North St. Johns County...Is it legal to detect on the beaches of the GTMNERR ?

[Jolly Mon]

I have never detected around St. Augustine, but I may be dropping down there in a couple of months and I thought about hitting some areas outside the Treasure Coast. It looks like the northern part of St. Johns County might not receive the detecting pressure of some other areas. I especially like the look of the stretch of beach between Mickler's Landing and Serenata Beach. It looks like some of this stretch lies within the GTMNERR. Is it legal to metal detect in this area? I know beach access is few and far between, that's what I like about it. Any experiences ?

 

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[LM]

Don't take this as gospel but as someone who has MD'd precisely where you're going, I did so with the understanding that the "tide line to the foot of the dunes" generic coastal state park rule applied.

Get 5 minutes in either direction of the public access points, its pristine. Bad for 'lost stuff' but opens up potential for artifacts.

Best tool you can bring on this trek is a bicycle capable of handling the beach, which is how I did it. It opens up the totally virgin grounds. The beach houses provide a bit of a hedge but keep in mind, while it's not totally remote wilderness, you're not going to see any other people and will definitely be out where nobody can hear you scream.

Your biggest risk is going to be leaving your car at the public access. That place is a major car burglary red zone.;

 

[Jolly Mon]

Don't take this as gospel but as someone who has MD'd precisely where you're going, I did so with the understanding that the "tide line to the foot of the dunes" generic coastal state park rule applied.

Get 5 minutes in either direction of the public access points, its pristine. Bad for 'lost stuff' but opens up potential for artifacts.

Best tool you can bring on this trek is a bicycle capable of handling the beach, which is how I did it. It opens up the totally virgin grounds. The beach houses provide a bit of a hedge but keep in mind, while it's not totally remote wilderness, you're not going to see any other people and will definitely be out where nobody can hear you scream.

Your biggest risk is going to be leaving your car at the public access. That place is a major car burglary red zone.;

Thanks for that. I have not seen any indication that MDing is illegal on the beach side, so I will go for it.

Glad to hear the beach is hard enough for bike riding.

Thanks for the info on the possibility of theft. Sad world we live in.

 

[Diver_Down]

Thanks for that. I have not seen any indication that MDing is illegal on the beach side, so I will go for it.

Glad to hear the beach is hard enough for bike riding.

Thanks for the info on the possibility of theft. Sad world we live in.

I missed the post the first time and only seen it brought back to the top so sorry for the late response. Detecting on the beach is fine. Normal rules apply. The beach at low tide is hard enough to bike on, but at high or anytime in-between, the bike will be useless. Like LM said, it is a pristine environment. With your research that you do, observe the dunes and imagine a mariner seeing the towering dunes from the sea. They indeed would give the impression of cliffs. Now, go back into the archives and read up on the 1642 fleet. Note latitude markings.

We have been getting regular mini-Nor'easters lately with a full-blown Nor'easter (gale warnings) occurring Weds and Thurs. The recent storms have uncovered a shrimper from the turn of the century that was found at the base of the dunes.

There is potential for theft as the parking lots are on the other side of A1A out of sight of passing traffic. I've never had a problem, but the potential exists. Also, pay the parking fee. They have cameras monitoring the coming and going, but they aren't there to deter theft, but rather to ensure payment. It's only a couple of bucks but it beats coming back to a ticket.

 

[Jolly Mon]

I missed the post the first time and only seen it brought back to the top so sorry for the late response. Detecting on the beach is fine. Normal rules apply. The beach at low tide is hard enough to bike on, but at high or anytime in-between, the bike will be useless. Like LM said, it is a pristine environment. With your research that you do, observe the dunes and imagine a mariner seeing the towering dunes from the sea. They indeed would give the impression of cliffs. Now, go back into the archives and read up on the 1642 fleet. Note latitude markings.

We have been getting regular mini-Nor'easters lately with a full-blown Nor'easter (gale warnings) occurring Weds and Thurs. The recent storms have uncovered a shrimper from the turn of the century that was found at the base of the dunes.

