Where to hunt in parks

[Nick in NEPA]

I live in a town where there are like three parks. I am wondering where the best places are to MD there... some of them have been around since the '40s.

 

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[SaginawIan]

I usually try to hunt the least obvious places first because I figure that the obvious ones are picked over. If there is an overgrown area adjacent to it, check it out- might have been part of the park at one time. Hit the edges, overgrowth, and the bushes. Try to find the paths that people take from where they park their cars. If you dig trash, double check the hole b/c bottle caps mask coins.

ian

 

[Nick in NEPA]

Thanks ian

 

[red]

I'll let you in on a good one that even my hunting buddy will not hear from me.
He goes right to the volleyball courts and ball field which are great spots but always hunted.
I go right to the hill sides where kids role down and play. Everything falls out of pockets when rolling.
I always come up with coins,jewelry,pocket knives.
And thats from someone that hates hunting parks.
HH
red

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

I'll let you in on a good one that even my hunting buddy will not hear from me.
He goes right to the volleyball courts and ball field which are great spots but always hunted.
I go right to the hill sides where kids role down and play. Everything falls out of pockets when rolling.
I always come up with coins,jewelry,pocket knives.
And thats from someone that hates hunting parks.
HH
red

Ditto. Think Red is right. (say that fast 10 times )

have a good un...
SHERMANVILLE

 

[Sandman]

If your park is a little trashy, try a smaller coil to get around the trash to snipe the good stuff. Don't leave no ground unchecked.

 

[Nick in NEPA]

Thank you all for the great ideas! I'm MDing today and I'll try them.

 

[dahut]

Here you go.. not the last word, but more than enough of them, for sure! This is a compliation of what Ive seen and learned from park hunting. Much of it jibes with what the others have said. Enjoy!

Sooper Park Hunting Tips.

First, leave your detector in the car for now and go to the office or center or whatever and ask around ABOUT the park. If there isnt anything like that, go across the street to local businesses and homes and ask THEM. Lastly, ask the patrons of the park themselves. Most of them are going to be locals and either visit the park regularly and/or know what goes on there. None of this will take you more than 30 minutes or so. Ask these things:

How old is the park?
What was there before?
Which areas were built first and whats been added?
What activities take place?
Where do they occur?

Some things that happen at parks and which involve hoardes of people are:
Festivals - Fairs - Parades - Carnivals - Concerts, etc..............

Ask about them, as these details can greatly affect your outcome.

Okay, so what if you cant find out anything? Hard to believe, man, but I'l play along. It's still easy. Here're are the basics, which almost always segue into the above:

1. Childrens play equipment/areas.
This is first and foremost for most searchers and for good reason. You shouldn't turn your nose up at these places, either. Some super jewelry finds come from them and there are always lots of coins and doo-dads to turn up. They are often easy to dig in, being woodchip or sand, and you can meet all kinds of peope who might tip you off to what goes around the place. Often, too, the play areas are just "plunked down" somewhere in the park and whatever was there before, is still there. I have found some nice older coins around play areas for this reason.
2. Picnic areas
Pulltab and foil heaven! They are second tier, IMHO, unless you like to find foil ketchup packets by the scads. People eat here, and little else. But they do congregate here, so there is a good chance of recoveries and they may be on some older ground - here again, "KNOW Before You GO"...
3. Sports fields
Lots of poeple being active = finds for YOU. Look along the edges of playing fields, in the spectator areas, where the players congregate and tussle and surprisingly right around the goals or home plate. Volleyball areas are good, too, and one of my favs is within the penalty area in front of a soccer goal - this is where all the jostling and wrestling goes on.
4. Outdoor seating areas
Ampitheatres, benches, and anywhere people sit on or near the ground is good. I cant recall a bench I didnt find something under or within 10 feet of. One of my nicest gold/diamond rings came from about 6 feet in front of a bench.
5. Old trees.
The BIG ones. Get under them and slow down beneath that canopy. Lines of old trees are really nice - people dont plant trees in a line for no reason. Also where old trees used to be, normally recognized by a discrete depression in the ground. Trees work good in old areas of town, where the park has existed for a long time.
6. Concession stands - now or in the past.
Obvious
7. Off in the bushes.
Huh? Why here? Because theres a good chance that todays overgrown areas were yesterdays active areas of the park. Landscapes ebb and flow with every municpal government shift and with the times, themselves. WHAT they were doing then may not be WHERE they are doing it now. Also, lots of teens and lovers end up in these places - just dont be there when they are!
8. Unique, stand out structures and landmarks.
Bandshells, outdoor venues, etc. We have a park here with a "rock climbing" wall. After every season I can rely on that area to yield some nice goodies. I also remember a park in FL which had a long mound running along right out in the middle of the open area. It was about 10 -15 feet wide and 4-5 ft high, and it ran for about 30 yards or so. It reminded me of a small Indian mound and it stuck out like a sore thumb. So I hauled myself over there and began to scan it. To my surprise (and delight) I found a bunch of Wheats, a "V" nickel and some Roosies scattered over that mound, along with lots of common clad coins. I found out later that they had scraped one side of the park some years prior and the pile just sat until grass and weeds grew over it - so now they just trim and mow it!
9. Water.
Swimming areas, pondsides where people sit, around overlooks and birdfeeding areas, where people play with their boats. We have a park here with a lake that hosts large regional RC boat events all season long, with throngs of participants and spectators. Don't bypass water fountains, either.
10. Parking areas
Gravel or dirt parking areas are always little searched, yet people are active and busy in these areas on an almost daily basis.
11. Traffic areas
Here I mean walking paths/areas. Wherever people are funneled going to and fro afoot is always a good place to search. Along sidewalks, trails and their junctions, walking and fitness paths, Lovers' Lanes, etc. Oddly, quadrangles of grass, where several walkways meet, seem to be a natural meeting place for people.

