How to Find Beach Treasure on the Outer Banks

There’s something about time spent on the shore beachcombing that has a soothing effect on our souls… the sea has a way of flipping a mental and emotional reset switch for us. (There’s a reason an endless number of songs and poetry are written about it!)

And so we comb the beach to clear our heads, calm our hearts, and joyfully fill our buckets to add to our Outer Banks beach treasure collections!

Find a Shell Bed

Shell beds are areas around the shore break where a large concentration of shells accumulate together.

Shell beds often form near and around piers. These beds can consist of shells, shell fragments, pebbles, driftwood, crab shells, sea glass, and more.

And what’s the best way to find shell beds? Long walks on the beach, patience, and a keen eye! All of which makes the discovery richer and more meaningful.

SEA GLASS is probably our most prized beach treasure around the Outer Banks and something we have enjoyed collecting for decades! Sea Glass (or beach glass) is born from bottles and other glass objects tossed in the ocean (think shipwrecks here!)

The glass fragments are tumbled and made smooth by the waves and currents, resulting in small smooth “jewels.” (usually between the size of a pebble and a river rock.) The most common sea glass colors are white and brown.

Other colors like blue and green are rare, while the most coveted pink, yellow and red is the rarest of treasures!

If you’re extra lucky you might find a piece of sea glass with markings, words, or shapes that help you identify their origin.

The Outer Banks is referred to as “The Graveyard of the Atlantic” because of the vast number of shipwrecks off these shores, the sea has produced.

Outer Banks beaches are also full of bi-valve mollusk shells in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Scallops, Mussels, and Oysters are more native bi-valve mollusks that you might recognize.

If you have visited the Outer Banks, then you have likely dined on these fresh delicacies!

It’s easy and fun to find different varieties of bivalves and clamshells such as Quahog, Cockle, and Coquina on the OBX.

Quahog clam fragments are ample on these shores. Not only do they make a beautiful collection with their variegated patterns in shades of purple, but they also have quite an interesting story to tell.

Since the times that this area was settled by Native Americans, Quahog clam fragments have been crafted into jewelry and craft beads called WAMPUM. For the early Native Americans, Wampum had deep ceremonial and spiritual significance.

#3: Whelk

Whelks have a beautifully spiraled shell and are sometimes mistaken for Conch Shells (Whelks prefer cooler waters than the tropical Conch). Whelk shells are a variety of Sea Snail and a part of a group of sea carnivores known as “drilling predators.”

Sea snails can drill a hole into the shell of another shellfish to consume the animal inside… they will even eat other Whelks (yuck!)

The Scotch Bonnet has a similar as the whelk, though more rounded features, and it is North Carolina’s state shell!

#5: Fulgurite

One of the most fascinating beach discoveries is Fulgurite, also known as “Lightning Sand.” Fulgurite is formed when lightning strikes sand and the intense heat fuses the sand into a hard, wavy, or tube-like formation. (I think Fulgurite resembles a smooth piece of coral in appearance.)

The beach treasure also tells the story of the intense weather that passes over these barrier islands!

#6: Driftwood

Driftwood is wood that has washed ashore, sometimes in small pieces from something such as a shipwreck. Other times, an entire tree floats to shore!

By the time driftwood floats to shore, it has often been bleached by the sun and its edges are made smooth by crashing waves. Sometimes small animals have taken up residence and the piece may be covered in barnacles or have tunnels carved by boring animals!

Here are a few tips you can take with you on your next beachcombing adventure:

• Always keep an empty ziplock bag in your beach bag to bring on my beach walks and fill with found treasures (my little sidekick usually has a plastic sand bucket that comes in handy too!)

• Bring your phone along to take pictures, videos, or ask google to help me identify our finds.

• Sometimes I also like to bring an extra bag for the less desirable items we find along the way. It’s great to leave the beach the way we found it, and even better when we can leave the beach cleaner than we found it.