On state park land
Varies by park
Each state park unit sets its own position, so there is no single statewide answer – check the unit you are going to.
1. The rule, in full
California – 14 CCR 4307 / 4326, and per-unit superintendent orders
California has no single statewide metal detector ban, and that is now established from the regulations rather than inferred: "detector" occurs zero times across 14 CCR 4302 to 4331, the range that contains every resource and conduct section of the state park system rules. So do "detecting" and "geophysical". Three layers, and the third is what makes the second bite.
Read from the Barclays Official California Code of Regulations at govt.westlaw.com/calregs, sections 4307, 4308, 4309 and 4326, copied by Jason Smith on 20 October 2026. Each section carries the database currency line "current through 10/9/26 Register 2026, No. 41". This is the free online version of the Official CCR that the Office of Administrative Law contracts Barclays to provide, and it replaces the OCR scan these quotations previously rested on – see "What the official text changed, and what it did not" below.
1. Resource protection, applying across the state park system. Three sections, and this entry previously mislabelled one of them.
14 CCR 4307, "Geological Features": "(a) No person shall destroy, disturb, mutilate, or remove earth, sand, gravel, oil, minerals, rocks, paleontological features, or features of caves. (b) Rockhounding may be permitted as defined in Section 4301(v)."
14 CCR 4308, "Archaeological Features": "No person shall remove, injure, disfigure, deface, or destroy any object of archaeological, or historical interest or value."
14 CCR 4309, "Special Permits": "The Department may grant a permit to remove, treat, disturb, or destroy plants or animals or geological, historical, archaeological or paleontological materials; and any person who has been properly granted such a permit shall to that extent not be liable for prosecution for violation of the foregoing."
Correction, 8 Oct 2026. This entry described 4326 as "disturbing or removing archaeological or historic features". That is 4308. 4326 is something else and something more useful:
14 CCR 4326, "Violation of Posted Orders or Special Use, Special Event, Film or Collection Permit": "No person shall (a) violate any provision of an order posted pursuant to the provisions of section 4301(i) hereof including, but not limited to, prohibited areas, use periods, no alcoholic beverage areas, no smoking areas and no parking areas, where posted in accordance with 4301(q), or, (b) violate any provision or restriction of a Special Use, Special Event, Film or Collection permit issued pursuant to these regulations."
So 4326 is the enforcement hook for layer 2, not a resource provision at all. It is what turns a superintendent's posted order into an offence. The two-layer structure this entry already described was right; the bridge between the layers was missing, and 4326 is it. 4307 covers the digging; 4308 covers taking an object of historical interest; 4309 is the permit route; 4326 makes a posted detector ban enforceable.
Not read: 4301(i), (q) and (v), which 4307(b) and 4326(a) depend on for the posting mechanism and the rockhounding definition. Still uncaptured as of 20 Oct 2026 and recorded as non-blocking in manual-capture.md: 4307(b) says rockhounding "may be permitted as defined in Section 4301(v)" and this page cannot tell you what that definition says. Recorded as unread rather than summarised.
2. Per-unit superintendent orders prohibiting detectors outright in named units. Example, Order No. 690-039-2023, Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park:
"No person shall possess a metal detector or other geophysical discovery device, or use a metal detector or other geophysical discovery techniques to locate or recover subsurface objects or features within Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park."
Exempt when transporting but not using the device in a vehicle on a public road. Authority cited: Public Resources Code 5003 and 5008, and 14 CCR 4301(i), 4307, 4308 and 4326.
Determination: California State Park System units only. Does NOT reach municipal parks.
Consequence for the directory: California cannot carry a single state-land answer. The state entry must say the rule is per-unit, because a reader told "allowed in designated areas" would be wrong at Marshall Gold, Folsom Lake and Auburn SRA, where possession alone is prohibited.
What the official text changed, and what it did not
The quotations above used to come from an OCR of a scan. The Office of Administrative Law answered a records request on 8 Oct 2026 with a three-page PDF of 14 CCR 4307 and 4326 as printed – a scan with no text layer, two extractable characters – and the text was recovered by optical character recognition at 400 dpi, with the two-column page split into columns first because a single-column pass interleaved the sections. The page carried a caveat saying so, because a quotation whose provenance is OCR is a different kind of claim from one copied out of text.
On 20 Oct 2026 all four sections were copied from the official online CCR and compared against the OCR, character by character. Every one matched exactly. Not a word, a comma or a subsection marker differed in 4307, 4308, 4309 or
- The caveat was the right thing to publish and it turned out to cost nothing: the OCR had been faithful. So nothing above is requoted, and the citation beneath it is now different in kind. The quotations are the same words; what has changed is that they are now backed by the publisher's own text with a currency date – "current through 10/9/26 Register 2026, No. 41" – instead of by a scan of a 2022 printing. A reader who wants to check a word can now do it in a browser. The OAL records-request PDF is kept as a historical record, not as the source of anything on this page. It is still archived, with its sha256, and it is what the entry rested on between 8 and 20 October 2026. Its manifest row says so. One dependency is still uncaptured. 4307(b) permits rockhounding "as defined in Section 4301(v)", and 4326(a) turns on orders posted under 4301(i) and 4301(q). 4301 has not been captured, so this page does not tell you what rockhounding means in California or what a valid posting requires. It is recorded as non-blocking in
manual-capture.md: the detector answer does not depend on it, because 4307(a) prohibits the digging whether or not the activity is called rockhounding, and the per-unit orders below are quoted from their own documents.
