Metal Detecting Clubs In The US

Metal Detecting Community & Competitions / By
metal detecting community clubs

Finding a metal detecting club near you can significantly enhance your experience in this rewarding hobby. Clubs offer a fantastic way to connect with like-minded individuals, share knowledge, and learn new techniques. Whether you’re a seasoned detectorist or just starting out, joining a local club provides access to group hunts, educational workshops, and a supportive community. The camaraderie and shared passion for uncovering history and treasure are invaluable aspects of belonging to a metal detecting club.

Beyond the social benefits, metal detecting clubs often play a crucial role in promoting responsible detecting practices. Many clubs emphasize ethical digging, respecting private property, and adhering to local laws and regulations. They may also organize or participate in historical preservation projects, working with landowners and archaeologists to document and protect valuable artifacts. By joining a club, you can contribute to the responsible enjoyment and preservation of our shared history.

This comprehensive list of metal detecting clubs across the United States is a great starting point for finding a community that aligns with your interests and location. Remember to reach out to the clubs directly to confirm their meeting schedules, membership requirements, and current activities. With a little research, you can find the perfect group to share your metal detecting adventures with and expand your knowledge of this fascinating hobby.

We strive to keep this list as current as possible, but the metal detecting landscape is always changing. If you find any outdated information or know of a club that should be added, please don’t hesitate to contact us. TreasureValleyMDC @ Gmail.com

Happy hunting, and may your coil lead you to many exciting discoveries!

Before you head out with a club, check what the rules are where you are digging. Our metal detecting rules by state directory sets out the state-land rule for all fifty states and the District of Columbia, quoted from each state’s own code, with the scope that decides whether it reaches city parks.

Table of Contents hide
1 United States Metal Detecting Organizations
2 Add or update your club
3 Metal Detecting Clubs Listed by State
4 Verified clubs and groups
5 Clubs we cannot currently verify

United States Metal Detecting Organizations

American Metal Detecting Association Online

They were/are located in California, but this website/association seems defunct now.

Federation of Metal Detector and Archaeological Clubs

The FMDAC is dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and protection of the hobby of recreational metal detecting and prospecting. The FMDAC’s Purpose is to unite, promote, and encourage the establishment of metal-detecting clubs. To preserve the sport/hobby of recreational metal detecting and prospecting.

Gold Prospectors Association of America (GPAA)

A prominent national organization that supports both metal detecting and gold prospecting activities across the country with multiple local chapters.
Membership offers access to valuable resources, including workshops that cover metal detecting lingo and terminology. This knowledge enhances members’ skills and understanding of the hobby, ensuring they can engage with the community more effectively. Additionally, local events provide opportunities for enthusiasts to practice their techniques in varied environments.

National Metal Detecting League

Their website seems to be gone. They are/were located in Connecticut. They provide a multi-day hunt every year, normally in October. It is called the CASH BASH.

US Artifacts Recovery Association

Using our special talents of metal detecting and other such apparatus, on the historical times of the Revolutionary War era through the Civil War era and beyond, we will assist all levels of government agencies, corporate landholders, individual landholders, preservation societies, and archeological groups under their direct or indirect supervision of the property or land-holder.

World Wide Association of Treasure Seekers (WWATS)

The Focus of WWATS is to be an information center, providing special training as necessary to understand our relationships with and to openly approach our government agencies, seeking ways our hobby can co-exist within the rules and regulations used to govern public lands today. WWATS shall be a proactive organization, not a reactive one.

Add or update your club

Is your club missing or does your listing have outdated information? This directory is updated regularly and we want it to be as accurate and complete as possible. Send your club name, location, contact information, and any corrections to TreasureValleyMDC @ Gmail.com and we will get it added or updated.

Metal Detecting Clubs Listed by State

Listings include local clubs with regular meetings and larger regional groups – member counts show which is which.

330 listings verified against their own website or Facebook group, each with the date we checked. 250 more we list from older records and cannot currently confirm – if one of them is yours, tell us and we’ll verify it.

Verified clubs and groups

Everything in this section has a working website or Facebook group that we opened and read, and the date we last checked it. Clubs with a meeting night and larger Facebook groups are listed together, by state and then by town – member counts show which is which. Where a listing has both a website and a group, both links are on its line.

Some listings have no town in our records. They sit under Town not stated at the end of their state rather than being left out or assigned a town we cannot support.

Clubs we cannot currently verify

These 250 clubs come from older records – some from lists we have kept for years, some from directories that have since gone offline. We could not find a current website or Facebook group for any of them.

That does not mean they have closed. Plenty of long-running clubs have never had a website, meet in a library or a fire hall, and organise entirely by phone and word of mouth. A club with no web presence is invisible to a search engine and completely fine in real life.

It does mean we cannot stand behind these entries the way we stand behind the ones above. So we have separated them rather than mix them in.

If your club is on this list, send us a link – a website, a Facebook group, even a meeting night and a venue – and we will check it and move it up. Listing is free and always will be.

If your club has closed, telling us is just as useful. We would rather show a shorter list that is true.

Email TreasureValleyMDC @ Gmail.com

Jason Smith

About the Author

Jason Smith

Jason Smith is a US Marine Veteran, Senior IT Administrator with 30+ years in technology and automation, and the published author of 33 metal detecting books. He founded the Treasure Valley Metal Detecting Club to help others get into the hobby and shares everything he has learned about gear, technique, and finding history in the ground.

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