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Florida metal dectecting regulations?
KeithinMD
Posts: 328
Does anyone know the metal detecting regulations for Florida beaches? My in-laws live near St. Pete beach and are always asking when can I come down to visit and do some metal detecting. Any information would be appreciated, thanks in advance.
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Forget blocking him; find out where he lives and go punch him in the nuts. --WalterSobchak 9/12/12
Looking for Al Hrabosky and any OPC Dave Campbells (the ESPN guy)
Some exceptions might be beaches adjoining a state park (our Jekyll Island, GA does not allow detectors anywhere on the island).
I would think that National Seashores or wildlife reserve areas would likewise be forbidden (our Cumberland Island, GA is a National Seashore and like Jekyll, I think detectors are totally forbidden on the island, which is too bad since both islands have a lot of history).
I did a very little bit of detecting in St. Pete but never got around to doing the beaches.
Until last year, my mother lived in the Old Southeast section of St. Pete, just two blocks from the Bay. I did a little sidewalk shooting in her neighborhood and came up with some modern change, an antique brass hose nozzle, and this cute little sterling silver pin with three bulldogs on it. No old coins, but I'm sure they were there. Probably deep, in that sandy soil.
Edit to add: I am 98% certain that detectors are okay and the beaches around St. Pete are fair game. Get yourself a nice ring or two!
I wish Mom still lived there, or at least closer. We used to be able to drive down a few hours to see her, but she had to go and move halfway across the country to San Antonio. This New Years was the first in a long time that we didn't take our annual trip there. I miss those visits.
Some exceptions might be beaches adjoining a state park (our Jekyll Island, GA does not allow detectors anywhere on the island).
I would think that National Seashores or wildlife reserve areas would likewise be forbidden (our Cumberland Island, GA is a National Seashore and like Jekyll, I think detectors are totally forbidden on the island, which is too bad since both islands have a lot of history).
I did a very little bit of detecting in St. Pete but never got around to doing the beaches.
Until last year, my mother lived in the Old Southeast section of St. Pete, just two blocks from the Bay. I did a little sidewalk shooting in her neighborhood and came up with some modern change, an antique brass hose nozzle, and this cute little sterling silver pin with three bulldogs on it. No old coins, but I'm sure they were there. Probably deep, in that sandy soil."
Neat silver pin. I am just itching to do any type of detecting. Where I live we have about 2 inches of solid ice on the ground and the earth below the ice has been frozen solid for over a month. Last year I detected almost all winter, just one small snow storm. The somewhat warm beaches of Florida sound pretty nice now.
Old Town Fernandina, where I lived, was like a place where time had almost stood still since the Spanish owned it. The roads were mostly unpaved and still just sand. In fact, I went back there in the mid-1990s with a modern detector and dug an 1817 Artillery Corps button. The roads were still sandy and unpaved like they'd been in my childhood, but I found that some of the places we hunted freely in the 1970s were no longer as free in the 1990s- we got chased off and even threatened with arrest in one spot. But the beaches there are still fair game.