CORRECTED: California does publish its regulations free and online, and this entry said otherwise
This section used to say that no free official electronic text of California's regulations existed, and that rule 11's standard could not be met for California without buying the printed volume. That was wrong, and it was published for twelve days.
What it got right. The Office of Administrative Law's answer to a records request said the official publication under Government Code 11344 is the hard copy, that there is no bulk download, and that the online content "should mirror" the hard copy – a phrase that stops short of undertaking that it does. All of that still stands.
What it got wrong. From those answers this entry concluded that the only electronic version was "a commercial host's" and that there was no free official electronic text to read. OAL's own CCR publications page says the opposite in terms: OAL "contracts with Barclays, a division of Thomson-Reuters to provide a free online version of the Official CCR", states that "the online CCR contains the full text of the California Code of Regulations", and says OAL "updates the official hard-copy and online versions of the code once weekly". The site itself is titled Barclays Official California Code of Regulations and stamps each section with its currency.
So the free online version is not a third-party reproduction of the official code. It is a version of the official code, provided under contract, updated on the same weekly cycle as the paper. That is what the four quotations on this page now rest on.
The rule-11 variant B designation for California is withdrawn. It was based on the premise that no free official electronic text existed. New Jersey remains a genuine instance of the variant – the Office of Administrative Law there says in terms that its freely accessible online code "is not the official Code" – but California is not one, and calling it "the sharpest instance" was the opposite of the truth.
How the error was made, because the mechanism is the useful part. A records request was treated as exhaustive. OAL answered the four questions put to it and the answers were read as a complete account of California's publishing arrangements, when they were answers to four specific questions – none of which was "is there a free online version of the official code". The publisher's own website said so all along and was not checked against the response. An authoritative answer to a narrow question is not an answer to the general one.
The statute layer, which this entry did not carry, and it reaches city and county land
Everything above is the park system's own regulations. Underneath them sits a statute that applies far more widely, and no previous version of this entry mentioned it.
Pub. Resources Code 5097.5(a): "A person shall not knowingly and willfully excavate upon, or remove, destroy, injure, or deface, any historic or prehistoric ruins, burial grounds, archaeological or vertebrate paleontological site, including fossilized footprints, inscriptions made by human agency, rock art, or any other archaeological, paleontological or historical feature, situated on public lands, except with the express permission of the public agency having jurisdiction over the lands."
5097.5(b), the definition that decides the reach: "As used in this section, 'public lands' means lands owned by, or under the jurisdiction of, the state, or any city, county, district, authority, or public corporation, or any agency thereof."
California's answer is therefore not "state park land only". 5097.5 reaches a city park, a county park, a special district's land and anything a public corporation holds. The entry above establishes that no statewide detector ban exists; 5097.5 is not a detector ban either, but it prohibits the digging at any archaeological, historical or paleontological feature on all of that land, and it does so by statute rather than by the posted order of a park superintendent.
Two limits worth stating as plainly as the reach. The conduct must be knowing and willful, and what is protected is a "feature" of the listed kinds – the section is not a general prohibition on digging a hole in a city park. What makes it matter to a detectorist is that it needs no designation and no posted sign: the question is whether the place is an archaeological, historical or paleontological feature, not whether anyone had marked it.
5097.5(c), the penalty: "A violation of this section is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment."
5097.5(d) adds mandatory restitution on conviction, to the state or local agency with management authority over the land, and directs the court to consider "the commercial and archaeological value" of the resource, with commercial value assessed as fair market value using the resource's condition before the violation.
Native American sites and remains: California's own law, not NAGPRA
California articles reach for NAGPRA here. NAGPRA is a federal statute about federal and tribal land and about collections held by institutions receiving federal funds; it is not the law that governs a detectorist on California ground. The provisions that do are in the same code.
Pub. Resources Code 5097.99(a) and (b): no person shall obtain or possess "any Native American artifacts or human remains which are taken from a Native American grave or cairn" on or after 1 January 1984 except as provided by law or under an agreement reached pursuant to 5097.94(l) or 5097.98; and a person who "knowingly or willfully" obtains or possesses such items taken after 1 January 1988 "is guilty of a felony".
5097.99(c): removing such items "without authority of law… with an intent to sell or dissect or with malice or wantonness is guilty of a felony".
Pub. Resources Code 5097.993(a): a person who "unlawfully and maliciously excavates upon, removes, destroys, injures, or defaces a Native American historic, cultural, or sacred site, that is listed or may be eligible for listing in the California Register of Historic Resources" is "guilty of a misdemeanor" where the act was committed with specific intent to vandalise, deface, destroy, steal, convert, possess, collect or sell, and was committed "(A) On public land" or "(B) On private land, by a person, other than the landowner".