There is potential for theft as the parking lots are on the other side of A1A out of sight of passing traffic. I've never had a problem, but the potential exists. Also, pay the parking fee. They have cameras monitoring the coming and going, but they aren't there to deter theft, but rather to ensure payment. It's only a couple of bucks but it beats coming back to a ticket.

Thanks for the info !!! With the difficulty of access, sounds like the potential for relics should be pretty high, depending on conditions, of course.

I imagine there might be stretches that have never been hit with a good PI or multi frequency VLF. Hopefully, anyway !!

Believe me, though I believe there is the potential for quite a number of different wrecks to be in the area, I had the 1642 flota firmly in mind...

 

[LM]

It's not completely untouched, I've been there, I know of at least one other person who hit it pretty extensively but Vilano Beach north to Ponte Vedra is an awfully long stretch of coastline with very few public access points to the oceanside. There's a lot of beach that hasn't been touched in a long, long time, if ever.

An interesting trek would be to have someone drop you off at Vilano then just walk north to Ponte Vedra swinging a coil. Would take about a day, I'd guess. Might have to sleep on the beach one night but you'd be hitting lots of virgin ground, then call them to pick you up when you hit Jax Beach or wherever.

 

[Jolly Mon]

Might have to sleep on the beach one night but you'd be hitting lots of virgin ground, then call them to pick you up when you hit Jax Beach or wherever.

I thought I was the only one crazy enough to do stuff like that!

I had already thought about it, but figured the beach was probably patrolled by park rangers on ATV's. I would hate to get rousted and possibly arrested/ ticketed for crashing on the beach at night.

I have a really nice ultra-light bivy and sleeping bag...I might give it a shot...

 

[Diver_Down]

I thought I was the only one crazy enough to do stuff like that!

I had already thought about it, but figured the beach was probably patrolled by park rangers on ATV's. I would hate to get rousted and possibly arrested/ ticketed for crashing on the beach at night.

I have a really nice ultra-light bivy and sleeping bag...I might give it a shot...

It will be patrolled in the early morning.

Don't bite off more than you can chew. Be sure to pack food and water. The nearest possibility for food/water is the Gate gas station on the south end and Mickler's landing. Tackling a long stretch of coast with minimal access points entails carrying the bare essentials with no extra baggage.

Good luck.

 

[Jolly Mon]

It will be patrolled in the early morning.

Don't bite off more than you can chew. Be sure to pack food and water. The nearest possibility for food/water is the Gate gas station on the south end and Mickler's landing. Tackling a long stretch of coast with minimal access points entails carrying the bare essentials with no extra baggage.

Good luck.

Thanks for the tips and the well advised words of caution.

I am actually quite an experienced backpacker and have done many multi-day trips.

I will probably only take bivy/sleeping bag food/water, tooth-brush, aluminum sand scoop and HH PI. I will have to think about lugging a back-up detector along. Probably should, but probably won't.

 

[LM]

Thanks for the tips and the well advised words of caution.

I am actually quite an experienced backpacker and have done many multi-day trips.

I will probably only take bivy/sleeping bag food/water, tooth-brush, aluminum sand scoop and HH PI. I will have to think about lugging a back-up detector along. Probably should, but probably won't.

You wouldn't have to pack all too heavy for it. If you do it in spring or summer, you probably wouldn't even need a blanket. Sack out on the dunes and if you hear an ATV coming, hide on the other side until it passes

Vilano Beach to Ponte Vedra is 'only' 20 miles, a 7-8 hour walk point to point at leisurely pace.
You're going to be MD'ing, stopping to dig beeps and stopping for breaks so that's what makes it into an overnight affair but some beef jerky and a canteen would be enough. It's an overnighter at most, at no point will you be outside cel range or too far from the beach houses (about half of which are occupied full time). If you're an experienced hiker, this one is cake.

A fun adventure for someone with reasonable physical fitness without the advanced risk of plodding into extremely remote places.

 

[Fletch88]

Sounds like a great trip! I think I would want a partner for this expedition though. Anyone game?