Sea Glass & Beachcombing in Oregon

2 locations in Oregon checked against the rules of the agency that manages each one: 2 allowed. Each page gives the permit requirements, limits, restrictions and penalties, with the primary sources it was checked against.

Rules last checked in July 2026

2 Allowed

Loading map…

Site Guides

Allowed

Agate Beach

Oregon, Lincoln·Beachcombing

Loose agates, jasper, and shells are legal to pocket at Agate Beach under Oregon's Beach Bill — up to a gallon a day. Cross into Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area just south, though, and the rule flips entirely: nothing leaves, not even a pebble.

Under Oregon's Beach Bill (ORS 390.610 et seq.) and OAR 736-021-0090, loose surface material — agates, jasper, petrified wood, shells — may be collected for personal use up to one gallon per person per day and three gallons per person per calendar year
Digging into bedrock, cliffs, seawalls, or excavating sand and soil to search for buried material is prohibited under the same rule — only material already loose on the surface qualifies

Allowed

Bandon Beach

Oregon, Coos·Beachcombing

Loose agates, sea glass, and driftwood are legal to collect at Bandon Beach under Oregon's Beach Bill. Face Rock and every other sea stack offshore are permanently off-limits — federal refuge land you can look at but never touch.

Loose agates, jasper, sea glass, shells and similar items may be collected for personal use under OAR 736-021-0090: up to one gallon per person per day, three gallons per person per calendar year, no digging; driftwood has its own limit of one cubic yard a day and three cords a year
Every offshore rock, reef, and sea stack visible from Bandon Beach — including Face Rock itself, Table Rock, Cathedral Rock, Elephant Rock, and the Coquille Point rocks — is part of Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge and permanently closed to public entry or climbing, regardless of tide

Laws That Apply to These Sites

The Oregon Beach Bill Explained: What You Can Collect, Dig and Detect on Oregon's Ocean Shore

Oregon's whole ocean shore is a state recreation area: the state owns the wet sand, and the 1967 Beach Bill secures public use of the dry sand. Its collecting rule lets you take a gallon of loose agates and shells a day, plus set amounts of sand, cobble and driftwood, and lets you metal detect in listed areas. Here are the exact limits and the places they don't apply.

Other Hobbies in Oregon

Foraging in Oregon(6)Rockhounding in Oregon(6)Gold Panning in Oregon(2)