CCFMS Field Trips

Each CCFMS club decides if it runs its own local field trips. Many do. If you are interested in field tripping, you should contact your local club or a club that is active in field tripping. Many of our members belong to multiple clubs specifically because they enjoy field tripping so much.

The Federation runs a couple of field trips each year that are open to all Affiliate Member Clubs in good standing. The dates of these trips can be found in the Field Trips Button.

Recurring Field Trips

  • Beamsville Quarry Nelson Aggregates Quarry, Beamsville Ontario - Saturday - 2nd weekend in May, 4th weekend in September
    Bowmanville Quarry St. Marys Cement Inc. (Canada), Bowmanville - Fall & Spring 


Code of Ethics for Rockhounds

      Printed below is the Code of Ethics adopted by CCFMS to which all its members are expected to abide by:

  1. I will respect both private and public property and will do no collecting on privately owned land without the owner's permission.
  2. I will keep informed on all laws, regulations or rules governing collecting on public lands and will observe them.
  3. I will, to the best of my ability, ascertain the boundary lines of property on which I plan to collect.
  4. I will use no firearms or blasting material in collecting areas.
  5. I will cause no willful damage to property of any kind - fences, signs, buildings etc.
  6. I will leave all gates as found.
  7. I will build fires in designated or safe places only, and will be certain they are completely extinguished before leaving the area.
  8. I will discard no burning material - matches, cigarettes, etc.
  9. I will fill all excavation holes which may be dangerous to livestock. I will not contaminate wells, creeks or other water supply.
  10. I will cause no willful damage to collecting material, and will take home only what I can reasonably use.
  11. I will leave all collecting areas devoid of litter, regardless of how found.
  12. I will co-operate with field trip leaders, and those designated in authority in all collecting areas.
  13. I will report to my Club or Federation Officers, or other proper authorities, any deposit of material on public lands which should be protected for the enjoyment of future generations for public educational and scientific purposes.
  14. I will appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources.
  15. I will observe the "Golden Rule" and will use "Good Outdoor Manners" and will at all times conduct myself in a manner which will add to the stature and "Public Image" of rockhounds everywhere.


Past Field Trips

Your Field Trip Committee is very proud of its record in planning and executing successful summer trips. Just to jog your memory, we would like to review some of the geography and mineralogy we have experienced:

1979 ~ Ottawa Valley etc. (Basil Halhed)

1980 ~ Sudbury, Cobalt, Gowganda, North Bay (Court Saunders) 

  • The trip of the famous Chapman silver find

1981 ~ Circle Superior (Court Saunders)

  • Iron mines of Upper Michigan, copper mines of the Keewanaw
  • Thomsonite in Minnesota, amethyst, fluorite at Rossport
  • Iron mines in Wawa, smoky quartz

1982 ~ Two trips (Court Saunders)

  • Maine and New Hampshire 
  • Tourmaline, beryl, radioactives, fluorapatite, other exotics
  • learned our lesson to do research and scouting beforehand
  • Court earned his "Up-Hill: nickname here
  • Northern Ontario and Quebec
  • Moly, bismutinite, arsenopyrite, pyrite, gold, soapstone, asbestos, silver, beryl, spodumene

1983 ~ Upper Ottawa Valley (Court Saunders)

  • Spinel, amazonite, Greeley quartz, diopside, apatite, Yates mine

1984 ~ Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Upper State New York (Court Saunders)

  • byssolite (actinolite), pyrite, magnetite
  • zeolites from Gettysburg (and history lesson from Don Hyland)
  • Franklinite, and other zinc minerals in Franklin, N.J.
  • Williamsite from Maryland (along with poison ivy)
  • Hematite roses, uvite tourmaline, dravite tourmaline, albite and others from the Pitcairn skarn zone in New York

1985 ~ Polar Bear Trip to Northern Ontario (Court Saunders)

