Michigan Is a Rock Finder's Paradise
The state has miles of beaches laden with treasures for those who know how to look for them
Toivola — Agate Beach is a small township park with campsites, a bathroom, and a well for pumping up water. There’s another Agate Beach in Grand Marais.
Both sites are treasure troves for those who look out at Lake Superior and then immediately glance downward. Hunting for agates and pretty rocks is addictingly fun for the whole family, without costing anything. All it takes is some dedication and knowing what to seek.
I’ve been coming to Lake Superior’s rocky shores since I was 10 or 12, when my family vacationed in Paulding. We’d take day trips to wade in icy water that would redden our ankles and calves while sunburning backs as we hunched over.
We’d fill ice cream pails, grocery bags, and Ziplock bags full of rocks.
One day, thousands of years from now, geologists will find the cache of smooth Lake Superior stones in the remains of my parent’s subdivision and wonder at how so many of them came to be so far away from any body of water, much to the chagrin of my mother.
It’s not hard to get into rockhounding, especially if your father is a geology nerd who knows all the different types of minerals and fossils. But if that’s not the case for you, you can get a book from the library on Michigan rocks or go to a rock shop and pick up some Lake Superior agates for reference.
Or you can buy a UV light to look for Yooperlites, which glow brilliantly at dusk.
But for agates, you don’t need to buy a thing. Nowadays, there are special scoops you can use to save your back and pick up rocks while walking along the water’s edge. You don’t need these, and I found better specimens going a bit deeper than the shore walkers.
The rocks are a visual feast—add in the waves, lofty pines, and warm sun and it’s a daydream-worthy scene.
You’re not the only one out there looking, either. People comb the shores around the state looking for specimens to put on the shelf, and some post their finds to Facebook or other online communities.
Our state is rich with the natural beauty of these treasures, small and large. Remember this while planning vacations for next year: Michigan rocks.
