Metal Detecting Washington State

[Clay98607]

I'm new to the hobby (1 week now) and am already hooked. Two small trips to the columbia river have given me an old pin and two silver rings. Anyone on the forum metal detecting in sw washington or portland or? Has anyone had any luck detecting the oregon coast? Would love any insight to new places or good places for a newbie to try.

Thanks everyone-

 

[gordygroover]

Hi Clay,
So.... are ya anywhere near the mouth of the Cowlitz???
If so we hafta hook up and dig some pulltabs sometime.
gordy

 

[jog]

Found all of these north of tillamook oregon (cant be to spacific where.) on the beach . i have only been detecting for 3 months. i now can't make enough time to go detecting .
check out pirates on the general detecting forum.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

There's a big brick-&-mortar club in the Portland/Vancouver area. You can probably google for that. I hunt with a transplant from your area. He says the parks, schools and obvious spots have been pounded to death up there, d/t the large # of hobbiests. But he'd travel the smaller towns and find that the newer deeper seekers still found old silver. He'd also get exotic and hunt old ruins in the middle of nowhere, researching where old settlements and trading posts used to be.

 

[steveHQ]

Hello im not new to ths hobby but new to this fourm i was wandering if any one new any locatons for metal detecting in NorthWest washington by Edmonds,wa near seattle!! That would be great!!


Thanks,
SteveHQ

 

[LuckyDig]

I had a descent couple days here in Portland, most of the clad and the wheat penny (1944) came from a park two blocks from my house. The silver ring, silver quarter (1944 also) and weird brass drawer pull came from another park along with a lot of trash (most pulled from old plugs/poorly dug holes). There is still old silver and wheaties to be found in the area here as well as a few agates for us rock hounds. Here is a photo my my two days finds, wish I had more than an hour or two a day to hunt.



Lucky

 

[HeronBlue]

New to the game as well, but have had fair luck in NW Washington (Bellingham area). Mostly lost jewelry and modern coins but I'm hooked. Has anyone tried any of the older logging camps at all? I imagine that there would be a lot of trash in those areas but there is potential I think for some interesting finds.

 

[codydog50]

Hi Clay! I grew up in the Kelso/Longview area. It has been a lot of years ago, But north of Tillamook by Garibaldi, we camped at the little campground next to the north jetty. All of my uncles, aunts
cousins would camp for two weeks at a time. there was a little store on the highway. we would go there to buy goodies, there was a large sand hill just to the east of the highway. we would always roll
down the hills and lose money! that was in the early 60's. I know it has changed, but how much!, also there's beards hollow before you get to fort canby. it used to flood quite a bit. people camped there for years! Man I wish I was back in that area! I know alot of areas, logging camps, homesteads,swimming holes. Good luck! HH C-Dog

 

[morganalley]

Hi im in Sw Washington and just recently started detecting , and I too am hooked very relaxing activity and i have made some great finds yesterday at Wintler Park I found a 1880 s morgan and a few roosevelt dimes and an small diamond looks like a ladies toe ring ,

i had a trip a month ago and we went to long beach there i found several Indian head pennies and a old 1860's military belt buckle ,little belt but all there it was down about 13 inches and rang my detector like it was 1 inch down registered as nickle great finds so far looking forward to next trip

Anyone in sw washington wanting to get together and do some detecting , I m ready , i dont drink but also dont have an issue with it so long as your not an idiot when you drink , but two can cover more ground and we could go independent or as a friend and i do we pool our efforts and split the rewards ,,either way im going soon i have a good 4X4 suv we could split gas , i am considering going to the mouth of the Columbia and up around San won islands

nest month going to the grants pass area a frind recently found a couple gold nuggets very small buy hey gold is gold ,, and its just alot of stinkin fun


John in Vancouver

 

[morganalley]

Another day Another Dollar as they say , crossed the river today to a little beach called ditlers spent two hours scanning the waterline ,, lots of clad nails, bolts, tabs, bottle caps , , then as i was ready to throw in the towel i got a hit 86 said it was down 6 inches it was more like 10 ,, dug out a very nice 1883 S Morgan in VF condition , only other then of value was a buffalo nickle cant read the date , anyway tomorrow is another day ,,

