Blind Sucker Rivermouth
Michigan
Find: Lake Superior Agates, banded chert, unakite, hematite jasper, quartz, etc.
GPS: 46.67791, -85.68293
Nearest city: Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Recommended Vehicle: 4x4 recommended
Season: Accessible year round, Winter is likely to have significant snow, ice, and frigid temperatures.
Summary:
This spot was beautiful. I expected to be completely alone here, but I happened to run into a few different groups along the way. They were extremely friendly and a couple of us even traded some rocks back at the car.
The Blind Sucker River meets Lake Superior with some of the broadest variety of rock in the entirety of Lake Superior’s shores. There were numerous rocks I pulled out of this location that were unlike anything else I’d found along the UP’s shores.
In order to access this spot, continued past Muskellonge Lake down the gravel road. The roads were nice and I found a pull-off where the gravel road harshly transitioned to a sandy mix. It was a little two-track road that my AWD truck handled easily on regular road tires. If you venture into one of the sandy pull-offs, having a 4x4 drivetrain and at least a little ground clearance will help you from becoming stuck. There isn’t much cell service anywhere up here and you can easily get a car stuck.
3 Helpful Tools
Chest Waders
Chest waders are great to stay dry if you want to get in the lake.
Agate Scoop
An agate scoop is helpful to pick things up faster and farther away from you.
Classifier
A classifier is fun to sit with if you’re a fan of small agates and stones. One with a larger, 1-inch mesh would be what I’d pick.
Underwater in about 4 feet of water off the shore.
It was about 1/4 mile from where I parked down to the water.
The variety of rock here is substantial. It's a true mix, rather than being dominated by one color of rhyolite or basalt like the Keweenaw Peninsula or Minnesota's North shore.
Unakite - An Upper Peninsula favorite.
Magnetite, this is a personal favorite of my own.
A moss agate that I did a couple cuts on while learning a new lapidary saw.
Decent straight cuts, no polish yet
This is an omarolluk (AKA omars) - these rocks are locally beloved and you may even see them in people's gardens and businesses in the UP.
And sometimes there's just really strange ones.