Where to detect on East cost of Florida???

[CoinCollector1982]

Where to detect on West cost of Florida

Hi, everyone!

I live in Manatee county and contacted the county regarding metal detecting and their laws. I was told that I am not allowed to hunt/detect on any county property, which included a lot of our beaches. I am having a problem differentiating city from county in terms of parks and beaches. I am getting pretty bummed out thinking I got a detector and am limited to Bradenton beach and my own back yard.

Is anyone familiar with the West coast of Florida and where I can detect? I am thinking of getting a Treasure Products Vibra Tector 730 so I can just limit myself to the shoreline, but after hearing the news regarding not detecting on county beaches... I am stumped.

I travel as far down as the keys and as far north as St Pete. Would love to know if there is a list somewhere online or a list that maybe someone else has put together, just so I know my limits.


Thanks!

 

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[Treasure_Hunter]

Stop asking the county, don't go to any state or county park beaches if your concerned....

I go to the beach and detect, I do not call the county to ask their permission....I don't hunt county or state park beaches..There are lots of beaches to hunt.

You can detect almost any public city beaches....... In Florida beaches are owned by the public...

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[CoinCollector1982]

Thank you! I guess I just don't know the difference between a city beach and a county beach... I have been here 31 years and never knew there was such a thing as a city beach and a county beach. (stupid on my part).

Thank you for the insight!

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Thank you! I guess I just don't know the difference between a city beach and a county beach... I have been here 31 years and never knew there was such a thing as a city beach and a county beach. (stupid on my part).

Thank you for the insight!

Is the beach part of or located in a County or State Park?

As examples St Pete, Clearwater, Indian rocks, Anna Maria, Daytona, cocoa are all public beaches....

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[CoinCollector1982]

Hi! I am going to look at some maps of the city lines and county lines and see what I can find.


Thanks for your help

Is the beach part of or located in a County or State Park?

As examples St Pete, Clearwater, Indian rocks, Anna Maria, Daytona, cocoa are all public beaches....

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[Treasure_Hunter]

Hi! I am going to look at some maps of the city lines and county lines and see what I can find.


Thanks for your help

Your still missing point, just don't detect inside any county parks, on state parks that have a beach just ask when you enter........

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[Tom_in_CA]

reply

Hi, everyone!

I live in Manatee county and contacted the county regarding metal detecting and their laws. I was told that I am not allowed to hunt/detect on any county property, which included a lot of our beaches. I am having a problem differentiating city from county in terms of parks and beaches. I am getting pretty bummed out thinking I got a detector and am limited to Bradenton beach and my own back yard.

Is anyone familiar with the West coast of Florida and where I can detect? I am thinking of getting a Treasure Products Vibra Tector 730 so I can just limit myself to the shoreline, but after hearing the news regarding not detecting on county beaches... I am stumped.

I travel as far down as the keys and as far north as St Pete. Would love to know if there is a list somewhere online or a list that maybe someone else has put together, just so I know my limits.


Thanks!

Coin-collector, I'm confused. Did the person at the county cite where he/she was getting that information from,... that detecting isn't allowed @ Manatee county parks and beaches? I have gone to the Mantee County website, and searched long and hard. I see nothing of the sort saying such a thing. I have done variations of word searches under "metal" and "detecting" and "detectors", etc... Nothing there that prohibits metal detectors. In fact, if you go to this page of their website, it even has the rules for the beaches. There is nothing there saying "no metal detectors":

Beaches

So where did this county person you talked to, get their information?

Are you sure you're not simply the latest victim of "no one cared,... till you asked" ?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Coincollector.

I have been hunting Florida's beaches for over 7 years, I have never called the city or county a single time to ask permission to hunt any beach..... Never been asked to leave a beach or why I was detecting it....

I search online found out what county parks were illegal and did not go there, all were inland.... I have not found any county parks on the east coast that is illegal to hunt...

 

[CoinCollector1982]

Your still missing point, just don't detect inside any county parks, on state parks that have a beach just ask when you enter........

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I got it

 

[CoinCollector1982]

Hi, Tom!

He told me first that he was a fellow MD'er... then he said they have county ordinances that prohibit digging in their ground and also removing anything from the property. He said anything that is county property is off limits. He then told me if it's city property it is fine to be there - he then proceeded to give me the names of some beaches that were off limits.

I did a search earlier and found this Beach Ordinances
if you go to the first link and down to page 3 it talks about it.

I spoke with another MD'er who said they have never had a problem and have been all over the beaches. The only reason I asked is because I have heard stories online of others getting their gear taken away and have been taken in.... I would be devastated if that happened, especially in front of my three year old.

With that said.... it did take him several days to get back to me, so who knows if he was talking out of his butt, but he did say he metal detects as well so I just took his word for it.

Thanks for your help, Tom

Coin-collector, I'm confused. Did the person at the county cite where he/she was getting that information from,... that detecting isn't allowed @ Manatee county parks and beaches? I have gone to the Mantee County website, and searched long and hard. I see nothing of the sort saying such a thing. I have done variations of word searches under "metal" and "detecting" and "detectors", etc... Nothing there that prohibits metal detectors. In fact, if you go to this page of their website, it even has the rules for the beaches. There is nothing there saying "no metal detectors":

Beaches

So where did this county person you talked to, get their information?

