Here in Minnesota, we’re blessed with more than just our 10,000 lakes—thank the glaciers for that! We were also left with an incredible range of natural stone options that make for stunning water features. At Pond King Water Gardens, we build with four main types of boulders: Glacial Fieldstone, Superior Stone, Gitche Gumee, and Weathered (Mossy) Limestone. Each stone tells a different story, and your choice can impact the overall look, feel, and investment of your project.
Let’s break down the options to help you choose the best boulders for your custom pond, waterfall, or fountainscape. 🪨💧
1. Glacial Fieldstone – Classic, Local, and Cost-Friendly
Investment Tier: Most cost-effective
Color Profile: Multicolored with greys, browns, reds, and buffs
Texture: Rounded, smoothed by glacial movement
Best Gravel Pairing: Multicolored River Rock (3/4″, 1.5″, 2–4″, 6–12″)
Minnesota’s glaciers were generous. Not only did they shape our landscape and create all those lakes—they also dropped millions of boulders across the land. Glacial fieldstone, often composed of banded gneiss, granite, and basalt, is the most plentiful and budget-friendly option we use.
Its natural, weathered look blends perfectly with river rock, making the transition between boulders and gravel seamless. You’ll see this stone in rivers and streams across the state—from the North Shore to Lake Itasca. Fieldstone also comes in the widest variety of sizes, making it ideal for creating texture, plugging gaps, and hiding liners or components.
Fieldstone Waterfall – Minnesota
2. Superior Stone – Rugged and Bold from the Iron Range
Investment Tier: Mid-range
Color Profile: Dark greys, deep browns, black, and flecks of purple
Texture: Angular and craggy
Best Gravel Pairing: Grey Trap Rock or Granite Gravel
Sourced primarily from Minnesota’s Iron Range, Superior stone is rugged and dramatic. It’s got the kind of character you’d expect from a stone forged in one of the oldest mountain ranges on earth. With a natural palette of moody greys and the occasional surprise of purple or brown, it’s a favorite for creating contrast in waterfalls or stream banks.
While it’s easy to find large chunks, you’ll need to do some hunting for the smaller filler pieces to properly shape a water feature. Unlike fieldstone, it doesn’t come in sorted sizes as consistently, so there’s more manual picking involved—but the final look is worth the extra effort.
💡 Note: Mocha gravel looks beautiful on paper, but in practice, we’ve found it’s hard to clean and can stain the water brown. We avoid it now in favor of granite gravel or trap rock gravel.
Superior Stone Pond – Minnesota
Superior Stone Waterfall – Minnesota
3. Gitche Gumee Stone – Lake Superior Vibes in Boulder Form
Investment Tier: Mid-range
Color Profile: Blues, greens, greys
Texture: Angular and fractured, similar to slate
Best Gravel Pairing: Granite Gravel, Trap Rock
Named after the Ojibwe word for Lake Superior (Gitchi-Gami), this stone carries the spirit of the North Shore. Its unique mix of blue-green hues and sharp lines make it a true standout. Like Superior Stone, you’ll need to dig through piles for the smaller pieces, but the finished product brings a fresh, striking energy.
It’s slightly more difficult to work with due to its weight and availability in smaller sizes, but it creates a distinct look that feels bold and custom-crafted.
Gitche Gumee Pond – Minneapolis, Minnesota
4. Mossy/Weathered Limestone – The Showstopper
Investment Tier: Premium / Top tier
Color Profile: Earthy greys, warm buffs, with moss and lichen growth
Texture: Blocky, porous, naturally aged
Best Gravel Pairing: River Rock
This special-order stone is often sourced from places like Missouri, Tennessee, and across the Midwest and South. Every region gives it a slightly different character—some more porous, some richer in color—but all varieties bring instant character and charm to a build.
These boulders often come with moss or lichen already growing on them and are harvested in block-like shapes. That makes them ideal for building stacked waterfalls and bluff-like faces that look like they’ve always been there. Because limestone is naturally lighter in weight than other rock types, you get more visual coverage per ton, despite the higher cost.
While mossy limestone can be used throughout a pond build, we typically recommend using it above the waterline—especially for waterfalls, edges, and feature boulders—so you can fully appreciate its natural beauty. For areas that stay underwater, we often use more cost-effective options like glacial fieldstone or granite. These still look great below the surface but won’t hide those signature mossy textures and weathered details that make limestone so special.
One of our favorite combinations is mossy limestone paired with river rock. It mirrors the look of the limestone bluffs you see when driving through southern Minnesota, the Wisconsin Dells, or parts of Tennessee—natural, peaceful, and timeless.
Mossy Limestone with River Rock – Minnesota
Final Thoughts from the Rock Yard
We’re incredibly lucky here in Minnesota to have access to such a wide range of stone. From native glacial boulders to bold iron-rich rock and mossy limestone that tells a story millions of years old, your water feature can truly be a work of art.
At Pond King Water Gardens, we hand-select each stone for every build—and sometimes, our clients even join us at the yard to pick their favorites! We believe the best boulders aren’t just functional—they feel right. When you know, you know. And when you see them in your finished waterfall or fountainscape? Magic. 🫶
Special thanks to:
🪨 Rock Hard Landscape Supply – Our trusted stone supplier
🚚 Dan the Boulder Man – The best courier in the business
📍Pond King Water Gardens has built water features across Minnesota and even beyond—including projects in Florida, Arizona, South Carolina, and Shaquille O’Neal’s home in Georgia. But our heart (and most of our boulders) are here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
👉 Ready to get started? Reach out for a consultation—we’d be honored to help bring your dream landscape to life.