Three things a California reader should take from these. The grave-and-cairn provision is a felony, which is a grade above everything else on this page. 5097.993 reaches a site that "may be eligible for listing" and not only one already listed, so a reader cannot clear a spot by checking a register. And 5097.993(a)(1)(B) reaches private land where the digger is not the landowner, which is the only place California's protections cross off public ground.
5097.98 is the repatriation machinery – the most-likely-descendant process run through the Native American Heritage Commission when remains are discovered. It is a procedure for landowners and agencies, not a rule a detectorist breaks, and it should never be cited as though it were NAGPRA.
Sources: Office of Administrative Law, answer to a records request, 8 Oct 2026, supplying 14 CCR 4307 and 4326 as printed (Register 2022 No. 41, 10-14-2022) – kept as a historical record, no longer the source of any quotation here; parks.ca.gov superintendent order 690-039-2023. Previously checked 19 Sep 2026.
Re-sourced 20 October 2026. 14 CCR 4307, 4308, 4309 and 4326 copied by Jason Smith from the Barclays Official California Code of Regulations at govt.westlaw.com/calregs, each section current through 10/9/26 Register 2026 No. 41, and archived with their sha256 as ca-14ccr-4307 (8baf12eac0862205), ca-14ccr-4308 (acb0bc665d5e449b), ca-14ccr-4309 (bcac9b3d51792309) and ca-14ccr-4326 (3bb67b174e83196c). All four were compared against the superseded OCR text character by character and matched exactly.
Deepened 18 Oct 2026. Pub. Resources Code 5097.5, 5097.98, 5097.99 and 5097.993 read that day from the official California Legislative Information site, leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, and archived with their sha256. That host answers 403 to a direct request, so the four sections were retrieved through a paid proxy; the documents are the publisher's own pages and the sha256 of each is recorded in primary_sources/california/manifest.jsonl.
2. Cities in California that publish a rule
1 city in California publishes a rule we can quote, out of 375 checked.
Oakley
Allowed with conditions
No selling, soliciting, advertising, or posting signs No golf, archery, model craft, or metal detecting (surface Metal Detecting is permitted;
oakleyca.gov/268/Park-Rules-Safety-Guidelines · checked 9 October 2026
3. County rules
County rules exist in California, and they govern county land only. 12 county rules surfaced while checking cities in this state. Each was read and then set aside, because a county park rule does not answer whether a city park allows detecting, and it is not the state rule either. They are listed because their existence is the useful fact: if you are in a county park, a separate rule probably applies to you.
| Surfaced while checking | What the county rule does | County or source |
|---|---|---|
| Cupertino | Permit required | parks.santaclaracounty.gov source, county not named |
| Gilroy | Permit required | parks.santaclaracounty.gov source, county not named |
| Los Altos | Permit required | parks.santaclaracounty.gov source, county not named |
| Los Gatos | Permit required | parks.santaclaracounty.gov source, county not named |
| Milpitas | Permit required | parks.santaclaracounty.gov source, county not named |
| Morgan Hill | Permit required | parks.santaclaracounty.gov source, county not named |
| Mountain View | Permit required | parks.santaclaracounty.gov source, county not named |
| Palo Alto | Permit required | parks.santaclaracounty.gov source, county not named |
| San Jose | Prohibited | parks.santaclaracounty.gov source, county not named |
| Santa Clara | Prohibited | parks.santaclaracounty.gov source, county not named |
| Saratoga | Permit required | parks.santaclaracounty.gov source, county not named |
| Sunnyvale | Prohibited | parks.santaclaracounty.gov source, county not named |
4. Cities checked - no published rule
374 cities in California were checked and have no published rule on this page. Of those, 362 returned no rule, and 12 did return something that has not been published – mostly rules that turned out to govern county land, which are in the county section above. A city here is not a city where detecting is allowed. It is a city whose own published material did not answer the question.
