Greetings from the Crater of Diamonds State Park! It’s hard to believe that spring break is just around the corner, after the icy weather the park has received in recent weeks. Looking forward to warmer weather, families from all over the country are planning spring break trips in the coming days, and several will choose to spend time at the world-famous Crater of Diamonds State Park. For those who plan to visit the park this spring, here are a few helpful tips to make your trip even more memorable.
During spring, the search area can be very muddy due to frequent rain showers. Check the weather forecast before your visit and plan accordingly. Wear rubber boots or shoes that you do not mind getting dirty. Even if it has not rained the week prior to your visit, lower parts of the field may still be muddy. Due to high amounts of clay in the search area, it takes several days of sunshine and warm weather for the soil to completely dry. For this reason, the field is not plowed during winter; our maintenance staff usually tries to plow in late February or early March, weather permitting.
The three most popular methods are surface searching, wet sifting, and dry sifting. You can learn about these methods before your visit, giving you more time to enjoy the search area once you arrive. Watch instructional diamond searching videos on the Digging for Diamonds page on our website at www.CraterofDiamondsStatePark.com. You can also check out our Events page and plan to attend a Diamond Mining 101 demonstration, where a park interpreter will discuss different methods of diamond searching and show what a real Crater diamonds look like.
Due to weather and wet conditions in the search area, you may not be able to successfully dry sift during your visit. If you plan to wet sift, the water tanks located at the two washing pavilions in the search area are not heated. Wear thick rubber gloves and an apron to stay dry and warm on cold spring mornings. Surface searching requires no tools but your eyes. Many visitors find diamonds while walking up and down the plowed rows of dirt looking on top of the ground.
One of the best ways to improve your chances of finding a diamond is to spend more time at the park. To spend more time searching and less time traveling, the park recommends packing a lunch and a reusable water bottle. There are picnic areas located throughout the park. Water fountains are located at each building and at the washing pavilions.
After a wet, icy winter, park staff are excited to see the beautiful diamonds our visitors will find when the weather warms up this spring! We look forward to seeing you in the months to come.
Search area last plowed: September 27, 2022
Most recent significant rainfall: February 15, 2023
Diamond highlights (100 points = 1 carat):
Feb 15 – Nicholette Peoples, Scranton, PA, 1.46 ct. white
Feb 16 – Jeffery Peek, Lonoke, AR, 74 pt. brown
Feb 19 – Natasha Wheatley, New Waverly, TX, 13 pt. white
Feb 20 – Jack Penradin, Nashville, AR, 38 pt. yellow
