Yachats Agate Festival:Oregon Coast for Rockhounds

If you’ve ever walked an Oregon beach and felt your eyes automatically start scanning the wrack line—half looking for treasure, half just enjoying the hunt—Yachats is your kind of place. Every winter, this little “Gem of the Oregon Coast” leans all the way into its geology roots with the Yachats Agate Festival, a community-powered weekend that’s equal parts rock show, local craft fair, and excuse to get outside and look closely at the ground (with purpose).

Yachats Agate Festival:Oregon Coast for Rockhounds

If you’ve ever walked an Oregon beach and felt your eyes automatically start scanning the wrack line—half looking for treasure, half just enjoying the hunt—Yachats is your kind of place. Every winter, this little “Gem of the Oregon Coast” leans all the way into its geology roots with the Yachats Agate Festival, a community-powered weekend that’s equal parts rock show, local craft fair, and excuse to get outside and look closely at the ground (with purpose).

What the festival is like

Think of the Agate Festival as a warm, bustling indoor hub—tables full of polished stones and raw finds, handmade jewelry, fossils, and the kind of people who can spot a jasper from ten feet away. It’s hosted around the Yachats Commons / Lions Hall area, with vendors and activities packed into community spaces right in town.

What you’ll typically find:

30+ vendors with agates, gemstones, fossils, cabochons, jewelry, and rockhounding tools and gifts
Demonstrations (including popular hands-on stuff like wire wrapping)
Talks and rock/geology know-how, where you can learn what you’re actually looking at when you pick up a “cool rock”
A raffle and community fundraising angle (a big part of the festival’s vibe)

The real secret: it’s not just indoors

Yes, you can happily spend hours inside admiring polished thunder eggs and ocean-tumbled agates. But the festival hits different because you’re in Yachats—which means you can step outside, breathe that cold-salty winter air, and go beachcombing between festival loops.

A classic Agate Festival day looks like this:

A simple one-day itinerary

Morning (10:00–12:00): Start at the festival when doors open. Do an “everything lap” first—get the layout, clock the booths you’ll come back to, and catch an early demo.
Midday (12:00–2:00): Head to the shoreline for a short beach walk and some slow scanning (the best rockhounding pace is “grandparent stroll,” honestly).
Afternoon (2:00–5:00): Back to the festival for the deep dive: questions, purchases, and any talks you circled earlier.

If you’re making a weekend out of it, just repeat the loop—only with better snacks and more confidence in what you’re looking for.

Beachcombing tips

Low tide is your friend. More exposed gravel = more chances to spot color and banding. A lot of visitors time a beach walk around lower tides, then bring finds back to compare/learn.
Look where the beach “sorts” things: gravel patches, the edges of cobble beds, and places where waves deposit heavier material.
Be safe in winter: Yachats is famous for dramatic surf and rocky shelves—keep distance from waves and watch for sneaker-wave conditions (especially when it’s stormy).
Bring a small pouch or bucket, and something to wipe rocks—agates often look “meh” until they’re wet or cleaned off.