Smokey mountain national park

I am no expert but isn't National Parks off limits for collecting anything? I remember when I was in Yellowstone there is a cliff that is made of obsidian and it was off limits. I found some skulls as well but I had to leave them.
 

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You would need to look up about collecting in the park. Some parks allow surface collecting only and that is limited. Sometimes they only allow so much to be collected for personal collections.
 

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Better keep an eye out for Bears, and Hogs too. Other than Berries and I believe everything else is off limits,course this time of year Berries are out. Them Rangers don't mess around either!!! GodBless Chris
 

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This is a touchie area to get into.. I persoanll have never understood the laws when pertaining to collection of rocks and minerals via public owned lands.. However, I would ask the park ranger for more details.. True I have been camping the smokeys also.. and have found several things Including a "shot" ball or musket ball.. but of couse because this land was publicly owned, I simply took the ball to the museum station etc and handed it over.. Once I even took a pic of a brown/black moth the name scapes me.. but told the rangers and youd thought I'd found gold.. Cause the moth was rare and they even paid me for the image as well as putting my name in their registry.
 

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Thanks for the replies guys. I ended up with a couple pieces of quartz and that's all since we got a foot of snow!!
 

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One thing that comes to mind here, once we went to fairystone park in southern VA, once there we where told that we couldn't dig etc for the "fairystones" we had to goto a shop (gas station) down the road to be allowed onto the propertie to find these stones.. seems odd cause the park didnt/doesnt want anyone diggting on the park grounds anymore.
 

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this area is in the wayne national forest...up the river in possom creek...is a perfect place to pick up creek rocks for walls ...not now...the game warden will give ya a ticket and a fine,too...
 

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In my opinion I believe the metal collectors, the rock collectors, and the mushroom hunters all should rally together and legalize hobbies in National Parks. We pay for them after all.

Petition our legislators to legalize are harmless hobbies.

Now that everyone seems to be in a budget crunch might be the best time to introduce the idea of selling permits.
 

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Last thing I want to see is metal detecting, rock hunting in our National Parks and I love to detect...
 

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