Agate Hunting

Hunting for agate after winter storms is a passion at several Oregon beaches, particularly around Newport. Deep in the earth, metals, oxides, and silicates fused together to create this type of quartz.

Red, amber, blue, and other tones sometimes form stripes or spots in the translucent rocks. One of the best places to find these treasures is on the beach near the Best Western Agate Beach Hotel, not surprisingly called Agate Beach.

Nearby Moolack Beach and the beach at Seal Rock, north of Waldport, as well as area estuaries and streambeds, are more spots worth a look October–May.

Newport Area Beaches

North of Newport, Agate Beach is a broad swath of coastline famed for its agate-hunting opportunities and its views of nearby Yaquina Head. In addition to the semiprecious stones, the contemplative appeal of Agate Beach inspired no less a figure than Ernest Bloch, the noted Swiss composer, who lived here from 1940 until his death in 1959.

Famed violinist Yehudi Menuhin spoke of Bloch and the locale thusly: “Agate Beach is a wild forlorn stretch of coastline looking down upon waves coming in all the way from Asia to break on the shore, a place which suited the grandeur and intensity of Bloch’s character.” Each summer, the Ernest Bloch Music Festival pays tribute to the spirit and music of this man.

Moolack Beach, two miles north of Yaquina Head, is a favorite with kite flyers and agate hunters. Immediately north (easy access is 1.5 miles north) at Beverly Beach, 20-million-year-old fossils have been found in the sandstone cliffs above the shore.

Beverly Beach also attracts waders, unique for Oregon’s chilly waters. Offshore sandbars temper the waves and the weather, so it’s not as rough or as cold as many coastal locales. This long stretch of sand (panoramic photos are best taken from Yaquina Head Lighthouse looking north) is connected via an under-highway passage to a large state park campground.

The beach at Yaquina Bay State Park, accessible via a trail from the bluff-top parking area, is a popular spot for clam digging and agate hunting. Two miles south of the Yaquina Bay Bridge, South Beach State Park draws beachcombers, anglers, and picnickers to its miles of broad sandy beach. The large campground here is the closest available to Newport.