| City | Outcome | Site checked |
|---|---|---|
| Cupertino | Rule found, not published | cupertino.gov |
| Gilroy | Rule found, not published | ci.gilroy.ca.us |
| Los Altos | Rule found, not published | losaltosca.gov |
| Los Gatos | Rule found, not published | losgatosca.gov |
| Milpitas | Rule found, not published | milpitas.gov |
| Morgan Hill | Rule found, not published | morganhill.ca.gov |
| Mountain View | Rule found, not published | mountainview.gov |
| Palo Alto | Rule found, not published | paloalto.gov |
| San Jose | Rule found, not published | sanjoseca.gov |
| Santa Clara | Rule found, not published | santaclaraca.gov |
| Saratoga | Rule found, not published | saratogaca.gov |
| Sunnyvale | Rule found, not published | sunnyvale.ca.gov |
| Adelanto | No rule found | adelantoca.gov |
| Agoura Hills | No rule found | agourahillscity.gov |
| Alameda | No rule found | alamedaca.gov |
| Albany | No rule found | albanyca.org |
| Alhambra | No rule found | alhambraca.gov |
| Aliso Viejo | No rule found | alisoviejo.gov |
| American Canyon | No rule found | americancanyon.gov |
| Anaheim | No rule found | anaheim.gov |
| Anderson | No rule found | ci.anderson.ca.us |
| Antioch | No rule found | antiochca.gov |
| Apple Valley | No rule found | applevalleyca.gov |
| Arcadia | No rule found | arcadiaca.gov |
| Arcata | No rule found | cityofarcata.org |
| Arroyo Grande | No rule found | arroyogrande.org |
| Artesia | No rule found | artesiaca.gov |
| Arvin | No rule found | arvin.org |
| Atascadero | No rule found | atascadero.org |
| Atwater | No rule found | atwater.org |
| Auburn | No rule found | auburn.ca.gov |
| Avenal | No rule found | cityofavenal.gov |
| Azusa | No rule found | azusaca.gov |
| Bakersfield | No rule found | bakersfield.gov |
| Baldwin Park | No rule found | baldwinparkca.gov |
| Banning | No rule found | banningca.gov |
| Barstow | No rule found | barstowca.gov |
| Beaumont | No rule found | beaumontca.gov |
| Bell | No rule found | cityofbell.gov |
| Bell Gardens | No rule found | bellgardens.org |
| Bellflower | No rule found | bellflower.org |
| Belmont | No rule found | belmont.gov |
| Benicia | No rule found | ci.benicia.ca.us |
| Berkeley | No rule found | berkeleyca.gov |
| Beverly Hills | No rule found | beverlyhills.gov |
| Blythe | No rule found | cityofblythe.ca.gov |
| Brawley | No rule found | brawley-ca.gov |
| Brea | No rule found | breafire.gov |
| Brentwood | No rule found | brentwoodca.gov |
| Buena Park | No rule found | buenapark.com |
| Burbank | No rule found | burbankca.gov |
| Burlingame | No rule found | burlingame.gov |
| Calabasas | No rule found | calabasasca.gov |
| Calexico | No rule found | calexico.ca.gov |
| California City | No rule found | californiacity-ca.gov |
| Calimesa | No rule found | calimesa.gov |
| Camarillo | No rule found | camarillo.gov |
| Canyon Lake | No rule found | canyonlakeca.gov |
| Carlsbad | No rule found | carlsbadca.gov |
| Carpinteria | No rule found | carpinteriaca.gov |
| Carson | No rule found | ci.carson.ca.us |
| Cathedral City | No rule found | cathedralcity.gov |
| Ceres | No rule found | ceres.gov |
| Cerritos | No rule found | cerritos.gov |
| Chico | No rule found | chicoca.gov |
| Chino | No rule found | cityofchino.gov |
| Chino Hills | No rule found | chinohills.gov |
| Chowchilla | No rule found | ci.chowchilla.ca.us |
| Chula Vista | No rule found | chulavistaca.gov |
| Citrus Heights | No rule found | citrusheights.gov |
| Claremont | No rule found | claremontca.gov |
| Clayton | No rule found | claytonca.gov |
| Clearlake | No rule found | clearlake.ca.us |
| Clovis | No rule found | clovisca.gov |
| Coachella | No rule found | coachella.org |
| Coalinga | No rule found | coalinga.com |
| Colton | No rule found | coltonca.gov |
| Commerce | No rule found | commerceca.gov |
| Compton | No rule found | comptoncity.org |
| Concord | No rule found | cityofconcord.org |
| Corcoran | No rule found | cityofcorcoran.com |
| Corona | No rule found | coronaca.gov |
| Coronado | No rule found | coronado.gov |
| Corte Madera | No rule found | cortemadera.gov |
| Costa Mesa | No rule found | costamesaca.gov |
| Covina | No rule found | covinaca.gov |
| Cudahy | No rule found | cityofcudahyca.gov |
| Culver City | No rule found | culvercity.gov |
| Cypress | No rule found | cypressca.gov |
| Daly City | No rule found | dalycity.gov |
| Dana Point | No rule found | danapoint.org |
| Danville | No rule found | no site recorded |
| Davis | No rule found | davisca.gov |
| Delano | No rule found | cityofdelano.org |
