About this place
The Round Mountain Rockhound Area sits near the town of Duncan, in eastern Arizona. People come here to hunt for rocks, and mostly for fire agate, a stone that flashes color when the light catches it. Chalcedony and other agate turn up too.
Come between October and April. Summer out here is hot and there's nothing to hide under. Bring plenty of water and sun protection.
There are rules about collecting, and they apply to everyone. Read them before you fill a bucket.
The facts
- Cost
- Camping fee not confirmed
- Type
- Specific campsite
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
Take Highway 70 east from Safford for about 50 miles, crossing into New Mexico, and carry on to just past milepost 5. Turn right onto the dirt access road and follow it 12 miles, watching for the signs to the Rockhound Area.
Coordinates 32.4847167, -109.0595
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
Nothing nationally famous is close. These are the landmarks nearby.
- Steins Peak Directions
Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.
Nearest town and supplies
- Franklin, AZ Directions
- Lordsburg, NM Directions
Lordsburg is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.
Why the drive to town is usually twice what the map says — what we found measuring every campsite in this guide.
When it’s time to move on
On most public land you can camp for 14 days before you have to move on. Check this site’s own limit before you plan a long stay. When you move on, the Bureau of Land Management usually wants you at least 25 to 30 miles away. So the free campsites closest to you are the ones you cannot use.
Nothing in this guide sits within 25 miles of here anyway. The nearest one you could move to is Black Jack Campground, Arizona — 40 miles in a straight line, but a 57 mile drive.
This guide covers five states and does not list every free campsite, so there may be something closer that we do not hold. Check this site’s own rule before you rely on it.
Have you been here?
Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
Add road notes for this site
The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
Where this information comes from
The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026.