  • Vermilion mine for sperrylite
  • wet walk for cobalite near Espanola
  • bonanza at Rossport (fluorite)
  • amethyst, gold in Timmins (Dome), silver (Silver Crater)

1986 ~ Keewanaw and Wisconsin (Court Saunders, Dick Farmery)

  • Seaman Museum in Houghton/Hancock
  • Copper and copper/silver "half-breeds"
  • underground at the Caledonia mine, bears at Copper Harbour
  • Datolite and analcite at the Cliff Mine, chisel chips
  • wierd pegmatites in Wisconsin

1987 ~ Ottawa Valley and Eastern Townships of Quebec (Court Saunders)

  • Spinel (including mauve), Oka (pyrochlore), St. Eustache, (Dolomitic Calcite), St. Hilaire, Mt. Orford (Diopside and green garnet)
  • Sherbrooke (pyrite in slate), Asbestos (Vesuvianite, grossular garnet), - Thetford (Hydromagnesite, stillbite, apophyllite, calcite). Crean Hill mine (realgar)

1988 ~ Virginia (Dick Farmery)

  • Cassiterite, pyrolusite, prehnite, topaz, amazonite, turquoise crystals, stilbite, kyanite

1989 ~ Sunset Country (Bill Plavac)

  • Stanley, Rabbit Mountain, Silver Mountain for argentite, prehnite, sulphides, amethyst, quartz
  • Atikokan (Steep Rock and Caland mines) for calcite, quartz, pyrolusite, manganite, hematite, goethite
  • Amethyst, fluorite, barite, gold, galena, sphalerite
  • Labradorite, zircon

1990 ~ Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia (Dave Paterson)

  • tourmaline, beryl, fluorapatite, plus some "small" aquamarines
  • Native antimony & stibnite
  • Cassiterite, wolframite, and topaz
  • Gold, andalusite, barite
  • Zeolites - stilbite, heulandite, laumontite, chabazite

1991 ~

1992 ~ Bluegrass: Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana (Court Saunders)

  • calcite, millerite, barite, celestite, sphalerite
  • pyrite, dolomite, fluorite
  • galena, marcasite, quartz, chalcedony
  • flint, agate, fossils

1993 ~ Heritage Trail: Vermont, New Hampshire, Quebec (Court Saunders)

  • grossular, magnetite, serpentine
  • quartz, beryl, autinite, pyrite
  • diopside, chromite, vesuvianite
  • Mt. Orford Nickel Mine - diopside, millerite

1994 ~ Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana (Court Saunders)

1995 ~ Keweenaw: Northern Michigan (Court Saunders)

  • datolite, barite, copper, silver
  • cuprite, agate, analcime

1995 ~ Superior II: Northern Ontario (Court Saunders)

  • Atikokan: manganite, hematite, pyrolusite
  • Nipigon: amethyst
  • spodumene, fluorite

1996 ~ Bluenose II: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick (Bill & Roni Plavac)

  • zeolites, jasper, fossils
  • gypsum, manganite, barite
  • wolframite, cassiterite, molybdenite
  • stibnite, antimony, kermesite

1997 ~ Western Ho: Manitoba and Northwest Ontario (Court Saunders)

1998 ~ Tristate: Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Iowa (Court Saunders)

1999 ~ The Final Frontier: Newfoundland (Bill & Roni Plavac)

  • calcite, barite, Moose
  • fossils, Elk
  • fluorite, Geese, Puffins, Whales

2000 ~ 

2001 ~ Ottawa to Quebec (Nicholas Gere)

2002 ~ Bancroft Area & Fall Colours trip to Ohio (Don Lapham)

2003 ~ Summer 2003 Trip to Haliburton/Minden (Nicholas Gere)

2004 ~ Yates Uranium Mine Otter Lake, Quebec (Gerry & Hugeuette Schmidt)

2005 ~ Yates Uranium Mine Otter Lake, Quebec (Bill Plavac)

2013 ~ St. Marys Cement, Bowmanville, Ontario (Randy Ernst)