| Desert Hot Springs | No rule found | cityofdhs.org |
| Diamond Bar | No rule found | diamondbarca.gov |
| Dinuba | No rule found | dinuba.org |
| Dixon | No rule found | cityofdixonca.gov |
| Downey | No rule found | downeyca.org |
| Duarte | No rule found | accessduarte.com |
| Dublin | No rule found | dublin-ca.gov |
| East Palo Alto | No rule found | cityofepa.org |
| Eastvale | No rule found | eastvaleca.gov |
| El Cajon | No rule found | elcajon.gov |
| El Centro | No rule found | cityofelcentro.org |
| El Cerrito | No rule found | elcerrito.gov |
| El Monte | No rule found | elmonteca.gov |
| El Segundo | No rule found | elsegundo.gov |
| Elk Grove | No rule found | elkgrovecity.org |
| Emeryville | No rule found | emeryville.gov |
| Encinitas | No rule found | encinitasca.gov |
| Escondido | No rule found | escondido.gov |
| Eureka | No rule found | eurekaca.gov |
| Exeter | No rule found | cityofexeter.com |
| Fairfield | No rule found | fairfield.ca.gov |
| Farmersville | No rule found | cityoffarmersville-ca.gov |
| Fillmore | No rule found | fillmoreca.gov |
| Folsom | No rule found | folsom.gov |
| Fontana | No rule found | fontanaca.gov |
| Fortuna | No rule found | friendlyfortuna.com |
| Foster City | No rule found | fostercity.org |
| Fountain Valley | No rule found | fountainvalley.gov |
| Fremont | No rule found | fremont.gov |
| Fresno | No rule found | fresno.gov |
| Fullerton | No rule found | fullertonca.gov |
| Galt | No rule found | galtca.gov |
| Garden Grove | No rule found | gardengroveca.gov |
| Gardena | No rule found | gardenaca.gov |
| Glendale | No rule found | glendaleca.gov |
| Glendora | No rule found | cityofglendora.gov |
| Goleta | No rule found | cityofgoleta.gov |
| Grand Terrace | No rule found | grandterrace-ca.gov |
| Grass Valley | No rule found | grassvalleyca.gov |
| Greenfield | No rule found | greenfieldca.gov |
| Grover Beach | No rule found | grover.org |
| Half Moon Bay | No rule found | halfmoonbay.gov |
| Hanford | No rule found | hanfordca.gov |
| Hawaiian Gardens | No rule found | hgcityca.gov |
| Hawthorne | No rule found | hawthorneca.gov |
| Hayward | No rule found | hayward-ca.gov |
| Healdsburg | No rule found | healdsburg.gov |
| Hemet | No rule found | hemetca.gov |
| Hercules | No rule found | herculesca.gov |
| Hermosa Beach | No rule found | hermosabeach.gov |
| Hesperia | No rule found | hesperiaca.gov |
| Highland | No rule found | highlandca.gov |
| Hillsborough | No rule found | hillsborough.net |
| Hollister | No rule found | hollister.ca.gov |
| Huntington Beach | No rule found | huntingtonbeachca.gov |
| Huntington Park | No rule found | hpca.gov |
| Imperial | No rule found | imperial.ca.gov |
| Imperial Beach | No rule found | imperialbeachca.gov |
| Indio | No rule found | indioca.gov |
| Inglewood | No rule found | cityofinglewood.gov |
| Irvine | No rule found | cityofirvine.gov |
| Jurupa Valley | No rule found | jurupavalley.gov |
| Kerman | No rule found | cityofkerman.gov |
| King City | No rule found | kingcity.com |
| Kingsburg | No rule found | cityofkingsburg-ca.gov |
| LA Mirada | No rule found | lamirada.gov |
| LA Palma | No rule found | lapalmaca.gov |
| LA Puente | No rule found | lapuente.org |
| La Ca Ada Flintridge | No rule found | lcf.ca.gov |
| La Habra | No rule found | cityoflahabra-ca.gov |
| La Mesa | No rule found | cityoflamesa.gov |
| La Quinta | No rule found | laquintaca.gov |
| La Verne | No rule found | laverneca.gov |
| Lafayette | No rule found | ci.lafayette.ca.us |
| Laguna Beach | No rule found | lagunabeach.gov |
| Laguna Hills | No rule found | lagunahillsca.gov |
| Laguna Niguel | No rule found | ci.laguna-niguel.ca.us |
| Laguna Woods | No rule found | lagunawoods.gov |
| Lake Elsinore | No rule found | lake-elsinore.org |
| Lake Forest | No rule found | lakeforestca.gov |
| Lakewood | No rule found | lakewoodcity.org |
| Lancaster | No rule found | cityoflancasterca.gov |
| Larkspur | No rule found | ci.larkspur.ca.us |
| Lathrop | No rule found | ci.lathrop.ca.us |
| Lawndale | No rule found | lawndalecity.org |
| Lemon Grove | No rule found | lemongrove.ca.gov |
| Lemoore | No rule found | lemoore.gov |
| Lincoln | No rule found | lincolnca.gov |
| Lindsay | No rule found | lindsay.ca.us |
| Live Oak | No rule found | liveoakcity.org |
| Livermore | No rule found | livermoreca.gov |
| Livingston | No rule found | livingstonca.gov |
| Lodi | No rule found | lodi.gov |
| Loma Linda | No rule found | lomalinda-ca.gov |
| Lomita | No rule found | lomitacity.com |
| Lompoc | No rule found | cityoflompoc.gov |
