About this place
Topaz is Utah’s state gem. It is a semi-precious stone, and it turns up as very hard transparent crystals in many colors.
The crystals here are amber when you find them. Long exposure to sunlight turns them colorless.
They formed inside cavities in the Topaz Mountain rhyolite. That is a volcanic rock, erupted six or seven million years ago from vents along the faults in this area.
Topaz Mountain is in the Thomas Range in Juab County, about 36 miles northwest of Delta. It is one of the great places in the world to find topaz.
Search the washes and slopes on the south side of the mountain and you will find small crystals glimmering in the sun. Search the seams in the rhyolite and you may find gem-quality ones.
The same rock holds bixbyite and garnet. Red beryl turns up here too, but very rarely.
This is remote country. There is no water and there are no services.
Carry food, plenty of water, tools and emergency equipment.
Bring a rock hammer or an ordinary one for digging. Bring a screwdriver, bags for your gems, hiking boots, a hat, sunscreen and bug repellent.
Wear jeans. You spend a lot of the time on your knees on rough, jagged rock.
The facts
- Cost
- Camping fee not confirmed
- Drinking water
- No, bring your own
- Type
- Specific campsite
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
From Nephi, travel southwest on Hwy 132 for about 34 miles, to the town of Lynndyl and the junction with Hwy 6. Carry on south on U.S. Highway 6 for about 5 miles, then turn west onto Highway 174, the Brush Wellman Road. That junction is well marked. Drive northwest on the paved Brush Wellman Road for about 37 miles, to the signed dirt road that leads up to Topaz Mountain. The mountain is clearly visible by then. The popular rockhounding spots are along its southern slope.
Coordinates 39.666259, -113.124711
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What is near here
Nothing nationally famous is close. These are the landmarks nearby.
- Swasey Mountain Directions
- Conger Mountain 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
- Sutherland, UT Directions
- Delta, UT Directions
Delta 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.
Two in this guide sit inside that 25 miles. The nearest one you could move to is Howell Peak, Utah — 28 miles in a straight line, but a 40 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.