Petoskey Stones in the Winter?

The only information that I had about Petoskey, MI is that it was the place to find Petoskey Stones. However, after living here for the past 6 months, I have yet to find a decent Petoskey stone. I have visited the rocky shores of the Petoskey State Park numerous times, scanning and scanning to find just one of these popular stones that I could call all my own. My family even came up to visit for a week and were determined to do the same. What we came back with? A few, lousy, small, vaguely patterned stones that one could barely call “Petoskey” stones when dry.

As you may have expected, I had all but given up hope. That was, until I learned a little more about their where-abouts and “when” to find these incredible stones. When the summer hit, all the rage was about finding Petoskey stones and every time I visited a beach, as many people were sun-bathing and swimming in the water as there were avid hunters scoping the grounds to find the best of the land.

There were thousands of people trying to do the same thing at the same time as I was. Not until recently did I discover that Petoskey, MI maintains a population of 6,000 people, but in the summer visiting attendance can get up to 750,000 people. No wonder I had such a hard time finding these precious stones!

The summer, when the population is more than 100 times it’s normal census, probably isnt the best time to hunt. In fact, I might dare say that during the winter and towards the beginning of spring may prove to be the most bountiful! It’s said that the best time of year is spring, after the sheets of ice have churned things up and uncovered specimens that they’ve pushed against the shore. Surely not many people are going to be scouring the beaches with their snow shovels in hand looking for Petoskey Stones.

But, hey, if this is true, then I need to get my snow gear on and head to the beach!… maybe when it warms up a little. As in, more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

However, until I am brave enough to venture into the cold for hours looking for Petoskey Stones to test out this theory, I can find all that I could want at Grandpa Shorters Gifts. With over hundreds of Petoskey Stones to choose from, I surely cant go wrong. In fact, just moseying around the store the other day, I found this little number! I love vintage jewelry- especially cameos. So, needless to say, I couldn’t put it down and it’s become my favorite Northern Michigan piece of jewelry that I own.

It would be nice to tell admirers I found the beautiful stone around my neck all on my own, but until that day comes- I’ll just let Grandpa Shorter’s do the work for me!

So much more to learn,

Megan Fluharty

Petoskey Through the Eyes of a Newbie