| Long Beach | No rule found | longbeach.gov |
| Los Alamitos | No rule found | cityoflosalamitos.org |
| Los Angeles | No rule found | lacity.gov |
| Los Banos | No rule found | losbanos.gov |
| Lynwood | No rule found | lynwoodca.gov |
| Madera | No rule found | cityofmadera.gov |
| Malibu | No rule found | malibu.gov |
| Manhattan Beach | No rule found | manhattanbeach.gov |
| Manteca | No rule found | manteca.gov |
| Marina | No rule found | cityofmarina.gov |
| Martinez | No rule found | martinezca.gov |
| Marysville | No rule found | marysville.ca.us |
| Maywood | No rule found | cityofmaywood.com |
| McFarland | No rule found | mcfarlandcity.org |
| Mendota | No rule found | ci.mendota.ca.us |
| Menifee | No rule found | cityofmenifee.us |
| Menlo Park | No rule found | menlopark.gov |
| Merced | No rule found | cityofmerced.gov |
| Mill Valley | No rule found | cityofmillvalley.gov |
| Millbrae | No rule found | ci.millbrae.ca.us |
| Mission Viejo | No rule found | missionviejo.gov |
| Modesto | No rule found | modestogov.com |
| Monrovia | No rule found | monroviaca.gov |
| Montclair | No rule found | montclairca.gov |
| Montebello | No rule found | montebelloca.gov |
| Monterey | No rule found | monterey.gov |
| Monterey Park | No rule found | ci.monterey-park.ca.us |
| Moorpark | No rule found | discovermoorpark.gov |
| Moraga | No rule found | moragaca.gov |
| Moreno Valley | No rule found | moval.gov |
| Morro Bay | No rule found | morrobayca.gov |
| Mountain House | No rule found | mountainhouseca.gov |
| Murrieta | No rule found | murrietaca.gov |
| Napa | No rule found | cityofnapa.org |
| National City | No rule found | nationalcityca.gov |
| Newark | No rule found | newarkca.gov |
| Newman | No rule found | cityofnewman.gov |
| Newport Beach | No rule found | nbca.gov |
| Norco | No rule found | cityofnorco.gov |
| Norwalk | No rule found | norwalkca.gov |
| Novato | No rule found | joinnovatopolice.gov |
| Oakdale | No rule found | oakdaleca.gov |
| Oakland | No rule found | oaklandca.gov |
| Oceanside | No rule found | ci.oceanside.ca.us |
| Ontario | No rule found | ontarioca.gov |
| Orange | No rule found | orangeca.gov |
| Orinda | No rule found | cityoforinda.gov |
| Oroville | No rule found | orovilleca.gov |
| Oxnard | No rule found | oxnard.gov |
| Pacific Grove | No rule found | cityofpacificgrove.gov |
| Pacifica | No rule found | pacifica.gov |
| Palm Desert | No rule found | palmdesert.gov |
| Palm Springs | No rule found | engagepalmspringsca.gov |
| Palmdale | No rule found | cityofpalmdaleca.gov |
| Palos Verdes Estates | No rule found | pvestates.org |
| Paramount | No rule found | paramountcity.gov |
| Parlier | No rule found | parlier.ca.us |
| Pasadena | No rule found | pasadena.gov |
| Patterson | No rule found | pattersonca.gov |
| Perris | No rule found | cityofperris.gov |
| Petaluma | No rule found | cityofpetaluma.gov |
| Pico Rivera | No rule found | ci.pico-rivera.ca.us |
| Piedmont | No rule found | ci.piedmont.ca.us |
| Pinole | No rule found | pinole.gov |
| Pittsburg | No rule found | pittsburgca.gov |
| Placentia | No rule found | placentia.org |
| Placerville | No rule found | cityofplacerville.org |
| Pleasant Hill | No rule found | phillca.gov |
| Pleasanton | No rule found | cityofpleasantonca.gov |
| Pomona | No rule found | pomonaca.gov |
| Port Hueneme | No rule found | porthueneme.gov |
| Porterville | No rule found | ci.porterville.ca.us |
| Poway | No rule found | poway.gov |
| Rancho Cordova | No rule found | cityofranchocordova.gov |
| Rancho Cucamonga | No rule found | ranchocucamonga.gov |
| Rancho Mirage | No rule found | ranchomirageca.gov |
| Rancho Palos Verdes | No rule found | rpvca.gov |
| Rancho Santa Margarita | No rule found | cityofrsm.org |
| Red Bluff | No rule found | redbluffca.gov |
| Redding | No rule found | cityofredding.gov |
| Redlands | No rule found | redlands.gov |
| Redondo Beach | No rule found | redondo.gov |
| Redwood City | No rule found | redwoodcity.gov |
| Reedley | No rule found | reedley.com |
| Rialto | No rule found | rialtoca.gov |
| Richmond | No rule found | richmondca.gov |
| Ridgecrest | No rule found | ridgecrest-ca.gov |
| Rio Vista | No rule found | riovistacity.com |
| Ripon | No rule found | riponca.gov |
| Riverbank | No rule found | riverbankca.gov |
| Riverside | No rule found | no site recorded |
| Rocklin | No rule found | ci.rocklin.ca.us |
| Rohnert Park | No rule found | rohnertpark.gov |
| Rosemead | No rule found | rosemeadca.gov |
| Roseville | No rule found | roseville.ca.us |
| Sacramento | No rule found | cityofsacramento.gov |
