Updated August 21, 2025 at 10:03 PM EDT
My daughter Abby Campbell and I were walking on the beach in California in 2023. She stopped to pick up something that looked sort of like a bubble on top of the wet sand.
It was a piece of sea glass — normal bits of broken glass that have been in the surf for years, decades or even centuries. The jagged, sharp edges are worn down and rounded by the constant motion in the waves against the rocks and the sand. The process takes longer in freshwater, but the glass eventually becomes smooth and cloudy or frosted.
You can find it in all different colors. Shades of green, brown and white or clear are by far the most common. That's simply because those are the most common colors of mass-produced glass bottles that end up in oceans, bays, lakes and rivers around the world.
Abby and I were out looking for shells and cool rocks on the beach when she found a few pieces of white sea glass. She remembers, "they weren't very well shaped or frosted. I didn't even really know what they were. But then I found a perfectly oval-shaped light blue aqua piece. From that moment on I was hooked!"
Now every time we go on vacation, we study tide charts and head to the beach for low tide — sometimes even before the sun rises.
In our experience, smooth, sandy beaches often aren't very productive. We find most of our pieces where there are rocks too. Abby's advice is to, "Look for lots of pebbles on the shore. The sea glass will usually be among that. And the lower the tide, the better. So you have more beach to search on."
We recently spent a few hours on the Chesapeake Bay hunting for sea glass with Richard LaMotte. He's a co-founder and past president of the North American Sea Glass Association and the author of the book, Pure Sea Glass.
"Normally, you want to look at what they call the wrack lines, where a lot of debris is collected on the high tide line and on the low tide line - especially where other stones and shells have gathered." LaMotte says.
He offered these other tips for beginning collectors:
- Go out just after storms to search the beach as the tide recedes.
- Look closely for shapes and colors that seem unique. Often just a small portion of the sea glass may be exposed.
- Don't use sunglasses, instead use a hat, since sunglasses can obscure subtle color differences one needs to see.
- Be patient. One day can be poor and the next is plentiful. Often, more sea glass is found in the fall and winter months, so don't limit your hunting to summer.
LaMotte's last bit of advice is one Abby and I have confirmed through experience. We often spend hours walking slowly up and down the shore to find our treasures. Each day is different. Each beach is different. Your results will vary, but each and every wave has the power to deposit a new beauty on the shore, or uncover something amazing that's been just under the sand. Once you find a couple of pieces, it can get very addictive.
I typically pick up every piece I see — no matter how small or common. But Abby has a much more discerning eye.
During our Chesapeake Bay visit, she made a rare find: a piece of red seaglass.
"Wow. That is a red!" LaMotte said to us. "Sometimes it can take people a couple of years to find their first piece of red."
Unlike us amateurs, LaMotte can tell a lot by the color, clarity, size and shape of the pieces we find.
"So that's actually kind of the maroon-colored red. And that was popular in the 1950s with the Schlitz bottles. But they definitely made a lot of those bottles in that red color. A ruby red is what it was called."
We also found several cobalt blue pieces — which wasn't surprising given the local manufacturing history.
LaMotte explained that directly across the Bay was a Maryland glass factory that made exclusively blue bottles, first for Bromo Seltzer, then for Phillips Milk of Magnesia.
"So it was the number one producer of cobalt blue glass," LaMotte says.
Toward the end of our visit we did in fact find a nice chunk of one of those famous blue bottles.
"You can see that N-E-S-I-A, that's for 'Milk of Magnesia.' Then the logo has a belt around, like maybe if your belt's too tight because you're having stomach issues."
It's definitely my favorite piece from our trip to the Chesapeake Bay.
Earlier this year, we searched for sea glass along the Pacific Ocean
While on vacation in California in April, Abby and I made a pilgrimage three hours up the coast.
We met up with Captain Cass Forrington, who retired from the Merchant marines in 1998, and then started the Sea Glass Museum in Fort Bragg, Calif. in 2009.
It houses an impressive collection of rare, beautiful pieces and a gift shop where Forrington sells jewelry made from sea glass.
"It's just refuse that's been turned into gemstones by the Creator. Nothing goes to waste on the planet and God hates ugly. Everything gets recycled," Forrington said. "It's the only thing man makes and throws away that comes back better than when he first made it."
Forrington has a tip if you want to find your own treasure trove.
"You go to the local historical society and find out what the dump site was," Forrington says. "All water communities used to have water dumps."
The museum itself is just a few blocks from oceanside cliffs where as recently as 1967, Fort Bragg would push its refuse into the Pacific. Now some of the local beaches are covered in glass.
After a short walk from the museum, we found ourselves overlooking "Glass Beach."
From up above, it looks normal, like it's covered in sand and rocks. But after we scrambled down to the beach we realized that it's almost all glass.
We spent a few hours down there — talking to fellow collectors, taking pictures and marveling. Abby didn't want to leave.
"I love hunting for rare colors. Seeing lots of brown, white, and green, and then seeing something rare - like a cool color or unusual shape. Something like a piece of red. Or a glass bottle stopper. Or marbles. I think those are my favorites!"
Abby also likes finding mysterious random things washed up on the beach.
"I've found cell phones, circuit boards, buttons, dominoes, beads, and plenty of things we couldn't identify. Probably the best part though, is when I get home, and lay out, sort, and take pictures of my finds. I jokingly call this part 'playing sea glass.' I'm reminded of all the cool things I found."
With a little patience, a sharp eye and some luck — you can find your own treasures. And there are also side benefits!
"Even if I don't find anything rare on a certain day, it's still good exercise, and time spent in nature at the beach," Abby says. "I see all kinds of sea creatures at low tide in tide pools and sometimes harbor seals will pop up and watch us from the water."
And remember whatever sea glass you find and pick up starts out as garbage.
No longer, though. Not for me and Abby.
Happy hunting!
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