Navarre, Fl

[ulm4lyf]

I am headed there in a few weeks and am wondering if it is ok to do some metal detecting on the beaches there. I did search the forum but I mostly saw references to old threads. I know that in the past few years there have been several tropical storms that has damaged the beaches and I don't know if they have gotten more protective of the beaches since then.

 

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[VERDE]

ulm4lyf! We Cobia fish off the beach in the spring and lots of people sunbathe in that area! Only problem there is the land to the east of the Navarre Beach area is owened by the Gov't. Hurlburt AF Base should be able to tell you if it is allowed! Located in Mary Esther, Fl. By the way, when you drive over the Navarre Bridge and end up at the beach area, the area to the east is known as "Nude Beach", for obvious reasons!! GOOD HUNTING!! VERDE!!

 

[Kascus]

Most of the public beaches are okay to metal detect, just stay out of Eglin AFB property (east of the Navarre Bridge) and the National Seashore park (a few miles west of the bridge). The national park does not allow metal detecting (http://www.nps.gov/guis/parknews/upload/Gulf-Islands-Today.pdf) .Fortunately, the park is a small section of the beach. If you go beyond the park to the west, you have miles and miles of pristine beach on both sides the road that is available. If you want a area that has a lot of foot traffic keep going west till you get to Pensacola Beach. The area that is called Casino Beach has tons of people during the day and large outdoor concerts every Tuesday night. Drunks and sand make a good recipe for lost items. Get there very early on a Wednesday morning before the crowds and swing away. I have not tried it yet, but I would imagine Navarre around all the condos would be decent to hunt. There were a lot of the rental homes that were sweep out to the Gulf during the storms. Gotta be some stuff hiding in the sand somewhere.
Good Luck

 

[rock]

Yeah if you have to pay to park it is likely a park owned property I do believe. One time I was detecting on a section in Fl and a guy walked up to me and said....if I was you I would put that in your car and stop. I asked why and he said it is a parked owned beach and they will take you away for it. I put it away very quickly. There was no signs prohibiting it but I didnt take any chances. Just be careful and I hope you find some real treasure while on your stay, rock

 

[F-4MxOfficer]

On Santa Rosa Island the State of Florida owns the beaches from the hightide line to the water. So even on those areas of the island that are owned by Eglin AFB you can walk all you want-from Navarre to Fort Walton if you like. I have hiked five miles east of Navarre several times to an old wreck in the surf without problems. The general rules for metal detectors should apply. Don't know the rules for the Gulf Island National seashore west of Navarre or of the small state park just east of Navarre.

If someone is going to threaten you they should be able to quote the statute. Really getting tired of these park officials with an attitude.

 

[John Navarre]

I have been wanting to check that shipwreck out. Do you have any info on it or photos? Also, I had tried looking up the laws regarding what you had said and found something on an FSU website but it was somewhat vague and wondered if you had a better source or link?

 

[dirtydig]

Im from the panhandle and have hunted that beach toward pcola and have never been bothered. be prepared for a lot of trash as hurricane ivan destroyed it. your best finds will be low tide in the water. stay away from the sand dunes as they are working to rebuild them. Also there is a large portions of the beach dedicated to migrating birds and such. over the last 7 years there has been some dredging which i think could produce some nice items. ive been waiting for that one person to post some gold pics from there.