My uncle told me to look for agates in gravel pits, not just on beaches

He said the best ones in our area come from the old gravel pit near Red Wing, Minnesota, because the glaciers dropped them there. I mean, I always thought you had to go to Lake Superior to find good ones. Went out there last fall and found three nice banded ones in about an hour. Has anyone else had luck with a spot that seemed wrong at first?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_amy20h ago

Seriously, gravel pits? I get the idea but that sounds like a lot of work for a maybe. You're gonna dig through a ton of plain rocks hoping for one good one. I'd rather just walk a beach and enjoy the view while I look. Seems like a weird hobby hack that only pays off if you're super lucky.

troysmith20h ago

You know, @the_amy, your point about the beach is totally fair. It made me remember this one time I was poking around an old construction site for interesting scrap, not rocks. Found a whole buried bicycle frame, completely rusted but cool looking. Sometimes the weird spots do have stuff, but you're right that it's mostly just a lot of dirt and normal junk. The hunt can be fun even when you find nothing, but a beach walk is definitely the nicer way to spend an afternoon.

janarivera17h ago

Yeah, that's a solid tip about gravel pits. I'm curious, did your uncle have a specific method for sorting through all that gravel, or was it just eyeballing it? @troysmith's story about the bike frame makes me wonder if the best finds are always the ones you aren't even looking for. I've never tried a pit myself, it always seemed too messy.