The Little Naches area is about 47 miles northwest of Yakima, in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. It is a popular year-round destination and offers many outdoor activities in a beautiful natural setting.

This area is also a good place for rockhounding, where you can find materials like agate, jasper, and blue-gray chalcedony. It is especially known for thundereggs, which are fairly rare in Washington State.

Little Naches Thunderegg Rockhounding

The hills in the Quartz Creek area near the river are especially notable for producing thundereggs filled with blue-gray-white agate, often accompanied by quartz. Unique lily pad jasper thundereggs and leaf fossils are also found here.

There are a few beds in the area, and each produces material with its own characteristics. The most notable are Bed #1 and Bed #2.

Little Naches - Bed#1

Agate thundereggs from this deposit exhibit distinctive features such as banding, feather patterns, waterlines, and orange streaks throughout the matrix.

The dig site is a 0.5-mile hike from the trailhead, where you'll find numerous pits left by previous collectors. You can continue digging in old pits if they look promising or start your own. You'll need a shovel or pick. If the eggs are attached to host rocks, use a hammer and chisel.

Little Naches Bed#2 - Lily Pad Thundereggs

These thundereggs are especially unique and, as the name suggests, resemble lily pads. The specimens have a bluish jasper core, often outlined by orange material and surrounded by tan, whitish, or greenish matrix. Sometimes, quartz pockets are present.

The lily pad deposits sit along the road, so no long hikes are required.

GPS navigation systems, including those used by Google Maps, can sometimes encounter inaccuracies, especially in remote or backcountry areas.