Finding Geodes at Wildcat Springs Park, Hamiliton, IL

We took a short trip to Western Illinois over Columbus Day.  One of the things we really wanted to do was find some Keokuk geodes.  The area surrounding the tri-state area where Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa come together is famous for geodes, generally called Keokuk geodes.   I little research showed that there are several places to search for them, including some geode quarries.  

We decided to go easy and look at the Wildcat Springs Park in Hamilton, Illinois.  All we did was go to the park, then head for the stream bottoms or erosion gullies and start looking.  In not much time at all we had several geodes in hand, and in less then a half hour of easy looking we ended up with two gallons of geodes.   I told the kids to look for "fossil potatoes", since the geodes are roundish like potatoes and hard like rocks or fossils.

We took them out of the streambed and sat down at a covered pavilion and split several of them.  Some of them were duds, but some were full of beautiful crystals.  We took a while and split about half of our bucket, then brought the rest of them home with us to split later.

If you're looking for a great free spot near Keokuk to find geodes, Wildcat Springs Park in Hamilton is definitely a spot you can find success.

Nearest City: Hamilton, IL
Location: N° W°
Time Needed: varies
Difficulty: easy
Kid Friendly: yes
Additional Info: