The Emerald Creek locality is well-known for producing garnets that can be cut into cabochons that display a star. The garnet is almandine and is mostly a dark purplish red color. Crystals are dodecahedrons and trapezohedrons, often with striated surfaces.
Most crystals are under an inch across, but they have been found up to more than two inches.
These crystals are also popular as mineral specimens and display the garnet form well. The US Forest Service operates a fee dig area that is open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend each year. The permits can be obtained near the digging area from a FS administration building on Emerald Creek. The permit allows digging in a designated area only. To collect the garnets, it is necessary to dig in the gravels of a creek and screen the gravels.