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Other stories in "Beaches & rock-picking"

• Agate Central
  In Moose Lake State Park, an interpretive center caters to rockhounds.
• Grand sand
  Along Lake Michigan, the Sleeping Bear Dunes are a giant playground for all ages.
• Agate stampede
  Every year, Moose Lake introduces budding rockhounds to the thrill of the hunt.
• 10 great beaches
  In land of lakes, it's not hard to find a place to play.
• Beaches of the North Shore
  Agate-hunters, storm-watchers, picnickers — they all want to be close to the edge.

How to find an agate

Beaches are pretty, but pits are better.

The best time to look for agates is on a sunny day, early in the morning or late in the day, when the rays of the sun are slanting across the rocks.

"Agates reflect the light a lot more than other rocks,'' says John Woerheide of Lutsen, Minn., who uses agates in the jewelry he makes. Woerheide suggests walking into the sun and stooping low.

It's fun to look on North Shore beaches, but they're picked over, so he looks after a heavy rain or storm, when new rocks wash up. He suggests the beaches of Tettegouche and Temperance state parks, as well as the edges of inland rivers, such as the Poplar and the Onion ("not Cascade; I've never found anything there'') and Paradise Beach, 14 miles north of Grand Marais and just south of C.R. Magney State Park.

"The joy of agates is, you can go there and anyone can find one,'' he says.

Gravel pits yield the biggest agates, though active pits don't welcome pickers. Sometimes, clubs are given releases so their members can look on certain days. Just outside Moose Lake, the inactive Soo Pits are open to the public, and occasionally turned over just for rockhounds. Railroad tracks and roadsides also yield agates; Lois Allen of Minneapolis says she stops whenever she sees road construction. Always bring a spray bottle of water to wash dirt off rocks.

Lake Superior agates, the Minnesota state gemstone, are found throughout eastern Minnesota. Though many are red, they also can be yellow, brown, gray, white, black and even blue or green.

The illustrated booklet “The Rock Picker’s Guide to Lake Superior’s North Shore’’ is very handy and well worth $9.95. It's available at bookstores and gift shops.

On the third Saturday of July, Moose Lake, Minn. covers a downtown street with gravel that's seeded with 350 pounds of agates and $300 in quarters. For more, see Agate stampede. There's an interesting Agate and Geological Center in Moose Lake State Park, just across the interstate.

In Beaver Bay, the Agate Shop is a fun stop for people heading up the North Shore. For more information on good places to go rock-picking, see Beaches of the North Shore.

Last updated on September 30, 2008