Metal Detecting in Washington

1. The rule, in full

Washington – RCW 27.53, and the parks rule it does not contain

Read from the Revised Code of Washington and the Washington Administrative Code at app.leg.wa.gov: WAC 352-32-235 in full, and RCW 27.53.040 and 27.53.060 in full. WAC 352-32-235 added 4 Oct 2026; the RCW sections re-read 4 Oct 2026, and the reach is wider than this entry previously said.

Added 4 Oct 2026: the state parks rule this entry was missing

This entry recorded Washington as an antiquities-act state and said "the statute does not mention detectors", which is true of RCW 27.53 and left a reader to conclude Washington has no state parks detector rule. It has a detailed one. Recorded in METHODOLOGY under rule 1's omission corollary and rule 11b.

How it surfaced is worth keeping. It was not found by a sweep or a search. It was found by citation_gap.py, a check built to audit the *generated city articles* against this directory: the Washington article cited WAC 352-32-235 and this entry did not. The generator was wrong about most things and right that a rule existed where we had recorded none.

Operative text, WAC 352-32-235, "Use of metal detectors in state parks", opening paragraph:

"The use and operation of metal detectors, as well as the removal of small contemporary materials, is permitted within selected state parks as designated by the director or designee, in accordance with all commission direction on land management, and subject to the conditions and limitations specified."

The conditions, in full, because the regime is the conditions:

"(1) The use of metal detectors is permitted only within specified portions of approved state parks as posted for public reference. Metal detecting may be allowed in an approved campsite occupied by the registered metal detector user and in unoccupied campsites within approved campgrounds.
(2) The use of metal detectors within a state park shall be limited to daylight hours that the park has posted as 'open.' No use shall be allowed during periods of seasonal or emergency park closure, except where otherwise posted.
(3) Any person wishing to use a metal detector shall so indicate to park personnel at the park where the use is to occur, by complying with the registration process provided for such purpose.
(4) Exceptional uses of metal detectors in state parks may be allowed through the issuance of a special recreation event application, available from the agency.
(5) This section does not apply to commission employees while engaged in the performance of their duties."

And the operator's duties, 352-32-235(6):

"(a) Observe all laws and regulations.
(b) Never destroy or disturb park facilities, natural features, or historical or archeological resources. No item which is, or appears to be of historical or archaeological significance, may be removed from the site at which it was found. Any such find shall be immediately reported to park personnel, and the area in which the find occurred shall be closed.
(c) Limit digging implements to ice picks, screwdrivers and probes not to exceed two inches in width and sand scoops not to exceed six inches in width and eight inches in length, containing perforations no less than one-half inch in width, to be used only on sand surfaces. Any holes dug shall be limited to six inches maximum depth and shall be immediately refilled and the surface restored to its earlier condition.
(d) Properly dispose of all found or recovered trash and litter.
(e) Conduct themselves with thoughtfulness, courtesy and consideration for others, and not interfere with other recreational activities. An operator shall not allow any emitted metal detector sound audible to other park users."

Penalty, 352-32-235(7): "Any violation of this section is an infraction under chapter 7.84 RCW."

Currency. Statutory authority chapter 79A.05 RCW; last amended by WSR 07-03-121, filed 22 January 2007, effective 22 February 2007.

Three things a reader should take from it, and they are easy to lose.

• The permission is by designation, and the designation is posted at the park. Detecting is permitted "only within specified portions of approved state parks as posted for public reference". There is no statewide list in the rule, so the posting at the park is the authority on where. This is the same structural point as Oregon's "Detecting Allowed" list: the rule sets up a mechanism and the mechanism holds the answer.
• Registration is required before you start, 352-32-235(3), and it is not a permit. You indicate to park personnel at that park and comply with the registration process. A reader told "no permit needed" would skip it.
• "Removal of small contemporary materials" is expressly permitted, which is the clearest statement of the sweep-not-take line in this project. Modern losses may be taken. Anything that is or appears to be of historical or archaeological significance may not be removed at all, must be reported immediately, and closes the area, 352-32-235(6)(b). Scope: Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission land. Does NOT reach municipal parks. The section speaks throughout of "state parks and state park areas", and (5) exempts "commission employees", which is the Parks and Recreation Commission.

The wider layer: RCW 27.53, which reaches city and private land

Re-read 4 Oct 2026. The previous version took the scope from 27.53.040 and applied it to the prohibition in 27.53.060. Those two sections have different reaches, and conflating them understated the statute. It also omitted a carve-out and an exception that both matter here.

The declaration, RCW 27.53.040 – what is declared to be of archaeological interest, and on whose land:

"All sites, objects, structures, artifacts, implements, and locations of prehistorical or archaeological interest, whether previously recorded or still unrecognized … that are located in, on, or under the surface of any lands or waters owned by or under the possession, custody, or control of the state of Washington or any county, city, or political subdivision of the state."

