F.J. McLain State Park
State land (DNR)
Where to hunt
Keweenaw and western Upper Peninsula
Copper country: ancient lava flows, old mines and Lake Superior beaches.
Spots (10)
Open a card for its rocks, land and rules.
State parks and state land (DNR) (3)
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (Union Bay shoreline)
State land (DNR)
Rocks, land and rules
The DNR describes "1.6 miles of Lake Superior's Union Bay shoreline."3 Which rocks turn up here is not yet in our checked sources.
Rules: State park land (DNR). The state limit applies: no more than 25 pounds of rocks, mineral specimens and invertebrate fossils per person per year.2
Baraga State Park
State land (DNR)
Rocks, land and rules
The DNR describes "a quarter of a mile of rocky shoreline ... Keweenaw Bay".4 Which rocks turn up here is not yet in our checked sources.
Rules: State park land (DNR). The state limit applies: no more than 25 pounds of rocks, mineral specimens and invertebrate fossils per person per year.2
Local parks (4)
Little Girl's Point County Park
Local park: Gogebic CountyOfficial, local: Gogebic County lists "rock hounding"
Rocks, land and rules
Rocks on the Michigan Geological Survey rockhounding map: basalt, unakite, quartz, granite, jasper, Jacobsville sandstone and Lake Superior agate.5
Gogebic County lists "rock hounding" as a park activity. The park was "established by Gogebic County in 1920". Camping fees apply.6
Rules: No rock collecting rule posted by the park; check with the park manager. Managed by Gogebic County.6 On the Great Lakes shore below the ordinary high water mark: the same 25 lb limit as on state land, which comes from the DNR rule R 299.922(hh), not from Part 325.2 EGLE describes it as covering state-owned and public trust lands.7
Calumet Township Waterworks Park
Local park: Charter Township of Calumet
Rocks, land and rules
Rocks on the Michigan Geological Survey rockhounding map: Lake Superior agate, natrolite, Yooperlite, prehnite, mesolite, chlorastrolite and copper.5
The park was "acquired by the Township in 1979". It closes at 10 pm, and posted rules include "No fires on beach" and "No overnight camping".8
Rules: No rock collecting rule posted by the park; check with the park manager. Managed by the Charter Township of Calumet.8 On the Great Lakes shore below the ordinary high water mark: the same 25 lb limit as on state land, which comes from the DNR rule R 299.922(hh), not from Part 325.2 EGLE describes it as covering state-owned and public trust lands.7
Bete de Gris Beach
Maintained by Keweenaw County Road Commission
Rocks, land and rules
The Keweenaw County Road Commission lists "Bete de Gris Beach, Bete de Gris Road" among the parks it maintains. Nature preserves sit next to it, so stay at the road commission site.9 No rock list from an official source yet.
Rules: No rock collecting rule posted by the park; check with the park manager. Maintained by the Keweenaw County Road Commission.9 On the Great Lakes shore below the ordinary high water mark: the same 25 lb limit as on state land, which comes from the DNR rule R 299.922(hh), not from Part 325.2 EGLE describes it as covering state-owned and public trust lands.7
Green Park
Local park: Carp Lake Township
Rocks, land and rules
Carp Lake Township: "Quiet little park on Lake Superior with playground and picnic area." Enclosure rentals at the park go through the township clerk.1011 Rocks on the Michigan Geological Survey rockhounding map: rhyolite, honeycomb coral, quartz, Lake Superior agate and Yooperlite.5
Rules: No rock collecting rule posted by the park; check with the park manager. Managed by Carp Lake Township.10 On the Great Lakes shore below the ordinary high water mark: the same 25 lb limit as on state land, which comes from the DNR rule R 299.922(hh), not from Part 325.2 EGLE describes it as covering state-owned and public trust lands.7
Beaches named by EGLE (2)
Eagle River beach
Owner not confirmed
Rocks, land and rules
An EGLE article names Eagle River Beach in the Keweenaw as one of the author's favorite places to hunt agates.7
Rules: Who owns this beach, and any local rules, have not been confirmed. Check posted signs and ask the land manager before you collect.
Agate Beach, Toivola
Owner not confirmed
Rocks, land and rules
The same EGLE article names Agate Beach and Misery Bay in Toivola among the author's favorite agate places.7
Rules: Who owns this beach, and any local rules, have not been confirmed. Check posted signs and ask the land manager before you collect.
