United States
Find legal ground and recover more coins.
State and local rules, parks, beaches, coin shooting, relic context, and the exact manager check.
- 6 source-checked state guides
- 13 local place and policy guides
- U.S. coin ID + old-coin settings
Metal detecting locations
Metal detecting locations: choose the legal system first.
A useful map starts with a useful answer: which country, which manager, which protected-site rule, and which reporting body apply here?
Choose a region
One atlas. Two very different first questions.
Europe
Understand the history before you clean or keep the find.
Country permission, protected ground, reporting routes, and visual Roman and medieval identification.
- England legal route
- Netherlands 30 cm + APV route
- Roman and hammered coin charts
Named starting ground
10 source-checked places.
No hidden treasure pins. Every guide starts with a public entrance, named beach, permit office, or clear no-go boundary.
Temple’s Lake Park
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers allows metal detecting only inside the designated swim beach at Temple’s Lake Park. No detector permit is issued or required.
Westcliff Park
Metal detecting is allowed only inside Westcliff Park’s designated swim beach. Use a camping reservation or pay for day use; no separate detector permit is issued.
Westlake Park at Lewisville Lake
Get a metal-detecting permit from the Lewisville Lake Project Office first. At Westlake Park, detecting is limited to the shoreline band disturbed by waves—not the upland park.
San Antonio city parks
Get a San Antonio metal-detecting permit first. Current city documents conflict on permit length and park scope, so your approved permit and a fresh answer from Parks control.
Little Talbot Island State Park
The park page allows detecting east of dune vegetation, but the usable area is only the dry-beach section between the dune toe and high-water line that the manager designates. Call first; the water and seabed are closed.
Sand Key Park
Pinellas County creates a beach-only exception for metal detecting. At Sand Key Park, stay on the sandy beach and out of the inland park, nature trail, dog park, dunes, and posted wildlife areas.
Fred Howard Park Beach
Metal detecting falls under Pinellas County’s beach exception at Fred Howard Park. Use the white-sand beach at the end of the causeway—not the inland park, picnic ground, playground, or natural areas.
Hampton Beach
Hampton Beach appears on Marion County’s approved metal-detecting list, but you need the county pass first. The pass does not open protected or posted areas, and it does not establish permission for Lake Weir’s submerged ground.
Canaveral National Seashore
No. National Park Service rules prohibit using or possessing a ready-to-use metal detector within Canaveral National Seashore, including its beach districts.
Jetty Park
Jetty Park’s official rules prohibit metal detectors throughout the park, including the full 1,200-foot beachfront.
Manager rules and boundaries
3 area guides for permits, exceptions, and no-go ground.
Use these when one county or agency rule controls several parks—or when the useful answer is a clear boundary to avoid.
Pinellas County beach rules
Pinellas County’s current rules prohibit metal detecting except on beaches. This is the county-rule overview; use the separate Sand Key or Fred Howard guide for the exact entrance and park layout.
Orange County parks permit
Orange County requires a metal-detecting permit, and the permit covers only county-approved sites and patron-use areas. It does not make every county park—or City of Orlando land—open.
Palm Beach County parks and beaches
Palm Beach County says metal detecting is not allowed in its parks or on its beaches. The county’s note about water adjoining a county beach is not permission to detect there.
The 60-second access check
Ask these questions in order.
- 1Who manages it?
City, county, state, federal agency, school, business, or a private owner?
- 2What do the current rules say?
Look for detecting, digging, cultural objects, closing hours, and permits.
- 3Does this exact area differ?
A beach, historic zone, wildlife area, or event can have its own limit.
- 4Can you leave it better?
Use a small recovery tool, refill cleanly, and remove sharp trash.
Keep moving through the atlas
Choose the next question—not a random article.
Each hub has one clear job. Move between them when your question changes.
05Complete first-hunt guides
Start from zero
Beginner guides
Follow one calm route from legal ground and a simple setup to your first neat recovery.
- Your first hunt
- Beginner checklists
- Permission and ethics
02Official specs and clear tradeoffs
Choose the machine
Detectors
Match a detector to your ground, water, targets, weight limit, and real starting budget.
- Beginner comparisons
- Beach and underwater machines
- Exact models, coils, and packages
03Step-by-step field lessons
Learn the movement
Techniques
Build repeatable field skills. Learn setup and coil movement, then practise signal checks, pinpointing and clean recovery.
- Coin shooting
- Small hammered targets
- Clean target recovery