McLain State Park
Michigan
Find: Lake Superior Agates, prehnite, copper ore, unakite, amygdaloidal basalt
GPS: 47.239492, -88.601207
Nearest city: Houghton, MI
Recommended Vehicle: Any
Summary:
Initially, I figured this spot would be one of the more picked over places in the Keweenaw. But I’ve been here multiple times, and have always come across great finds. It’s one of the best rock beaches I’ve found in the Keweenaw Peninsula and is typically enjoyably quiet.
I would recommend hiking North as the area to the South of the campground is mainly larger boulders and stones.
Video Guide
For the best experience, check out the video guide. I show how I found my best pieces and challenges you might face along the way.
(This is the spot that begins around 3 minutes or so in)
One of my largest Lake Superior Agates I found in 2023 came from this spot.
The beach continues Northeast for a few miles at least...
A local I met happened to be downsizing his agate collection as I passed through. All of these were collected here over many years.
There are many vibrant green/blue minerals along the Keweenaw Peninsula, like this epidote.
This one requires come cutting... it has viewing windows but no distinct bands.
If cut, I believe this one would display beautiful bands and crystallization within.
This is prehnite, and it's one of the higher quality stones I have found. It has orange banding intertwined with the distinct green color.
There is exceptional unakite here as well as large chunks of copper ore (pictured right)
Lastly, this 2-tone granite was pretty neat to pick up.