Lake Superior Agates

Agate picking in Carlton County Minnesota is a great family pastime. Sure, you can hunt for Lake Superior agates along the north shore, but they are very hard to find. So here's a Johanson family tip ...

Take 35 northbound toward Duluth and exit anywhere between Moose Lake and Cloquet. Get off the main road onto any quiet gravel back road.

A couple of our favorite spots for a day trip or camping overnight ...

Duquette has a neat General Store and gas station stocked with groceries, a delicious deli, and a hardware section just like in the old days. There is also a very nice city campground / playground that is donation only and rarely has anybody staying in it. The sites are woodsy and spacious with a picnic table and fire pit.  There are outhouses but no showers.

Holyoke City Park is a beautiful place to picnic along the Kettle River. It also has outhouses, hiking trails and a baseball field. There are campsites complete with picnic tables and fire rings, but they just recently put up "No Overnight Camping" signs. We inquired and found out that some 4-wheeling groups were causing trouble and ruined it for the rest of us. If you check with the town hall, you can still camp there, but regardless, its a beautiful place to picnic.

Moose Lake has an annual agate festival in the summer and Moose Lake State Park has an excellent agate and geological center. Camping is available at this park year round.

So back to agate picking - when you pull over on those country gravel roads, grab a cup or baggie to put your rocks in, and start hunting agates! Once you develop an eye for it, you'll find big beautiful rocks on every trip. If you're a beginner, you'll still be excited with the smaller ones. When I started out, I was picking up itty bitty rocks the size of an apple seed just because they were agates and I couldn't pass them up. If you want to buy a rock tumbler and polish your agates, you need those little ones anyway to help with friction during the tumble. And those tiny agates can be used beautifully to glue onto picture frames, display in candle holders, or for other craft projects.

The best rock tumblers / polishers ...
Uncle Tom's "Lot-O-Tumbler".
Great for beginners and professionals.

A good rock tumbler is hard to find. Lot-O-Tumblers are easy to use and of the highest quality. But another huge benefit to buying from "Uncle Tom" is exceptional customer service, as my husband and I experienced first-hand. They make a terrific gift for the rock hound in your life! Learn more ...

Sunny days are best for spotting agates as the sun reflects off the translucency of the quartz. Look for a stand out of a rusty redish color. Harder to spot, but definitely a tell tale characteristic, is banding  - those beautiful lines that represent the layers of mineral in the rock. The banding is found in the interior of the rock where it is waxy and smooth. Often, the agates are broken so one side of the interior is exposed. The exterior of the rock is typically pitted with a rough texture. It's fun to bring a spray bottle of water so you can spritz what you find to admire the beautiful lines and layers.

Once you get the hang of it, the bigger ones will really stand out amongst the grays and browns and other types of quartz. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has some great information about the history and description of agates along with really good tips on how to find them. Another great site is www.agatelady.com.

Check out this collection from Agate City in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Wow!

 

From Lake Superior Agates to Home

TOP