Whare can I detect (Without Permission)

pjroo3

Junior Member
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Oct 9, 2007
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Philly Suburbs
I'm sure this has been discussed many times before, but I'm curious what locations are detectable without permission. I live in SE Pennsylvania and need some good ideas. School Yards, State Parks, Public Land??? I am never able to get the courage to ask land owners to dig up their property. Sorry if this is an old subject. Thanks in advance.
 
Hi

Beaches usually. Playgrounds @ local parks. You could try posting an ad on Craigslist advertising that you have a MD and want to detect sites and see who might contact you. Mention you can hunt for lost items too if you get enough details. Ask your friends and see if you can MD on their property.
 
places to hunt

When I have questions about parks and such, I usually start by calling the sheriff's office, then the Parks and Recreations department for the county. They can usually tel you one way or the other about statutes, etc. As for schools, they are considered private property, to an extent, and you should just ask them for permission. Here in Florida where I live, almost all of the schools in my city and surrounding areas have fences around them, as well as posted signs about trespassing. When I want to go to any place with a fence, I always ask for permission.

Also, keep an eye out for vacant/for sale lots. I call the realty company that has their signs on the lot for sale and get permission; they almost always give permission so long as I tell them that I just want to go over the property before anything gets built on it since there are so many subdivisions and shopping centers being built. If it appears to be just a regular vacant lot without a realty sign on it, I ask people that are neighbors to the lot if they know the owners or how I would get in touch with them in order to gain permission to hunt the lot. As you can tell, I'm all about permission because there are a lot of historic areas where I live, so I just like to be sure.

Along with that, and in conclusion, I've had a few instances in parks locally where I was told by the parks department groundskeepers that metal detecting was not allowed at all. So after calling the county to check on that to see if there were any ordinances for the county or town, was told that metal detecting was okay and that there were no ordinances. Now when I have a groundskeeper tell me that, I always make sure to tell them that I've talked to the county, their supervisors, that it is allowed, and then I usually talk to them for a while and give them any keys or whatever that are of no use to me, but that helps to gain rapport with them a bit for the future.

Aeryck
 
wedjlok - how do you figure that schools are kinda private property? I agree that it's always best to have someone's permission......but it is also likely that "someone" in a school system is more likely to say no rather than be responsible for saying yes. I consider schools to be very public while at the same time being "off limits" anytime the children are present.
 
wedjlok - how do you figure that schools are kinda private property? I agree that it's always best to have someone's permission......but it is also likely that "someone" in a school system is more likely to say no rather than be responsible for saying yes. I consider schools to be very public while at the same time being "off limits" anytime the children are present.

I'm mainly speaking of some of the schools in the area where I live. Most of the schools around here have no trespassing signs posted and close and lock gates after school hours. I do not presume to know about every area, but I also noticed the same thing at a lot of schools in Indiana when I went there a couple of weeks ago. Personally, if there's a fence around an area I usually ask for permission, but that's just me.
 
hmmmm....i gotta remember those reality ones....that could come in handy once i have my metal detector
 
Be carefull in parks some might be ok with metal detecting but no digging,You can check with the city hall for all city parks and county parks ask a park ranger Or the way i like to look at it, the best person to ask about hunting in public places is the person that will 'fine" you for hunting in the park .But dont be afraid to ask people the more you ask the easyer it gets.Also most state parks are a no no. Also Try Fairgrounds, vollyball pits are really good! i have found lots of rings in them.
 
I also live in SE Pa. I hunt school yards, ball fields, and any local park. Never been chased out, even with park employees around.
 
a town in my county has a rule no metal detecting on any public property a friend of mine was approached by a groundsman at a park in danvers ma as he was getting his md out and was told md's are against town law!!! he went home called town hall and asked if this was true a clerk said. it's on our web sight it was added a year ago. but ther are no sighns on the grounds this includes all public land beaches, parks, schools, sidewalks, ect
 
Land around creeks and streams are usually considered "public domain" - I've found many nice coins and relics along the Schuylkill River here in SE Pennsylvania.
 
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