Great Salt Plains Crystal Digging Beach

The selenite crystals of the Great Salt Plains are unique. As they form in the wet, salty soil, they trap grains of sand in a way that produces a distinctive hourglass or bow-tie shape inside the crystal, a feature found in the selenite here and essentially nowhere else in the world. Single crystals and clustered rosettes can both be found.

Selenite is a clear, glassy form of gypsum, and the crystals grow in the top layers of the salt-saturated mud. Because the flats are constantly wetted by salty groundwater and baked by the sun, conditions are just right for the crystals to keep forming, which is why visitors are allowed to dig and keep them within reasonable limits.

The method is simple and part of the fun. Diggers walk out onto the flat, choose a spot, and dig a shallow hole, which soon fills with salty water seeping up from below. Splashing that water against the sides of the hole washes away the mud and reveals the crystals embedded in the walls, which can then be carefully worked free by hand.

It is muddy, salty, sun-soaked work, so old clothes, closed shoes, water, and a hat make all the difference, along with a trowel and a container for your finds. The crystals are fragile when first dug, so they need to be handled and dried gently. Children love the treasure-hunt nature of it, and few people leave without at least a small hourglass crystal to take home.

The Great Salt Plains are the bed of an ancient sea that once covered the region. As it evaporated over millions of years, it left behind thick deposits of salt, which salty groundwater continues to draw to the surface today. As that water evaporates in the sun, it leaves a white crust of salt across the flats, the shimmering expanse visitors see.

The salinity here is remarkable, and the flats support life adapted to those harsh conditions. The result is a landscape that feels far from Oklahoma's green image, closer to a desert salt pan, and one of the more surprising and memorable natural areas in the state.

The digging area sits within the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, a major stop on the Central Flyway for migrating birds. The shallow, salty Great Salt Plains Lake and its surrounding flats and marshes draw enormous numbers of shorebirds, ducks, geese, gulls, and the striking white-and-black American avocet, along with pelicans and, at times, whooping cranes passing through.

Because it is protected habitat, parts of the refuge are closed at certain seasons to shelter nesting and migrating birds, and the crystal digging area itself is open only for part of the year. Travelers who time their visit right get both a one-of-a-kind rock hunt and some of the best bird-watching on the southern plains.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.