| Salinas | No rule found | salinas.gov |
| San Anselmo | No rule found | sananselmo.gov |
| San Bernardino | No rule found | sanbernardino.gov |
| San Bruno | No rule found | sanbruno.ca.gov |
| San Carlos | No rule found | sancarlos.gov |
| San Clemente | No rule found | sanclemente.gov |
| San Diego | No rule found | sandiego.gov |
| San Dimas | No rule found | sandimasca.gov |
| San Fernando | No rule found | sanfernando.gov |
| San Francisco | No rule found | sf.gov |
| San Gabriel | No rule found | sangabriel.gov |
| San Jacinto | No rule found | sanjacintoca.gov |
| San Juan Capistrano | No rule found | sanjuancapistrano.gov |
| San Leandro | No rule found | sanleandro.gov |
| San Luis Obispo | No rule found | no site recorded |
| San Marcos | No rule found | ci.san-marcos.ca.us |
| San Marino | No rule found | sanmarinoca.gov |
| San Mateo | No rule found | cityofsanmateoca.gov |
| San Pablo | No rule found | sanpabloca.gov |
| San Rafael | No rule found | sanrafael.gov |
| San Ramon | No rule found | sanramon.ca.gov |
| Sanger | No rule found | ci.sanger.ca.us |
| Santa Ana | No rule found | santa-ana.gov |
| Santa Barbara | No rule found | santabarbaraca.gov |
| Santa Clarita | No rule found | santaclarita.gov |
| Santa Cruz | No rule found | santacruzca.gov |
| Santa Fe Springs | No rule found | santafesprings.gov |
| Santa Maria | No rule found | ci.santa-maria.ca.us |
| Santa Monica | No rule found | santamonica.gov |
| Santa Paula | No rule found | santapaula.gov |
| Santa Rosa | No rule found | santarosaca.gov |
| Santee | No rule found | cityofsanteeca.gov |
| Scotts Valley | No rule found | scottsvalley.gov |
| Seal Beach | No rule found | sealbeachca.gov |
| Seaside | No rule found | seasideca.gov |
| Selma | No rule found | cityofselma.com |
| Shafter | No rule found | shafterca.gov |
| Shasta Lake | No rule found | cityofshastalake.gov |
| Sierra Madre | No rule found | sierramadreca.gov |
| Signal Hill | No rule found | signalhill.gov |
| Simi Valley | No rule found | simivalley.gov |
| Solana Beach | No rule found | ci.solana-beach.ca.us |
| Soledad | No rule found | cityofsoledad.gov |
| Sonoma | No rule found | sonomacity.org |
| South El Monte | No rule found | ci.south-el-monte.ca.us |
| South Gate | No rule found | cityofsouthgate.org |
| South Lake Tahoe | No rule found | cityofslt.gov |
| South Pasadena | No rule found | southpasadenaca.gov |
| Stanton | No rule found | stantonca.gov |
| Stockton | No rule found | stocktonca.gov |
| Suisun City | No rule found | suisuncity.gov |
| Susanville | No rule found | cityofsusanville.gov |
| Tehachapi | No rule found | liveuptehachapi.com |
| Temecula | No rule found | temeculaca.gov |
| Temple City | No rule found | templecityca.gov |
| Thousand Oaks | No rule found | toaks.gov |
| Torrance | No rule found | cityoftorranceca.gov |
| Tracy | No rule found | cityoftracyca.gov |
| Truckee | No rule found | townoftruckee.gov |
| Tulare | No rule found | tulare.ca.gov |
| Turlock | No rule found | turlockca.gov |
| Tustin | No rule found | tustinca.org |
| Twentynine Palms | No rule found | 29palms.gov |
| Ukiah | No rule found | cityofukiah.com |
| Union City | No rule found | unioncityca.gov |
| Upland | No rule found | discoverupland.gov |
| Vacaville | No rule found | cityofvacaville.gov |
| Vallejo | No rule found | vallejo.gov |
| Ventura | No rule found | cityofventura.ca.gov |
| Victorville | No rule found | victorvilleca.gov |
| Visalia | No rule found | visalia.gov |
| Vista | No rule found | vista.gov |
| Walnut | No rule found | walnutca.gov |
| Walnut Creek | No rule found | walnutcreekca.gov |
| Wasco | No rule found | ci.wasco.ca.us |
| Watsonville | No rule found | watsonville.gov |
| West Covina | No rule found | westcovina.gov |
| West Hollywood | No rule found | weho.gov |
| West Sacramento | No rule found | westsac.gov |
| Westminster | No rule found | westminster-ca.gov |
| Whittier | No rule found | cityofwhittier.gov |
| Wildomar | No rule found | wildomar.gov |
| Windsor | No rule found | no site recorded |
| Woodland | No rule found | cityofwoodland.gov |
| Yorba Linda | No rule found | yorbalindaca.gov |
| Yuba City | No rule found | yubacity.gov |
| Yucaipa | No rule found | yucaipa.gov |
| Yucca Valley | No rule found | yucca-valley.org |
5. Clubs in California
39 in our directory for California - 24 verified against their own website or group, 15 we could not verify. Verified means we opened the link and read it. All California clubs on the club directory, with meeting nights and contacts where we have them.
