Over 500 diamonds found last year in Arkansas state park

It was a good year for diamond hunting in Arkansas.

The infamous Crater of Diamonds State Park registered a total of 540 diamonds discovered by the end of 2025 from the 37-acre field that is part of the eroded surface of an ancient volcanic crater. Visitors can engage in gem hunting by paying $15 per day.

Park staff plow the field periodically to loosen the soil and make diamond digging easier. Hunters were also helped by a record 16 inches of rain that exposed lots of large gems just sitting on the surface.

The year's final big score came for a 41-year-old Texas high school teacher when he found a 2.09-carat brown diamond on December 30.

James Ward said their daughter had asked if there was any place in Texas or Arkansas where they could mine crystals, so they asked the digital assistant Siri, who suggested the state park near Murfreesboro.

The family loaded up and drove six hours to begin their search. Wintry weather cut their search to just four hours on their first day, but their son convinced them to return the next day. Within two hours of search, Ward spotted a metallic-looking crystal in the soil.

They stopped by the park’s Diamond Discovery Center, and staff confirmed they had found a diamond, about the size of a tooth.

Park visitors have found and kept more than 35,000 diamonds since the Crater of Diamonds became an Arkansas state park in 1972. Diamonds were first discovered there in 1906, and a 40-carat rough diamond was found there in 1924.

Last August, a woman from New York unearthed a 2-carat diamond that she plans to put in her engagement ring.

A 3.81-carat brown diamond – named the Duke Diamond – was found in May.


(Photos: Arkansas State Parks)