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Arkansas is the only place in the world the public can find diamonds and keep them! The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas allows the public to dig for diamonds daily from 8am – 4pm for just an $8 admission. (They are closed New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.) The crater, near Murfreesboro, is the only currently active diamond mine in the country.
Think diamonds aren’t found here? Think again. More than 35,000 diamonds have been found by park visitors since the Crater of Diamonds became an Arkansas state park in 1972. Notable diamonds found at the Crater include the 40.23-carat Uncle Sam, the largest diamond ever unearthed in the U.S.!!; the 16.37-carat Amarillo Starlight; the 15.33-carat Star of Arkansas; and the 8.52-carat Esperanza.
The flawless 12.4-carat pinkish-brown Uncle Sam Diamond was cut from a crystal weighing a whopping 40.23 carats that was discovered at Crater of Diamonds in 1924, making it the largest faceted diamond ever discovered in the Arkansas mine. Today, you can see the stone at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History museum. It resides next to the Canary Diamond, an uncut stone that also hails from the Crater of Diamonds State Park.
Diamonds are literally found here every single day. Make your reservations here and head on over to Murfreesboro, Arkansas and see what you can find.
Visitors to the park search a 37-acre field, the eroded surface of a volcanic crater, for a variety of rocks, minerals, and gemstones – and any rock or mineral you find is yours to keep. You may bring your own mining equipment to search with (no battery-operated or motor-driven mining tools allowed), or rent tools from the park.
Here is the actual site of the Uncle Sam Diamond.
The diamond search area is plowed periodically when the weather allows to help loosen the surface soil and promote diamond finds. Plowing is unscheduled but generally takes place once a month during spring, summer, and fall. Historical structures and mining equipment, washing pavilions, and sun shelters are located in the search area. Diamond mining tools are available for rent or purchase at the park.
Here are the ten largest diamonds ever found there since it was established as a state park in 1972:
| 1 | 16.36 ct. “Amarillo Starlight” | W. W. Johnson of Amarillo, Texas, found this massive white gem while on vacation with his family in 1975. |
| 2 | 9.07 ct. “Kinard Friendship Diamond” | Kevin Kinard, a 33-year-old bank branch manager from Maumelle, found this 9.07 ct. diamond on Labor Day. 2020. He named it the “Kinard Friendship Diamond,” since he was with his friends when he found it. |
| 3 | 8.82 ct. diamond | Carroll Blankenship of Louisiana found this 8.82 ct. white diamond in 1981. |
| 4 | 8.66 ct. “Illusion Diamond” | Beth Gilbertson of Colorado found this 8.66 ct. white diamond in 2011. She named it the “Illusion Diamond.” |
| 5 | 8.61 ct. diamond | Betty Lamle of Oklahoma found this 8.61 ct. brown diamond in 1978. |
| 6 | 8.52 ct. “Esperanza Diamond” | Bobbie Oskarson of Colorado found this 8.52 ct. white diamond in 2015. She named it the “Esperanza Diamond.” |
| 7 | 7.95 ct. diamond | Keith and Kevin Connell of Illinois found this 7.95 ct. white diamond in 1986. |
| 8 | 7.44 ct. “Superman’s Diamond” | 14-year-old Kalel Langford, of Centerton found this brown diamond in 2017. He named it “Superman’s Diamond.” |
| 9 | 7.28 ct. diamond | Mary Dickinson and Carol Stevens of Mississippi found this yellow diamond in 1998. It weighed 7.28 ct. |
| 10 | 6.75 ct diamond | Tom Dunn of Missouri found this light brown diamond in 1975. It weighed 6.75 ct. |
Big diamonds continue to be found today. Here are some recent finds:
November 2022 Visitor Finds 1.90-Carat Diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park
April 2022 A visitor found a 2.38-carat brown diamond
September 2021 Visitor Finds 4.38-Carat Yellow Diamond sitting on top of the ground after an hour of searching!
So pack up the kids, dog and and head out to Arkansas. Pets are welcome on leashes. You can put a tent on a campsite or hookup a motorhome (Class AAA – Water/50Am/Sewer).
