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Where, When and How to Find beach Glass

A comment I often hear is: “In all my trips to the beach, I have never found a single piece of sea glass.”  If you are a sea glass lover but don’t seem to ever find any, here are a few tips. 

Ask other hunters

Click to see my reviews of best glass beaches and directions for how to get there.

Find the right type of beach

Everyone loves beaches with clean, white sand.   But, to find sea glass, you should look for beaches with sections of “shingle,” small pebbles and bits of broken shell.  Most often, you will find that the bits of glass are similar in size to the size of the surrounding pebbles.  Click in the thumbnail and see if you can locate the glass in the picture to the left.

Pay attention to weather

Best sea glass hunting occurs immediately after a storm strong enough to shake up the shingle, especially if you are hunting in an area that is often combed by others.

Check the tides

Obviously, more beach is exposed at low tide.  When in an area where the beach is combed by many others, I schedule my arrival to coincide with high tide and walk the beach as the tide recedes, exposing the newly uncovered glass.

Consider beach history

The best sea glass beaches are located where something has occurred which provides a source for the glass.  The most glass is found where there is a history of offshore dumping.  Another good source (especially here on the Texas Gulf Coast) are areas that are hit with periodic storms that alter the coastline and wash out roads and structures.  Also, waterways that are periodically dredged will often have "new" old glass.

Remember that offshore dumping was banned everywhere in the United States after the early 1970's, so you must find population centers that existed long enough before this time to allow for significant accumulation of glass.  Prime spots are former military bases (such as was the case in Vieques and Fort Bragg) and known civilian dump sites (as in Port Townsend).  In some locales, locals and visitors are encouraged to "seed" glass beaches by throwing glass into the ocean, but this has two major drawbacks.  New glass remains sharp for years or decades, so it is a hazard to small bare feet and is not useful or attractive to sea glass collectors, and throwing glass into the ocean (even glass found on the beach) is illegal.

Respect the locals

It may be hard to believe, but some communities show a marked hostility to beach glass seekers.  For instance, at Glass Beach near Fort Bragg in California, it is illegal to remove glass from the beach area.  Be sure that the community is open to glass hunting.  There are plenty of glass beach areas where hunters are welcome and keeping one's finds is perfectly legal.

Go the extra mile

Beach glass hunting has become so popular that glass is more scarce on heavily traveled beaches.  A hike or climb to an area less accessible or a visit during the off-season when tourists are scarce sometimes pays dividends.

 nancyb@sanddollarseaglass.com