Agate hunting is popular pastime for visitors to the Oregon Coast and is an activity that is as exciting for kids as it is for grandparents. It’s much like an Easter Egg hunt and once you find one, the search for the next one become an obsession. When I arrived on the Oregon Coast I didn’t know about agates, but found this huge translucent beauty that I packed home and asked my neighbor. Her jaw dropped and proclaimed she’s been hunting for years and never found one as big or as beautiful as mine. That was it! I was hooked.
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What’s an agate you ask? Well…. It is a shiny lustrous rock that can be found on beaches and is particularly prevalent with rocky beaches. An agate is a rock formation that occurs with lava and volcanic rocks. It consists of quartz and chalcedony and comes in many colors. They are vitreous in luster and somewhat translucent. Agates are said to be an excellent stone for rebalancing and harmonizing body, mind and spirit and is known by indigenous people to have great healing powers.
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I’ve had the best luck finding agates at Seal Rock, Driftwood Beach and Yachats State Park. The proximity to volcanic rock is key to finding agates. Locals claim the best two places to hunt agates are Strawberry Hill, which is just 4 miles south of Yachats, and it’s important you watch the tide schedules so you arrive at low tide. The other proclaimed agate haven is Beverly Beach which is located just north of Newport.
MARINE FOSSILS:
Another item found on beaches near Waldport and Newport are Marine Fossils. They regularly turn up and some date back as far as 15 million years.
SAND DOLLARS:
As you walk the beaches nearby you will see evidence of sand dollars several times during any long or short walk. Parts and pieces of sand dollars are everywhere. There is double jeopardy for sand dollars as the rocky coast breaks them to bits before they land on the beach, and if they are lucky enough to land on the beach whole, the sea gulls peck the center of the sand dollar looking for nutrition. On occasion, however you will find whole sand dollars and it’s so exciting when that happens. Usually right after high tide when they have washed in and before the gulls can get to them is your best chance of finding a whole dollar as opposed to 25 cents or 50 cents. I'm a paragraph.
MARINE BEACH TREASURES
While it is illegal to remove marine fishing gear including buoys floats and line while in active use by fisherman. It is entirely free-game and legal to pickup whatever washes up on the beach or breaks free at sea. Visitors are encouraged to pick up items like this to eliminate trash on the beach and rope that seals and marine life can get tangled in. If you’re not interested in taking them home, you can leave buoys, floats, line and crab pots at the sign in each parking lot and Park staff will remove.
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I love to hunt for buoys and floats and have learned that winter storms are the most destructive for fishing lines, floats and buoys, and if you’re out on the beach at first light after a King Tide or big storm you are more likely to find buoys and floats.
You will find landscaping and yard decorations made from the treasures found on the beach. It’s a nice memento to take home from the beach. **Warning some must be washed with disinfectant to prevent smells.
AGATE HUNTING & OTHER BEACH TREASURES
