Metal detecting laws, verified & up to date

Metal Detecting at Hutchinson Island — St. Lucie County beach parks (Walton Rocks, Frederick Douglass, Waveland, Pepper Park)

St. Lucie County · Treasure Coast · City/County beach

🟠 Limited

Last verified:

The rules

St. Lucie County Code is silent on metal detecting, but Sec. 32-89(c) bans digging or removing beach sand or making any excavation by hand or tool on county property without a permit — call Parks to confirm hand-scoop recovery is tolerated. Turtle season May 1–Oct 31.

Permit: Verify with park

📞 Call ahead: 772-462-1517 (confirm the current rule before you go)

Why detect here

Treasure Coast shoreline; multiple guarded county beach accesses

Hunting the Treasure Coast? Salt water and buried gold call for a waterproof simultaneous multi-frequency machine — the Minelab Equinox 900 is the top pick here. See the Minelab Equinox 900 →


Source: St. Lucie County Code Ch. 32 Art. IV (Secs. 32-87 to 32-98). Verify against the managing authority before detecting.