These are by no means the only places to hunt in a park and there is no guarantee that any of them will pay off. The areas to hunt in even a small park are nearly limitless and are utterly dependent on the park itself - and your knowledge of it. You can spend A LOT of time working and reworking a park, and still turn up the occasional oldie. Besides, it gets replenished by the masses of people who visit it year after year.

One good point was made here by Sandman - and it is gospel. Certain areas of parks are littered with trash. Literally. It can drive you mad and it can and DOES mask good targets. Indeed, there is more trash than treasure out there and I can tell you that wherever people are active, they leave both behind. The challenge for you is to find a way to beat the odds. Fortunately, there is a step you can take towards solving the problem.

I'm speaking about the small "sniper" search coil, which should be an important part of any urban treasure hunter's gear. These little jewels let you "pick around" most of the trash and find targets in between the junk. They do decrease your depth to a degree, make no mistake. But, because they see fewer targets beneath them on any given pass, you can run your instrument's SENS much higher and offset this. Sweet, huh?!

If you dont have one for your detector, you just figured out what you want for Valentines Day, Birthday, etc.. And get the lower rod, too, while you're at it. Makes it easier to switch.

Give these park "Hot Spots" a try and see what happens. And as always,

"Keep the Coil to the Soil and a Trowel in Your Hand."
copyright DDH/dahut, 2006

Peace,
David

 

[Ricardo_NY1]

Great advice given here, I'll add mine, whatever part of the park you do choose to hunt, take your clad finds home and start looking at the dates and condition. I've found that where you find 60's and 70's dimes in really bad shape (red), is where you might run into some silver. Maybe that is the case for my part of the US, but I believe there is a trend that will lead to old coins. I've learned the trend around here to some degree. As for areas I choose, I choose anywhere where I think there was a picnic table, especially those that have some open area around them where people could run around. Why? Because it's the fastest way to coins, which will instantly give me an idea of what's going on in this park. Next come the over grown areas. Over grown areas to me mean areas that were probably the nice picnic areas you see now 50 years ago. In the end, there is no telling what area will actually produce.

 

[moonshine]

i found some old coins recently in wooded areas adjacent to parks. these areas are old, have never been disturbed, and usually considered too difficult to search by a lot of detectorists. (hilly, brushy, leafy, etc...) but theres coins there so thats where ill be. winter is a good time for this because all the undergrowth is as dead as it'll ever be.

 

[Nick in NEPA]

Thank you! These are all great ideas. Luckily, I can remember going to several parks up to, like, 9 years ago, when I was 5. there was a bunch of old playground equipment that they tore out several years ago. I know that at one point there was a skating pond there in the '30s or '40s. Hopefully there will be some old coins still there. Thanks again!

 

[Night Stalker]

After I check the older, obvious trees, I normally look around and hit the weedlines or bushes at the outskirts of the park. I found a nice necklace out in the bushes once - I can only imagine what was going on!

Think outside the box......

Happy Hunting / Night Stalker

 

[Eu_citzen]

Yes and look where they could be playing in the winter when there is snow (i.e. hills)
Always easy to loose stuff while playing.