Most tourist attractions leave visitors with photos and memories, but one state park in the United States gives them the opportunity to discover natural diamonds and take them home.
The latest success story came when Florida couple Scott and Jennifer Freitas discovered a 3.36-carat white diamond, now called the Dash Diamond, during a visit to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. Just weeks ago, Pennsylvania visitor Keshia Smith discovered a 3.09-carat white diamond. These fascinating finds are just the latest examples of why the park has become one of America’s most unusual tourist attractions, where visitors search for natural diamonds and manage to keep whatever they find.
The only garden of its kind
Located in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, Crater of Diamonds State Park is the world’s only public diamond site where visitors can hunt for natural diamonds at their original volcanic source and legally keep any gems they discover. Unlike traditional mines, the park operates under a unique system “Keepers of discoverers” A policy that allows anyone to take home the diamonds, gemstones or minerals they discover.Instead of just viewing exhibits, visitors can spend their day digging, scavenging, or sifting through a 37-acre research field.
The park rents tools such as shovels, buckets and screens to beginners, while experienced visitors are welcome to bring their own equipment. Staff at the Diamond Discovery Center also identify and record each suspected diamond free of charge, helping visitors distinguish between genuine gemstones and ordinary rocks.
On average, visitors discover approximately two diamonds per day, although thousands of other minerals, including amethyst, agate, jasper and carnelian, are found throughout the year.
How were diamonds first found there?
The story begins in 1906 when local farmer John Huddleston discovered two unusual sparkling stones on his property while searching for a better farming site. The stones were later identified as diamonds, sparking a wave of excitement that became known as “Arkansas.” “Diamond fever”. Prospectors, investors and mining companies soon descended on the area, hoping to uncover commercially usable diamond deposits.Although several mining companies attempted to extract diamonds commercially over the following decades, none were able to maintain profitable operations.
Extracting the volcanic soil on a large scale proved difficult, and the property changed hands several times. In 1972, the State of Arkansas purchased the site and turned it into Crater of Diamonds State Park, giving the public a rare opportunity to hunt for natural diamonds themselves rather than leaving the land for commercial mining.
The numbers that make it special
Since it became a state park in 1972, visitors have logged more than 37,377 diamonds.
Looking back, more than 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed from the site since the first discoveries in 1906. Park officials estimate that visitors continue to find more than 600 diamonds each year, with many finds ranging from tiny white crystals to multi-carat gemstones.The diamond hunting area covers approximately 37 acres, making it one of the very few places in the world where members of the public can hunt for diamonds that occur naturally in their original volcanic source.
The field lies above an eroded volcanic pipe known as the Prairie Creek lambroite, which brought diamonds from deep within the Earth’s mantle millions of years ago.The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States also came from this site. Known as “Uncle Sam’s diamond,” the rough stone weighed 40.23 carats when it was found in 1924. After being cut into an emerald-shaped gem weighing 12.42 carats, it became part of the minerals and gemstone collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, where it remains today.
Why visitors still go
The garden’s biggest appeal is its simplicity “Keepers of discoverers” policy. Every diamond, gemstone or mineral discovered by visitors legally belongs to the person who finds it, regardless of its size or value. This base has turned the park into a favorite destination for amateur treasure hunters, geology enthusiasts and families from all over the world.Guests can search using several methods, including surface searching, dry screening, and wet screening, the latter of which is considered one of the most successful techniques for diamond recovery because it separates heavier materials from lighter soils.
After finding a potential diamond, geologists at the park examine the stone and record officially qualifying finds before visitors take them home.Although there is no guarantee of finding a diamond, the possibility of finding a diamond keeps visitors coming back year after year. Many arrive with no mining experience at all, yet the park regularly produces finds noted by tourists, reinforcing the idea that anyone can become the next person to discover valuable gemstones.
Weather conditions, especially heavy rain, often improve the chances of finding diamonds because rainfall washes away the soil and exposes the stones near the surface.
The famous diamonds found in the park
Crater of Diamonds State Park has produced many famous gemstones over the past century, many of which have become part of American gemological history.Uncle Sam’s diamond remains the largest ever found in the United States. Discovered in 1956, the Arkansas Star weighed 15.33 carats before being cut into a 7.54-carat gem.
The Amarillo Starlight, discovered by a visitor from Texas in 1975, weighed 16.37 carats and was later shaped into a 7.54-carat diamond, becoming the largest diamond found by a visitor since the site became a state park.Another famous find is the Esperanza Diamond, an 8.52-carat rough white diamond found in 2015 by Colorado visitor Frenchie Bordelon. After being expertly cut and polished, it is a flawless 4.6-carat gem, considered one of the finest diamonds ever recovered from the garden.
Another iconic find was the Strawn-Wagner diamond, which was discovered in 1990. Although the rough stone weighed only 3.03 carats, it achieved the rare distinction of being graded as perfect cut, D color and flawless, making it one of the most perfect diamonds in the world.Recently, visitors have continued to make headlines. Pennsylvania resident Keshia Smith discovered the 3.09-carat Za’Novia Liberty diamond in May 2026, while Florida couple Scott and Jennifer Freitas found the 3.36-carat Dash Diamond in July 2026, which is now the second largest diamond recorded in the park this year. As of the park’s latest update, 332 diamonds have been recorded at Crater of Diamonds State Park in 2026, proving that amazing discoveries are still being made by regular visitors every year.