- Bay Area Searchers - Facebook page · San Bruno · verified
- California Gold Prospecting & Mining - Facebook group · verified
- California Metal Detecting - Facebook group · verified
- Central Coast Treasure Hunters Association - cctha.org · Oceano · verified
- Central Coast Treasure Hunters Association, Metal Detecting Club California - Facebook group · verified
- Coinshooters of San Diego - sdcoinshooters.com · San Diego · verified
- Coinshooters of San Diego Metal Detectorists - Facebook group · San Diego · verified
- Delta Gold Diggers - deltagolddiggers.com · verified
- Gold Coast Treasure Hunters – Metal Detecting Ventura County / SFV - Facebook group · verified
- Inland Empire Prospectors and Miners GPAA Chapter - Facebook group · verified
- METAL DETECTING, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ONLY - Facebook group · verified
- Mother Lode Gold Prospectors - Facebook group · verified
- Mother Lode Goldhounds - Facebook group · verified
- Motherlode Prospectors Association - Facebook group · verified
- Orange County Detectorists - Facebook group · verified
- Paradise Ridge Diggers - Facebook group · Paradise · verified
- Prospectors Club Of Southern California - pcosc.wildapricot.org · verified
- Prospectors Club Of Southern California – PCSC - Facebook group · verified
- Prospector’s Club of So. California - prospectorsclub.org · Downey · verified
- Riverside Treasure Hunters Club - riversidetreasurehuntersclub.org · Riverside · verified
- Sacramento Valley Detecting Buffs - sacramentovdb.com · Marysville · verified
- Temecula Valley Prospectors of Riverside County - temeculavalleyprospectors.mailchimpsites.com · verified
- Treasure Seekers of San Diego - treasureseekersofsandiego.org · San Diego · verified
- White River Prospectors – GPAA Tulare Co Chapter) - Facebook page · verified
- Antelope Valley Treasure Hunters - Lancaster · could not verify
- California Wreck Divers - could not verify
- Comstock Prospectors - Cool · could not verify
- Gold Coast Treasure Hunters - Simi Valley · could not verify
- Kern County Prospectors Club - Bakersfield · could not verify
- Mid Valley Treasure Hunters - Merced · could not verify
- Mount Diablo Metal Detecting Club - Concord · could not verify
- Nuggetdigger Detecting and Prospecting Club/Forum - could not verify
- San Joaquin Treasure Hunters - San Joaquin · could not verify
- San Joaquin Valley Treasure Hunters Club - Clovis · could not verify
- Siskiyou County Relic and Recovery Club - Yreka · could not verify
- Treasure Hunters Society of Santa Clara Valley - Facebook group · Santa Clara Valley · could not verify
- Ventura County Gold Coast Treasure Hunters - Oxnard · could not verify
- Victor Valley Treasure Hunters - Hesperia · could not verify
- West Coast Prospectors & Treasure Hunters Association - Carson · could not verify
6. Land this page does not cover
This page answers for California state land, and for city and county land where the state rule reaches it. Several other kinds of ground are not covered here, and naming them is more honest than letting a reader assume the page is complete.
Tribal land. This directory does not cover it, and will not.
There are 574 federally recognised tribal nations. Each is a sovereign jurisdiction with its own law, its own permitting, its own enforcement and its own cultural-resource provisions, and none of them is answered by a state's code or by any federal rule quoted on these pages. A one-line instruction to "get tribal permission" would be worse than this paragraph, because it implies one process and one authority where there are 574. If you are on or near tribal land, the governing law is that nation's, and the place to ask is that nation's own offices. Nothing on this page applies there.
BLM land is covered, partly, in its own place. The Bureau of Land Management holds about 245 million acres and the federal rule names metal detectors and permits them, which is the opposite of the national park rule. See BLM land: the detector is named, and permitted. That page covers the base regulation; it does not yet cover the supplementary rules individual BLM State Directors issue for particular field offices.
Named and not examined. These are recorded so their absence is visible rather than silent. No claim is made about any of them:
- Military withdrawn land, including ranges and training areas.
- Bureau of Reclamation land, which surrounds a great many reservoirs.
- Water district and irrigation district land.
- Wilderness, Wilderness Study Areas and National Conservation Areas, which carry designations of their own. And one general point about signs. The commonest piece of reasoning in this subject is "there was no sign, so it was allowed." Arizona's State Land Department answers it in writing, in condition 2 of its own Recreational Permit terms:
"You will comply with all laws, rules, regulations and ordinances. Posting is not required for these provisions to be enforceable."
That is Arizona's sentence about Arizona's provisions and this directory does not present it as the law of any other state. But the proposition it states is the one to carry: nothing read for this project makes a published rule's enforceability depend on a sign at the boundary. Where posting does matter, a specific provision says so, and that provision is quoted on the page where it occurs.