Best Places (and How) To Hunt For Yooperlites

When it comes to Michigan’s natural treasures – unless you find gold somewhere – arguably one of the best are Yooperlites...those stones that glow orange and yellow under a blacklight.

Yooperlites are actually gray rocks made from old lava rock that contains fluorescent sodalite; the nickname ‘Yooperlite’ was coined by Erick Rintamaki who discovered the rocks in 2017.

Best place to hunt for Yooperlites are anywhere along the shoreline of Lake Superior. Other places include Grand Marais beaches, and the Keweenaw Peninsula. Some have even been found in selected areas of Lake Michigan.

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WHAT YOU’LL NEED FOR SUCCESSFUL YOOPERLITE HUNTS:
Bag for the rocks
Cell phone, even though in some spots they may not get reception
Filtered 365nm UV light
Flashlight
Food & water
Rock scooper
Warm clothes or jacket
Watertight shoes/boots

Best times to go hunting are after a good storm. Big storms bring big waves that help push more rocks toward the shoreline. Also, hunt during springtime after the ice is done shifting and moving more rocks to shore. If you wait until later in the year, the beaches will be busy and the hunting won’t be as much fun...plus there will be other Yooperlite hunters as well.

Take a look below at some examples of these unique rocks!