the Middleswarts, I decided to stop by and see what is up with this crazy state park full of diamonds and their "finders, keepers" policy.
Located about an hour and a half west of Hot Springs NP, it was at a good spot to call it a day from driving from southern Louisiana. Pretty area with lots of windy roads and lots of trees. Nice little ups and downs that made the driving interesting. When I checked in at the visitor center, I didn't have any luck with getting a campsite at the state park, darn it, forgot about spring break! I got some good advice about a little campground not far from the park and headed to set up. Nice folks, and got to set up in a pine tree area with a little pond. Nice little spot for $15. Even got to take a shower at the end of the day.
Headed back up to the park to see if looking for diamonds might be something I would want to do. Wandered around the small visitor center and learned about the history of the park and how the state came to own it. Basically, it is an old volcano and one of only a few places in the US that has diamonds. Most are yellow and brown in color, and the size of a BB or smaller.
Checked into the pricing and was a little surprised. It was $10 just to get into the area of the park that was plowed periodically to do some searching. If you needed gear, like buckets, sifters, shovel, etc., you had to pay a rental fee and by the time you had all your gear, it was easily another $25. I checked out the stats, and considering there is an average of only one diamond found per day, and there were hundreds of people out there digging, I really didn't think it was a good investment. So I wandered around for a bit, and realized there wasn't anyone actually making sure people had paid their $10 to get to the field. So, I helped myself to the area and wandered around for a bit.
I decided I would have better luck winning the lottery. So after I left the park I bought a Power Ball and a Mega Millions lotto ticket. Worse odds, but better payout!
Located about an hour and a half west of Hot Springs NP, it was at a good spot to call it a day from driving from southern Louisiana. Pretty area with lots of windy roads and lots of trees. Nice little ups and downs that made the driving interesting. When I checked in at the visitor center, I didn't have any luck with getting a campsite at the state park, darn it, forgot about spring break! I got some good advice about a little campground not far from the park and headed to set up. Nice folks, and got to set up in a pine tree area with a little pond. Nice little spot for $15. Even got to take a shower at the end of the day.
Headed back up to the park to see if looking for diamonds might be something I would want to do. Wandered around the small visitor center and learned about the history of the park and how the state came to own it. Basically, it is an old volcano and one of only a few places in the US that has diamonds. Most are yellow and brown in color, and the size of a BB or smaller.
Checked into the pricing and was a little surprised. It was $10 just to get into the area of the park that was plowed periodically to do some searching. If you needed gear, like buckets, sifters, shovel, etc., you had to pay a rental fee and by the time you had all your gear, it was easily another $25. I checked out the stats, and considering there is an average of only one diamond found per day, and there were hundreds of people out there digging, I really didn't think it was a good investment. So I wandered around for a bit, and realized there wasn't anyone actually making sure people had paid their $10 to get to the field. So, I helped myself to the area and wandered around for a bit.
I decided I would have better luck winning the lottery. So after I left the park I bought a Power Ball and a Mega Millions lotto ticket. Worse odds, but better payout!
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