Can you collect sea glass in California?

If your journey takes you to Southern California, La Jolla Cove and Laguna Beach are the pearls of the area. Smaller, secluded coves offer an ideal spot in Laguna for sea glass collectors, while La Jolla's rocky structures hide larger, more colourful pieces.



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Look, Don't Take It is forbidden to take sea glass within the boundaries of MacKerricher State Park: the glass morsels are strictly for your viewing pleasure, not for taking home as a souvenir. After all, if each of the thousands of daily tourists were to take some home, then, eventually, it wouldn't be Glass Beach!

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Access the digital replica of USA TODAY and more than 200 local newspapers with your subscription. On all beaches located within U.S. state parks, it is illegal to collect sea glass.

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Collect sea glass “It is litter,” says Steve Trewhella, author of The Essential Guide to Beachcombing, who has a couple of jars of sea glass at home. “Unless the landowner has stipulated that nothing is to be removed from the beach.” As it isn't a natural component of the beach, you are technically removing debris.

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Search for sea glass on either of these and you will find upwards of 10,000 listings offering sea glass for sale. Make no mistake, sea glass is a commodity. It has real value, with some individual pieces selling for up to $1,000 and more. Many factors must be present to sell sea glass for top dollar.

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No person shall destroy, disturb, mutilate, or remove earth, sand, gravel, oil, minerals, rocks, paleontological features, or features of caves except rockhounding may be permitted as defined and delineated in Sections 4610 through 4610.10.

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Glass Beach, MacKerricher State Park Glass Beach is adjacent to MacKerricher State Park and is one of three beaches in Fort Bragg that were official dumpsites in the 1940s. As a result, this sea glass beach is probably the best and most unique sea glass hunting beach in the world.

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After a storm is usually a good time to check out the beach and in the spring and fall when the foot traffic is low! A well groomed beach does not produce much beach glass, so choose a beach with plenty of rocks.

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