Richardson's Recreation Ranch is located 12 miles northeast of Madras on Highway 97. The ranch is the best place in Central Oregon for the rockhound. It has a top-notch rock shop and many agate, jasper and thunderegg beds. Some say that 65% of the world's thundereggs come from his ranch. Most of these are dug by amateurs. There are four very prolific egg beds. The Blue Bed is the most famous with about 100 yards of perlite to work under. The eggs are in the floor of the bed and the best seem to come from a foot under the perlite and down another foot. The eggs are mostly blue agate, layered with some stalactites. There have also been a few scenic eggs found here that look like seascapes or sunsets. There is also a Red Bed, Priday Moss Bed, the Opal Bed and the Flat Bed. You can try your hand at hunting for your own eggs or purchase on from the rock shop and museum. You'll never forget the experience!

Friend Ranch. Friend's eggs are beautiful and unique. They have blobs of multicolored agate mixed with vivid opaque agate, which runs from black to red and blue. The beds are well maintained and new hollows are continually being scooped out for more digging pleasure. There is also a whole hillside of petrified wood for the picking. They are located in the Ashwood area.

Nartz Ranch. This ranch has the famous Chief Paulina agate bed and a few other agate ledges which have been little-explored. The agate runs in many colors, with blue and clear/white dominating. There is quite a bit of brown polka-dot sugary white agate here as well. The ledge is worth exploring.  Nartz' are located in the Ashwood area.

Marston Ranch. The Marstons have the most unusual petrified wood you will ever see. The pieces piled in the front yard will give you a clue as to what awaits at the dig. This wood has been totally replaced with agate. There is no wood structure left. Instead you'll see a brown to clear matrix with blobs and swirls of multi-colored agate in red, green, orange, and yellow. If you're lucky, you'll see purple and red flow jasper, mixed up in beautiful swirls. A must see.  Marstons are located in the Ashwood area.

McDonald Ranch. The McDonald Ranch has thundereggs, petrified wood, jasp-agate, angel wing, and tube agate ledges. Some have found "herringbone" wood which has a great pattern It's easy to dig, the deposit is very soft.  McDonald's Ranch is in the Ashwood area.

Ochs Ranch. Ochs, who own half of the old Priday Ranch, have at least thundereggs and probably agate and petrified wood as well. The Dolly Parton bed was so named because twin eggs are sometimes found there. The best feature of the eggs here is that they flouresce strongly under shortwave UV. There has been a lot of work done on these beds as you will see from the pics.  Ochs' are in the Willowdale & Ashwood area.

Priday Polka-Dot Mine.  This site is open sporadically between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The agate has many dotted area, and even the jasp-agate is beautiful. You'll need some hard rock tools for this dig though. Some of the areas are full of healed fractures into which red and brown jasper has seeped, It's all beautiful.  Priday's are in the Ashwood area.