Cape cod Vacation

[gobble-gobble]

Hi all, Going to Cape Cod in Aug. Meeting up with friends from Maryland & driving our RVS up to do some camping & detecting. Can anyone give me some info on any rules posting detectors. And how are the beaches ? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
Tks. Rem

 

[Mr.Bill]

the National Sea Shore Beach's. Federally protected. Get arrested, lose detector, and sometimes other items. Just not worth it.

All the other Public Beach's on the Cape are open. No restrictions that I am aware of. One can even hunt on the State owned beach's after you check in with the ranger.

 

[jyt2017]

With state governed property its just buttering up to the dude and asking. Its in the CMRs. Detecting can be allowed by park staff. It probably wont on a day of high use though.

As mentioned before, the cape cod national sea shore is a joke. They will take your machine and arrest you. Why we have that type of national police forces is beyond me...but it is what it is. There are plenty of sites that you can hunt...good luck. I am an hour out from cape so I don't hunt it a lot. But...maybe soon. Anyway. 95% of time...nothing to worry about.

-Joe

 

[gobble-gobble]

Thanks Bill , It's pays to ask when I get there. Sure don't want to loose everything & get arrested. That would be some way to start retirement. LOL

 

[gobble-gobble]

Thanks Joe, I will bring the detector & before it leaves the RV --I will ask.

 

[birdman]

Get you a water detector and a kayak and have a blast. We go to the Cape every year .I am deployed this year and the wife and family just got back from there. Lots of history and also look for old bottles at low tide. I have pulled lots of bottles from the muck at low tide.I found a gold chain last year.

 

[gobble-gobble]

Thanks Birdman, sounds like I will have a plan. Don't know how much detecing I'll do, but thats ok. It's all about life. Be safe & THANK YOU for what you do.
Rem

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Mr. Bill & Joe: I notice you say that state beaches are ok, if you check in with the park office, on state-of-Maine operated beaches. I was just wondering where you got this information. Did it come from this list?

http://www.fmdac.org/parks/parks.htm

On that list, Maine's state park section says "yes, with permit from park office". The reason I ask, is on that same FMDAC list, CA has a similar wording: "yes, with permission from park office".

However, here in CA (to use us an example), state beaches are fair game. No one ever checks in, asks, etc.... We are totally ignored. It's just simply been this way since the dawn of time, so when lists came out like this list, it was like "since when?". So I'm curious where you get the info. from, and if anyone really "checks in" each time they go to a state owned beach in Maine. I'd be afraid of a capricious whimsical "no", from a ranger who ....... quite frankly would never have given the matter thought, before someone asks. (like, perhaps they think you'll hurt the sandcrabs, once they consider your "pressing question", etc....)

 

[Mr.Bill]

Tom

It's not Maine, it's Massachusetts, and I hunted the state beach's a lot. I have never been bothered by a state park ranger while detecting. I did ask first at one state park I was at with my motor home.

Mr.Bill

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Doh, so much for geography skills here Ok, the question remains though, because as you can see from the link, Massachusetts too has similar wording, that md'rs must check for permission from the "park supervisor".

Therefore, I ask, is this customary for all Mass. beach hunters? Because as I say, the same wording is in CA, but no one has ever asked, and there's never been a problem. So that's why I ask, where did you get the info? From a list like that?

 

[M]

Can't comment on MA, but I know that here in IL, we have similar wording on MD'ing in state parks and rec areas.
"With Permission from Office".
Maybe later if I get around to it, I'll show a pic of what my permit looks like for one area I frequent. Simple sheet of paper, photocopied, with one kept on file in the office. It outlines what you can and can't do, where you can and can't go...

 

[hellgrammite123]

I have detected on the beaches of Cape Cod for about 7 years. Most of this was done on the upper half of the Cape (from Truro and points north). I did detecting mainly on the sand since my detector was not made for the water. On the town beaches, I did not have a problem as the park rangers very rarely come around. In the Provincetown area it is a different story. I went to Race Point beach, a very heavy tourist beach with alot of history and ship wrecks. I started detecting in the evening and a park ranger came over to me and told me to stop detecting. He threatened to take my detector away, I played dumb and said that there were no signs saying i could not metal detect. He said that this one time he would be nice and allow me to keep my detector as long as i did not detect again. He pulled out a map and showed me all of the National Sea Shore beaches. He then said I can not detect on it and that was final. It was so that Massachusetts can preserve history since there were many shipwrecks.

I am not sure how the beaches on the southern cape are. But i would think that very similar. Town beaches would be your best bet for detecting without getting noticed. Usually after 5pm all town beaches are open for everyone, but prior to that, you need a sticker stating that you are a resident or are renting in that town if you want to go to that particular beach. I know that the beaches that are open to the public will have alot people if there is a great sunset. Early morning you find very few people.

If you want to find some great treasure, you may want to do some research. There are books that talk about the ship wrecks in Cape Cod and there have been times in which people find gold coins just walking along the waters edge. This was heard of on a beach in Welfleet on the ocean side.

 

[Mr.Bill]

He pulled out a map and showed me all of the National Sea Shore beaches.

Like I posted already. Stay off National Sea Shore property, (Federal Park Land). It's not Massachusetts doing it.

 

[jyt2017]

Federal park rangers = closest thing to a nationalized police force that we have seen yet. They are on the "I am a federal cop, more powerful then state, sheriff, or town cop power trip" at all times.

I am gonna be honest. You got lucky. They will take your machine. Although there is no law that says they can, they do it and usually give you a summons to court or arrest you.

Some parks in massachusetts at one time had 3 different agencies running them at one time. DEM, MDC, and NPS. That would be the boston harbor islands. At this point its really only the DCR. DCR = merge of MDC and DEM. The NPS is still on some of them. But I am not positive.

Currently. DCR, or department of conservation and recreation, can and usually will give permission to detect. Its in the rule books. The NPS. Is a complete NO! On cape cod. Its important for you to NOT be on national park land. Or property policed by the NPC. Pretty soon your gonna get arrested for having your shoelaces untied there.

Anyway. I hope this helps. If your in a massachusetts state park. Just say....hey. My wife lost a ring somewhere a year ago. I got into metal detecting and figured id try locating it. We think its in these spots...can we try detecting there...we will fill in all holes and return lost property [no one does.. thats the one thing there]. Usually they will allow you to detect.

Good luck...HH -Joe

 

[gobble-gobble]

Good info, TKS Joe

 

[gobble-gobble]

Going to stay by alllll the rules. Tks again Bill. And when I rtn. I'll let ya'll know how everything went. Just hope I can get out some & have fun.

 

[TRIPLE-SSS]

GOBBLE GOBBLE,
Use to live there 35 years ago but did not metal detect than. Allot of history in that part of the country plus allot of traffic. Hope you have a great time when you get there.

HAPPY HUNTING!
Stan.

 

[gobble-gobble]

Thanks Stan. Even If I don't get the coil wet, what a way to start retirement. RVing with GOOD friends
Tks. Rem