Search for Michigan's state stone on Lake Michigan beaches near Petoskey and Charlevoix. Fossilized coral, 350 million years old, free for the finding.
The Petoskey stone is fossilized coral, Hexagonaria percarinata, approximately 350 million years old and designated as Michigan's state stone. The distinctive hexagonal pattern becomes visible when the stone is wet, which means the search takes place along the waterline on Lake Michigan beaches near Petoskey and Charlevoix, picking up stones and turning them in the light.
The activity requires no equipment, no guide, no reservation, and no cost. It fills an hour or two between a round and dinner, or occupies a travelling companion while the golfer is on the course. The beaches near Magnus Park in Petoskey and North Point Nature Preserve in Charlevoix are productive hunting grounds. The best conditions follow storms or spring thaw, when wave action exposes fresh material from the lake bottom.
Wet the stone to see the pattern. Dry Petoskey stones are difficult to distinguish from ordinary rock. Beaches with a mix of gravel and stone rather than pure sand are more productive. Some visitors bring a small spray bottle to test stones without walking to the water each time. A found Petoskey stone, polished or unpolished, is the best souvenir a Northern Michigan golf trip can produce.
The age of the stones provides a geological perspective that enriches the broader trip. The sandy soil and exposed rock formations that shape the region's golf courses are part of the same geological story. Walking a beach and finding a 350-million-year-old fossil with your hands connects the landscape to deep time in a way that few activities can.