Superior Trailhead Beach
Minnesota
Find: Lake Superior Agates, exceptional amygdaloidal basalt AKA “galaxy stones”, porphyry
GPS: 47.79574, -90.12351
Nearest city: Thunder Bay, ON, Canada
Recommended Vehicle: Any
Season: Accessible year round, Winter is likely to have significant snow, ice, and frigid temperatures.
Summary:
This is a separate location entry just South of Paradise Beach. The Lake Superior trail takes hikers from inland to the actual shore of the lake itself here at this marker. The beaches here see lots of traffic because of it.
Access is easy from the highly-scenic HWY 61. I’d highly recommended visiting up here in the Autumn - the colors are unforgettable. The beach has sweeping curves and very strong currents here. You have an almost certain chance of encountering riptides and strong waves here - be careful if you plan on being in the water. It is has some of the coldest temperatures of anywhere along the lake.
Video
Check out the video for a better look at what can be found when exploring this spot.
This is Spot 6 listed in the video description.
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.
The area we parked in.
Some painted rocks on the trail marker.
The beach is entirely rock here. The waves have pushed it upwards to form these steep shelves.
A closeup of the mix of stone here.
A small agate nodule or possibly prehnite.