Look and photograph only (1)
Hunter's Point Park
No collecting, look and photograph only
Rocks, land and rules
No collecting here: look and photograph only. The Grant Township park ordinance says: "There shall be no removal of natural resources, including rocks or stones."12
The township says the park "is now a Township Park and continues to be open to the public".13 The rock rule is in Ordinance No. 2006-1 and was kept in Amendment 2006-1A, adopted March 11, 2014. The ordinance also says: "There shall be no disturbing vegetation, living or dead. Plants, living or dead, may not be removed."12
Rules: Grant Township park. Its ordinance bans removing rocks or stones, so this is a look and photograph only spot.12
Good to know
- Native copper is found along a narrow belt more than 150 kilometers long that runs southwest through Keweenaw, Houghton and Ontonagon counties.14
- Chlorastrolite (greenstone), Michigan's state gem, formed as fillings in the gas bubbles of the copper country's old lava flows. EGLE lists Eagle River and the area south of Eagle Harbor among the places it has been found.15
- Old mine rock piles need permission. Michigan Tech's collecting guide explains that event organizers get legal permission before anyone collects on them, so treat rock piles as private land.16
- Lake Superior agates: where to look and how to spot one is in the agate guide.
Not allowed
- Isle Royale National Park: "greenstones, agates, datolites, and other minerals, including those found in Lake Superior may not be removed or disturbed."17
Collecting limits for every kind of land: Rules.
Sources (17)
- Michigan DNR, F.J. McLain State Park. https://www.michigan.gov/recsearch/parks/mclain (checked October 21, 2026)
- Michigan Administrative Code, R 299.921 to R 299.933, State Land Use Rules (Department of Natural Resources). https://ars.apps.lara.state.mi.us/AdminCode/DownloadAdminCodeFile?FileName=R+299.921+to+R+299.933.pdf (checked October 21, 2026)
- Michigan DNR, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. https://www.michigan.gov/recsearch/parks/porkies (checked October 22, 2026)
- Michigan DNR, Baraga State Park. https://www.michigan.gov/recsearch/parks/baraga (checked October 22, 2026)
- Michigan Geological Survey (Western Michigan University), Michigan Rockhounding Map, linked from MGS Rockhounds. https://mgs.wmich.edu/education-and-outreach/corekids/mgs-rockhounds/ (checked October 21, 2026)
- Gogebic County Forestry and Parks, Little Girl's Point. https://www.gogebicforestryandparks.com/littlegirlspoint (checked October 22, 2026)
- Michigan EGLE, Rockhounding. https://www.michigan.gov/egle/public/learn/geology/rockhounding (checked October 21, 2026)
- Charter Township of Calumet, Waterworks Park. https://www.calumettownship.org/waterworks.php (checked October 22, 2026)
- Keweenaw County, Road Commission. https://www.keweenawcountyonline.org/commissions-roads.php (checked October 22, 2026)
- Carp Lake Township, General Resources. https://www.carplaketwp.org/general-resources (checked October 22, 2026)
- Carp Lake Township, Facility Rentals. https://www.carplaketwp.org/facility-rentals (checked October 22, 2026)
- Grant Township Ordinance No. 2006-1 and Amendment 2006-1A (2014), Hunter's Point Park (PDF). https://www.granttownshipmi.org/pictorials/38.pdf (checked October 22, 2026)
- Grant Township, Hunter's Point. https://granttownshipmi.org/hunters-point.php (checked October 22, 2026)
- A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum (Michigan Tech), Copper (PDF). https://museum.mtu.edu/pdfs/COPPER.pdf (checked October 21, 2026)
- Michigan EGLE, state gem (chlorastrolite) handout (PDF). https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/egle/Documents/Programs/GRMD/Catalog/04/GIMDL-GGGS.PDF (checked October 21, 2026)
- A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum (Michigan Tech), Keweenaw Mineral Collecting guide (PDF). https://museum.mtu.edu/sites/default/files/2022-04/Keweenaw%20Mineral%20Collecting.pdf (checked October 21, 2026)
- Isle Royale National Park (NPS), Laws and Policies. https://www.nps.gov/isro/learn/management/lawsandpolicies.htm (checked October 21, 2026)