I've been to Hampton, Salisbury and Seabrook a number of times this spring/summer. You're right that Hampton has alot of garbage - in fact it actually makes me rather sad to detect there due to the huge amount of absolute trash that people don't have the common courtesy to dispose of on their way out - it's really abominable. One detectorist I met recently mentioned that Hampton really has a fairly "young" crowd and that's likely why it's so trashy - Salisbury and Seabrook are nowhere near the mess that Hampton is.
I like to go hunting during "off hours" somewhere between 1am - 8am (at least at Hampton) - I refuse to pay for parking!!! Salisbury and Seabrook are nice if you don't mind a little extra walking cause you can park along 1A for free (if you can find a spot).
Hampton was actually reasonably good for me this year - lots of clad with the occassional odd old coin mixed in. I think I got 3 silver and 1 gold ring out of there as well. It was a really good place for me to get started learning how to use my detector.
I haven't found as much along Seabrook or Salisbury although I think alot has to do with the fact that I didn't hunt them as often and I'm not really sure where the best spots are.
I think any of those beaches would be good if we get a heavy storm that digs into the sand opening up some of that buried stuff - of course you have to be the early bird to get those worms.
I have a ton to learn on how to read the ocean (up until 3 years ago I had never even seen an ocean). There's so much to learn about tides, weather patterns and especially how wind and waves change the beach - sometimes in a few short hours. The windows of opportunity can be short and unless you know the best places to go during those times, you can easily lose out on alot of finds. As I said, I have alot to learn, but I plan to get out there as often as I can and hopefully become an expert one day.
If you see a guy about 5'6" with a long handled scoop, a cream colored Cubs hat and a Fisher CZ20 chest mounted, odds are it's me - stop me and say hello - sometimes I can be "in the zone" when I'm hunting and not notice anyone around me - I'm not being rude, just focused
