On state park land
Permission needed
Park manager's permission on state park land.
Other sites cite a Utah rule that has been repealed, and the agency itself miscites it. The number below is the live one.
1. The rule, in full
Utah – R651-635-1, NOT the widely-cited R651-620-6
The commonly cited section is repealed. Third-party code mirrors still publish "R651-620-6. Metal Detecting" as live text, and Utah State Parks' own Echo State Park page states that "Utah Administrative Code R651-620-2 governs metal detecting in state parks."
Both are wrong. In the current code:
- R651-620-2 is "Trespass" – the agency miscited its own regulation
- R651-620-5 and R651-620-6 are both "[Repealed]"
The live authority is R651-635-1 (Commercial Activities, Privileged, or Special Uses in Park Areas Require a Permit):
"no Commercial Activity, privileged, or Special Use may be conducted on division managed areas or property unless the division has provided a permit for that activity."
and it names the activity explicitly:
"metal detecting, magnet fishing, prospecting, digging, or excavating, or any other forms of treasure, paleontological, archaeological, or antiquities hunting."
Scope: "division managed areas or property" – the Division of State Parks.
Determination: Division of State Parks land only. Does NOT reach municipal parks. Special Use Permit required.
Worth carrying as a caution. An administering agency's own page miscited its own rule, and a third-party mirror served a repealed section as current. Agency pages are a better source than aggregators, but they are not infallible, and a code mirror can be stale. Where a citation matters, the current consolidated code is the thing to read.
Source: law.cornell.edu R651-620 section list and R651-635-1. Checked 19 Sep 2026.
2. Cities in Utah that publish a rule
Awaiting review. None of the city or county rows publishes until its status is set and its quotation chosen by hand.
3. County rules
Awaiting review. None of the city or county rows publishes until its status is set and its quotation chosen by hand.
4. Cities checked — no published rule
Awaiting review. None of the city or county rows publishes until its status is set and its quotation chosen by hand.