Most modern curling stones come from very specific granite quarries in Scotland and Wales, with top‑level Olympic stones mainly sourced from a tiny Scottish island called Ailsa Craig.

Quick Scoop: Where curling stones come from

  • Main source – Ailsa Craig, Scotland:
    A huge share of elite curling stones, including all Olympic stones, are made from granite quarried on Ailsa Craig, a small volcanic island off the Ayrshire coast of Scotland.
  • Second source – Trefor, Wales:
    Another key source is the Trefor Granite Quarry on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, whose granite is also used to make competition stones.

The special granite types

  • Ailsa Craig provides:
    • Ailsa Craig Common Green – used for the main body of many stones.
* **Ailsa Craig Blue Hone** – often used for the running band (the narrow ring that actually contacts the ice) because it’s extremely hard and resists cracking and water absorption.
  • Trefor Quarry provides:
    • Trefor granite (often called Blue or Red Trefor), also low‑porosity, tough granite suitable for curling stones and used widely in club and competition play.

Why only these places?

  • Curling stones need granite that:
    • Absorbs very little water, so repeated freezing and thawing doesn’t crack the stone.
* Is extremely hard and impact‑resistant, so it survives years of collisions with other stones.
  • The granite from Ailsa Craig and Trefor has this rare mix of hardness, toughness, and low water absorption, which is why almost all professional‑grade stones come from these quarries.

Fun context for today

  • Every stone used at major events like the Winter Olympics in recent years (including Beijing 2022 and current top‑level competitions) traces back to Ailsa Craig, and they are hand‑crafted by Kays Curling in Scotland.
  • Many clubs worldwide also use stones made from Trefor granite, supplied to manufacturers such as Canada Curling Stone Company since the 1990s.

TL;DR:
When you ask “where do the stones for curling come from,” the answer is: tiny Ailsa Craig island in Scotland and the Trefor Granite Quarry in Wales, whose unique granites are almost the exclusive sources for serious curling stones today.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.