Are you sure you're not simply the latest victim of "no one cared,... till you asked" ?

 

[cudamark]

I still don't see anything about meta detecting. You're concerned about the "no digging in the sand" section? You're building a sand castle, aren't you? And for safety reasons, you want to make sure there are no sharp pieces of metal in the sand before you put your fingers in it, right?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Hi, Tom!

He told me first that he was a fellow MD'er... then he said they have county ordinances that prohibit digging in their ground and also removing anything from the property. He said anything that is county property is off limits. He then told me if it's city property it is fine to be there - he then proceeded to give me the names of some beaches that were off limits.

I did a search earlier and found this Beach Ordinances
if you go to the first link and down to page 3 it talks about it.

I spoke with another MD'er who said they have never had a problem and have been all over the beaches. The only reason I asked is because I have heard stories online of others getting their gear taken away and have been taken in.... I would be devastated if that happened, especially in front of my three year old.

With that said.... it did take him several days to get back to me, so who knows if he was talking out of his butt, but he did say he metal detects as well so I just took his word for it.

Thanks for your help, Tom

As said unless it is a county park go detecting... No one is going to confiscate anything as long as you are not trying to sneak in a state park or on a treasure lease.

Some county parks are off limits, some state parks are off limits and treasure leases are off limits, that still leaves 95% of Fl beaches open to detect .....

Go detecting and stop worrying....

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[Tom_in_CA]

reply

Hi, Tom!

He told me first that he was a fellow MD'er... then he said they have county ordinances that prohibit digging in their ground and also removing anything from the property. He said anything that is county property is off limits. He then told me if it's city property it is fine to be there - he then proceeded to give me the names of some beaches that were off limits.

I did a search earlier and found this Beach Ordinances
if you go to the first link and down to page 3 it talks about it.

I spoke with another MD'er who said they have never had a problem and have been all over the beaches. The only reason I asked is because I have heard stories online of others getting their gear taken away and have been taken in.... I would be devastated if that happened, especially in front of my three year old.

With that said.... it did take him several days to get back to me, so who knows if he was talking out of his butt, but he did say he metal detects as well so I just took his word for it.

Thanks for your help, Tom

coin-collector, bear with me here.

This fellow has cited nothing that says "no metal detecting", right? Instead, he found other things he says applies to your question. The dreaded "alter", "deface", "disfigure", "tamper" "vandalize" type wording, right? Ok, Think about it coin-collector: What do all those terms (taken straight from your link), all implicitly infer?: The end result. Do they not? In other words, if you leave an area exactly as you found it (cover your holes and leave no trace), then *technically*, you have not defacED, disfigurED, tamperED, or vandalizED anything, now have you?

Verbage like that exists in EVERY park & beach. If you think such terms automatically apply, then hang it up now. Because no place "allows" vandalism, etc.... You can not make the automatic equivalence that "md'ing = destruction". To do so is to have lost the battle already. So unless you're being a nuisance, leaving a mess, etc... those things are rarely invoked.

Same for the verbage about "removing". Well .... sure: Stuff like that has to be there, so that no one thinks he can help himself to the swing-sets, or harvest all the flowers, or take all the wood-chips home for his own garden, etc.. Now really: was that ever meant to apply to singular mercs and barbers and pulltabs? No. Of course not. Those laws predate metal detecting. But sure: if you ask enough people, someone could say it applies to coins. So too would this be the obligatory answer of some bureaucrats if I asked if I can "harvest features off the beach". They would be obliged to say no. But if my daughter picks up pretty sea-shell to take home, did anyone really care? No. Of course not. Could it *technically* have violated the "no harvesting/removing" clauses? Sure, I suppose, if you asked long enough and hard enough of enough rangers and county people.

As for him being an md'r, well I suppose a lot of people got one while watching a late night info-mercial, or have one in their closet they used one time 10 yrs. ago, etc.... But ... that doesn't make his answer any more, or any less, correct.

Am I saying that everyone will love you, and you'll never hear anyone say so much as "boo" ? No. Of course not. There will always be someone who *might* get their panties in a wad (because let's face it, detecting has connotations that you might be about to leave a hole). So sure, you need to use "due discretion" and don't be an eye-sore waltzing over beach blankets, etc....

You say yourself: "I spoke with another MD'er who said they have never had a problem and have been all over the beaches.". Well, gee, if they've "never had a problem", then are we to infer they "haven't been arrested"? (the fear you said that caused you to ask)?

The problem now is going to be, that the county person you asked, who found these things he says applies, well guess what's going to happen the next time that county person sees those other md'rs you say are detecting county spots? The county person will recall the communication exchanged with you, and think "aha! there's one of *them*, and start booting others. So in essence, you merely get rules created (or "policy" or "interpretation") by your bringing it "front and center", where no one ever had a problem before.

Sorry, but I think you're the latest victim of "no one cared, till you asked".

 

[catherine1]

The government picking and choosing!! Maybe if you strapped a gun to your leg they would ignore your MD.