Metal Detecting on Florida's Daytona & the Space Coast

8 locations · 6 allowed · 2 prohibited

Rules last verified: 2026-08-13 · Florida statewide rules

Daytona, New Smyrna, Cocoa and Melbourne Beach: drive-on beaches, big event crowds (race weeks, Bike Week, spring break) and generally permissive county rules on the public sand. Canaveral National Seashore is the hard no — federal land, detecting prohibited — and Volusia County bans detecting in every county park (the open county-run beach is governed separately). Satellite Beach goes the other way and writes metal detecting into its code as a protected beach use. Melbourne Beach is the northern edge of the 1715 Fleet wreck zone, so check the Treasure Coast rules before you head south.

Beaches and parks on the Daytona / Space Coast

✅ Daytona Beach Allowed · Volusia County
Beach only — NOT in Volusia County inland parks
✅ New Smyrna Beach Allowed · Volusia County
Beach only — NOT in Volusia County parks; Canaveral National Seashore to the south is federal/prohibited
🔴 Canaveral National Seashore Prohibited · Volusia County
Federal NPS land — possessing or using a metal detector is prohibited (36 CFR 2.1(a)(7))
✅ Cocoa Beach Allowed · Brevard County
Turtle nesting restrictions May–Oct — fill holes, avoid nests
✅ Melbourne Beach Allowed · Brevard County
Treasure Coast edge; detect low-tide to toe-of-dune only; NOT in the water/salvage zones
✅ Ormond Beach Allowed · Volusia County
The beach is run by Volusia County; the Beach Code (Ch. 20) has no metal-detecting restriction on the open sand. Stay off dunes and the cons…
🔴 Volusia County parks (county park system) Prohibited · Volusia County
Volusia County's published park rules state that metal detecting is not allowed in any Volusia County park — inland and beachfront parks ali…
✅ Satellite Beach & Indialantic (Brevard County beaches) Allowed · Brevard County
Satellite Beach Code Sec. 26-1(c) lists metal detecting as a protected customary use of the dry-sand beach; Brevard County code is silent. T…

Beach detecting here? Wet salt sand needs a multi-frequency machine and a long-handled scoop. The Nokta Legend 2 is the best value that handles it. See the Nokta Legend 2 → Full buyer's guide →

Other Florida regions

Panhandle · First Coast · Treasure Coast · South Florida / Keys · Gulf Coast · Central Florida