How to Actually Find a Petoskey Stone
Near Petoskey, Michigan
If you actually want to find a Petoskey stone, this is the country to do it. The single most reliable spot is Petoskey State Park, about three miles northeast of downtown on Little Traverse Bay, with a long stretch of sand and stony shoreline. Magnus City Park, closer to town, offers easier access with its own stony beach, and Fisherman's Island State Park, down toward Charlevoix, rewards those willing to walk.
A few tricks help. The stones are famously drab and gray when dry, so search right along the wet water line, where the honeycomb pattern shows best, or wade in with water shoes and look just under the surface. The gravel closest to any parking lot is usually picked over, so wander down the beach.
And remember that the stones cluster, dropped in patches by the glaciers, so when you find one, slow down and comb the ground around it before moving on. Early spring is prime time, right after the ice melts, because winter storms churn stones up from the deep and pile them on the beaches. On state land you may legally collect up to twenty-five pounds of stones.
Keep your eyes down and be patient.