The prohibition, RCW 27.53.060(1), which reaches further – onto private land as well:

"On the private and public lands of this state it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or any agency or institution of the state or a political subdivision thereof to knowingly remove, alter, dig into, or excavate by use of any mechanical, hydraulic, or other means, or to damage, deface, or destroy any historic or prehistoric archaeological resource or site, or remove any archaeological object from such site, except for Indian graves or cairns, or any glyptic or painted record of any tribe or peoples, or historic graves as defined in chapter 68.05 RCW, disturbances of which shall be a class C felony punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW, without having obtained a written permit from the director for such activities."

So the prohibition is not limited to public land. 27.53.040 declares what is protected on state, county and city land; 27.53.060(1) makes disturbance unlawful "on the private and public lands of this state". A reader told only that this statute "reaches municipal land" would conclude private ground is outside it. It is not.

Graves are carved out of the permit scheme entirely. Indian graves or cairns, glyptic or painted records, and historic graves under chapter 68.05: disturbing them is a class C felony, not a permitting question.

The exception that matters most here, RCW 27.53.060(5):

"The provisions of this section shall not apply to the removal of artifacts found exposed on the surface of the ground which are not historic archaeological resources or sites."

That is a surface-collection exception, and it is the line a detectorist actually meets: lifting something lying exposed that is not a historic archaeological resource is outside this section, and digging for it is not.

Definition, RCW 27.53.030(3): "archaeological site" means "a geographic locality in Washington… that contains archaeological objects."

What RCW 27.53 does NOT prohibit: metal detecting. The statute does not mention detectors. Say it that way rather than "Washington's law does not mention detectors", which is what this entry used to imply and which is false: WAC 352-32-235 above is entirely about them.

Same shape as Kansas on this layer: real statewide reach onto city land, but what it reaches is site disturbance.

How the two fit together. In a Washington state park, WAC 352-32-235 is the rule: permitted where designated and posted, after registering, with modern losses removable. RCW 27.53 sits behind it on every kind of land, including a city park and private ground, and reaches the archaeological resource rather than the activity – which is why the two can both be true at once. The surface exception at RCW 27.53.060(5) and the removal of "small contemporary materials" in WAC 352-32-235 point the same way: what is modern and on or near the surface is treated differently from what is historic.

Directory entry should read: in a Washington state park, metal detecting is permitted only in portions of approved parks as posted, in posted daylight hours, after registering with park staff, and removing "small contemporary materials" is expressly allowed while anything that is or appears historical or archaeological may not be removed and must be reported. Separately, on any land in Washington including a city's and private ground, disturbing a historic or prehistoric archaeological resource needs a written permit from the director. It should NOT read that Washington has no metal detecting rule.

2. Cities in Washington that publish a rule

4 cities in Washington publish a rule we can quote, out of 91 checked.

Of the 91 checked, 66 had pages on the city’s own site that we found and read. For the other 25 we could not locate a municipal source, so nothing is claimed about them either way.

3. County rules

County rules exist in Washington, and they govern county land only. 24 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.

0 of these 24 name their county in the text that was read; the rest name only “county park” or “county parks”, so the source is given instead of a county name. A county is never inferred from a web address.

4. Cities checked - no published rule

87 cities in Washington were checked and have no published rule on this page. Of those, 63 returned no rule, and 24 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.

All 87 were checked on 13 September 2026, in one sweep, so that date applies to every row.

5. Clubs in Washington

14 in our directory for Washington - 10 verified against their own website or group, 4 we could not verify. Verified means we opened the link and read it. All Washington clubs on the club directory, with meeting nights and contacts where we have them.

• Hood Canal Detectorists Club - sites.google.com/site/hoodcanaldetectoristsclub/home · verified
• North Central Washington Prospectors - northcentralwashingtonprospectors.org · verified
• North Central Washington Prospectors (Wenatchee, WA) - Facebook group · verified
• Northwest Treasure Hunters Club - Facebook group · Deer Park · verified
• Olympic Peninsula Treasure Hunters - sites.google.com/site/olympicpeninsulatreasurehunter · Port Orchard · verified
• Pacific Northwest Gold Prospectors - Facebook group · verified
• Pilchuck Treasure Hunting Club - pilchuckmetaldetecting.com · verified
• Southwest Washington Gold Prospectors - Facebook group · verified
• SWATH Tri Cities Metal Detecting Club - Facebook group · verified
• Washington Prospectors Mining Association - washingtonprospectors.org · Facebook group · verified
• Cascade Treasure Club of Seattle - Bonney Lake · could not verify
• Emerald City Diggers - could not verify
• Puget Sound Treasure Hunters Club - Lakewood · could not verify
• Southeast Washington Association of Treasure Hunters - Pasco · could not verify

6. Land this page does not cover

This page answers for Washington 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.