Oregon · Ocean shore & state parks
Oregon beach agate rules
Agate hunting on the Oregon beach is legal, in a measured amount. Pick up what is loose, fill your own one-gallon container, and stop.
The rule
- The statute: ORS 390.725 says removal of natural products “such as fish or wildlife, agates or small amounts of driftwood” for personal, noncommercial use doesn't need the ocean-shore permit. Collecting for trade or sale does.
- The limit (OAR 736-021-0090): agates and other non-living items “such as shells, stones, and fossils loose on the ground”: one one-gallon container per person per day, up to three gallons per person per calendar year.
- Your own container: “each person collecting must use an individual container and may not combine collections in the same container with another person.” A family of four gets four one-gallon containers, not one bucket.
- Sand and cobble have their own limits: sand, a five-gallon container a day and 20 gallons a year; cobble, a five-gallon container a day and 10 gallons a year.
- No digging: without OPRD's written permission you may not “dig up or remove any sand, soil, rock, historical or fossil materials” beyond those allowances. Leave bluffs, cliffs and bedrock alone.
- Area limits: OPRD “may restrict removal of natural products to specific areas … by quantities of material, and by time of year.” Read the signs at the access.
- Artifacts and shell middens stay. ORS 358.920 and ORS 390.235 protect them.
Before you hunt
- Parking: OPRD lists Agate Beach State Recreation Site among parks requiring a day-use parking permit from March 30, 2026. The permit is bought separately from OPRD.
- Tides and sneaker waves: check the tide table, watch the water and stay off drift logs in the surf.
- Seasonal closures for snowy plover and other managed areas. Read the signs.
- “The beach” isn't one owner. The bluff above the sand may be a park, a refuge, federal land or a private lot. The gallon rule is for the shore.
State parks away from the beach
OAR 736-010-0055 says a visitor needs written permission of a designated park employee to “dig up, or remove any sand, soil, rock, historical, or fossil materials,” but “may remove small quantities of natural products from park properties for personal use without a permit,” limited to “a small quantity of agates and other rocks, driftwood, or similar non-living items” under the ocean-shore rule. A park can restrict removal. Ask at the park.
Succor Creek State Natural Area
OPRD calls Succor Creek, south of Nyssa, “a remote haven for rock hounds.” Its page: “Limited souvenir collecting by rock hounds is permitted in the park—up to 1 gallon per person per day and no more than 3 gallons per person per year.” It's a rough 15-mile dirt road from Oregon 201, with no water, no cell service and no staff on site; OPRD says the road north of the bridge is not safe for vehicles. Year-round first-come, first-served primitive camping and a vault toilet. OPRD info: 800-551-6949. Verify road and bridge conditions before you drive in.
Sources: OPRD, Ocean Shore rules; OPRD FAQ; OAR 736-021-0090 and 736-010-0055 (Cornell LII copy); ORS 390.725, 358.920, 390.235; OPRD Succor Creek State Natural Area page; OPRD day-use parking permit list (2026); DOGAMI, Fossils, minerals and gems.
Informational only — not legal advice. Rules, boundaries and seasons change. Confirm with the managing agency for the exact parcel before you collect. Last verified October 26, 2026.