Summary:

Moose Lake, Minnesota is home to Agate Days, a festival celebrating the state gemstone of Minnesota. Check it out if you’re looking for an awesome family event during the Summer months. Typically it runs in mid-july and is complete with an agate stampede, where the city unloads dump trucks full of gravel in the street giving everyone a chance to find their own agate.

If you have a love for agates, make sure you check out the agate pits in Carlton County. There are 3 of them. These are naturally ocurring glacial gravel pits where ancient ice has pushed a large amount of gravel into one area. In these gravels, you have a great chance of finding agates.

When I visited in 2022, I visited Pit #1 and #2 but I have not been to Pit #3 yet.

To pick the agate pits, it’s less than $10. Price is $5/person + $1 per additional person, along with a credit card fee. Full information can be found here: https://www.mooselakechamber.com/agate-picking-permits/