The beaches at Grand Marais are excellent hunting grounds for the ancient Lake Superior agate, a semi-precious stone made up of concentric circles of microcrystaline quartz reddened by iron. Here’s ...

GRAND MARAIS, Minn. — Among the many pastimes popular in Minnesota is agate hunting -- scanning the shores of Lake Superior for the official state gemstone. Relatively easy to find in the summer when ...

The elusive Lake Superior agate. Rockhounds scour Lake Superior’s shoreline for these rare banded beauties—from the western reaches of the Keweenaw Peninsula to the U.P.’s easternmost Whitefish Point.

Hunting for Lake Superior agates along the St. Croix River. Eric Benson has been hunting for Lake Superior agates along the St. Croix River for the past seven years. The avid angler searches for the ...

Harley Alcala says he found the mother lode of Lake Superior agates right in Lake Superior. Alcala was kayaking near his home in Hovland on the North Shore when he spotted the basketball-size rock ...

MOOSE LAKE, Minn. — On a cold, blustery day in April, Bel and I headed to the North Shore to meet up with a rock star named Taylor, or as he’s known on social media, “Agate Dad.” Taylor is famous in ...