Mouth of the Middle River
Wisconsin
Find: Possible Lake Superior Agates, unakite, amygdaloidal basalt, sandstone, banded chert
GPS: 46.68979, -91.82876
Nearest city: Superior, WI
Recommended Vehicle: Any
Season: Accessible year round, Winter is likely to have significant snow, ice, and frigid temperatures.
Summary:
When I explore Lake Superior, I tend to visit Michigan or Minnesota rather than Wisconsin.
This is because the Wisconsin coast of Lake Superior has far less rocks that accumulate on most of its beaches than the other portions of the shoreline. While rocks, minerals, (and even Lake Superior Agates) are there, the coast is heavy in clay, sand, and fallen trees obscuring much of what you’ll find on the beach. A large portion of Wisconsin’s Lake Superior Coastline is also protected as National Lakeshore in the Apostle Islands area.
With that said, this spot may offer better luck in the Summer - I visited in May of 2023. Be extra cautious if you choose to cross the rivers as the clay can sink you in much deeper than it may appear.
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.
There are large sections of the Wisconsin shoreline with muddy water from the clay and sand.
Rocks are here, however. You just may have to cover a lot of shore to find things that may be a little easier to find in different regions of the shoreline (like unakite, banded iron, agates, etc)
There were many interesting formations of clay with stones stuck all inside like this as I walked up and down the shore here.
You'll come across a lot of fallen trees and wood debris here. Be careful not to puncture your waders or boots. I went without them here as I only briefly visited.