Gardening
Landscaping
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Using free stones helps give a professional look to your flower bed, patio, rock wall, walkways, or and other landscaping needs without having to open your wallet.
Landscaping with rocks adds a unique polished or rustic look to a yard, but the cost of bagged rocks at your local home improvement store or nursery can add up quickly. Luckily there are multiple avenues to find free rocks for hardscaping your yard, including searching online and visiting local construction sites that could be happy to pass on their extra free stones.
Ready to get started? Here's how to get the free landscaping rocks you need to dress up your yard and keep your project's budget on track.
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Visit Construction Sites
Find a commercial construction site where there's large-scale excavation work going on. They'll probably be more than happy to give you the rocks they've unearthed.
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Talk to Road Construction Crews
If you know of a big road construction project that involves lots of blasting, put in a call to the job foreman and inquire about the rocks. Don't attempt to visit the job site where your presence could be both a distraction and a safety hazard.
Tip
Broken-up concrete from construction sites could be a good substitute for rock if you're working on edging your garden.
03 of 11
Go Rockhounding
Rockhounding is the hobby of searching for and collecting rocks, and while it's not allowed in national parks, it is allowed in most national forests and grasslands. However, note that additional permits may be required. For example, collect up to 25 pounds of rock a day or 250 pounds a yearin Utah without a permit.
04 of 11
Shop Curbside
When homeowners dive into their springtime yard work and garden design, there could be lots of good stuff that gets hauled to the curb, including rocks. Take a drive and you may just find some beautiful rocks to add to your garden but always ask before taking as a courtesy.
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05 of 11
Shop Craigslist, Buy Nothing, and Freecycle
Craigslist, Buy Nothing groups, and The Freecycle Network can be good sources for free rocks, but you'll have to check both sites regularly and be quick on the draw when an offer comes up. You'll need to become a member of Freecycle to search, but it's worth the free membership.
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Call Local Landscaping Companies
It may pay to call local landscaping companies to ask them for leftover materials from recent projects. They may be happy to have you haul away their excess materials that can't be returned anyway. Also, ask them for leads on free rocks if they come up empty.
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Search Online
Besides Craigslist and Freecycle, there are plenty of other online sources to query for free rocks, including:
- Search Facebook Marketplace for freebies.
- Post your needs for stone on the Nextdoor app.
- Head to your local newspaper's online classified ads that list free local items.
- Check out online gardening club sites for any news on free rocks.
Most free options require pickup, and people are happy to have you haul away their materials for free. Some sellers may even offer delivery for a small fee.
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Find a Construction Waste Site
Everyone from construction and landscape companies to individual homeowners can bring unwanted or unused materials to the town recycling center (otherwise known as the town dump or landfill). Some recycling centers have areas where you can get a few loads of free landscaping mulch and other materials, such as rocks and stones.
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09 of 11
Try a Quarry
You may live near a rock quarry that mines either dimension stone (granite, marble, or slate, for example) or popular landscaping materials such as aggregate stone (sand, gravel, or crushed rock). Check to see if the quarry needs to offload unwanted stone or smaller quantities of stone that aren't usable for a larger project. The quarry may also sell at a deep discount to the public.
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Check Renovation Sites
If you spot homes in your neighborhood undergoing landscape renovation, stop by and ask if they are willing to let you have the old or leftover materials. You could be doing them a favor by saving them a trip to the dump.
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Help a Farmer
Farmers often clear their fields of rocks. Help a local farmer by offering to remove rocks yourself. There may already be a pile of rocks ready to be taken away.
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FAQ
What is the cheapest stone for landscaping?
Pea gravel is considered the cheapest stone for landscaping your yard. One ton of uncolored pea gravel costs about$10 to $50. Other types of landscaping rocks, such as river rocks, cost an average of$50 to $130 per ton.
Which stone is best for landscaping?
The best stone for landscaping depends on your project. In general, pea gravel, crushed granite, lava rock, river rock are attractive choices for rock landscaping ideas. Flagstone is popular for patios and walkways.
Is it good to put rocks around your house?
Gravel or rock beds, such as French drains, properly installed around your house can aid in drainage to keep rain and moisture away from your foundation. Other types of landscaping ideas that use rocks, such as rock gardens, rain gardens zeroscape, and xeriscapes, prevent weed growth, soil erosion, and water runoff, as well.
The 9 Best Landscape Edging of 2024
The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Rockhounding Guide. USDA Forest Service.
Rock, Mineral, and Fossil Collecting Rules. Utah Geological Survey.
What is the average price for pea gravel? HomeAdvisor.
How much are river rocks and other landscaping stones? HomeAdvisor.
