Do Michigan Beaches Really Have Magnetic Sand?

I never really thought about this until now.

I was born and raised in West Michigan and I've spent countless summers at the beach, so why am I only just hearing about this now?

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Had I known earlier I would have spent this past summer combing the shores of Lake Michigan for both pretty rocks and magnetic sand. Did you know it was possible to find magnetic sand in Michigan? And where can you find it?

As an amateur rockhound myself, I first became aware of this bizarre phenomenon from my local Great Lakes Rocks & Minerals Facebook group when one member shared their recent find:

We loved playing with the magnetite in the sand...Take a magnet and gather some. It's pretty heavy compared to the regular sand...yes, you can also pan for gold flakes in it. We didn't have a pan on us but will next time!

While yes, I was aware that you can pan for gold in certain parts of Michigan, the whole magnetic sand thing was news to me!

According to West Michigan's Fox17 some sand that appears black can contain magnetite and hematite:

According to Peter J. Wampler, a Grand Valley State University professor in the geology department, the black sand is essentially from the banded iron formation in the Upper Peninsula. Some of it was ground up by glaciers during the ice ages and was eventually carried down to the lower peninsulas by the glaciers.

I've seen plenty of posts about locals finding magnetic sand at the beaches in Van Buren State Park in particular, but I'd have to imagine should conditions be right it must be possible to find magnetic sand on pretty much any beach in Michigan.

Make sure to add a magnet to your beach bag next summer!