 

[captainkirkh]

Hi John (morganalley),

I saw ur post about detecting in long beach. I live in ocean park just north of long beach. My house is literally 1 block from the beach and I am very interested in getting started in detecting. My grandfather gave me his detector, not even sure how to use it yet. Anyway, I thought maybe we could chat about detecting. I very much want to start detecting, out basically my back door knowing the large amount of people that have congregated in these areas since the early 1800's. I would definitely like to get together with someone knowledgeable about the hobby and get started.
Respond to this post or e-mail me reservoirdog34@gmail.com

thanks,

Kirk

 

[blue dunbar]

Make sure your machine can handle what's referred to as "black sand" or mineral deposits in sand by water that can cause "chirping" and confuse you. You can Goggle this or maybe look up more about it on this site. I detect in Portland by the Columbia, the Willamette, and the Clackamus In Oregon City. I've also done the beach and as I use a simpler detector, a Tesoro Conquistador Umax, I've learned to try and mentally sift out some of the noise I can do nothing about. My best find was at the beach was on Sauvies Island where I found a gold "Mariners Crucifix" that goes for about 200 bucks on EBay etc..

 

[TerraDigger]

Monte, a bonafide detecting Guru, that we are fortunate to have here, is from Portland. Use the 'Search' function to look up his posts. You'll learn a tremendous amount in regards to detecting knowledge.

 

[widebody]

[size=large]Morganally, i used to swim at a diddler's beach located at the 43rd ave. boatramp on Marine drive back in the early and mid sixties. should be a lot of buried beer. the grown-ups would bury six packs to keep em cool and lose them at high tide.didn't have a detector but just a little probing would get you a beer from time to time. it was a fav swim hole and a place to diddle for decades before my friends and i found it. just a little history of the place..
as my signature tells ya i'm in kelso, wa. now. and these hunting holes are drying up. got, at last count in the longview/ kelso area, 11 known hunters.and we are hitting these parks and schools hard.

HH[/size]

 

[I Can Dig It]

I have been an avid detector enthusiast since the 70's. I am retired military and hunted a wide range of states. I have not been detecting for several years now and decided to get back into the hobby before I am too old to bend down and dig (which isn't that far off). I just ordered my new Garrett today.
I don't like hunting parks or playgrounds. I have found that it is more trouble than its worth. What I plan on doing is start detecting in places that are just overlooked because they may not be easy to get to or they appear void such as remote camp sites, along river beds etc etc. I have found in all my years of detecting that my best finds have been where I least expected them. What I am really focusing on is looking for gold nuggets being that the price of gold has skyrocketed of course old coins and any jewelry still trips my trigger.
If there is anyone out there looking for a metal detecting buddy that wants to detect other than the usual parks and playgrounds I would be pleased to hook up with you. I am 65, non-smoker non-drinker...been know to swear but not bad I am not one to hit the bars before or after a hunt. I just want to go detecting then go home. The thing is that I am only available to go Monday thru Thursday 10 a.m-4 p.m...... I live in Auburn, email me at candlspecial@aol.com

 

[BADBAJA]

Tony here in Vancouver wa. Just be careful around any historic sights. The main one being fort Vancouver. It covers the park clear down to the river. They will take your detector and fine you. They don't play around here on historic land at all. Also the parks around can hide a lot of goodies. I just found a kids cache of old bottles and still have to comb it for $. People around here are tight lipped about good spots because YOU HAVE TO SEARCH AND FIND THEM. I go out about 3-4 times a week up here so do your research and we can hit up some areas


Also please list any Vancouver wa clubs.

 

[XT18000]

Glad to see all you people are getting interested in this hobby you will have fun and learn a great deal
about people and history. Unfortunately you will also learn that there are people out there that do not
want you to have this enjoyment. Please take the time to look up the Federal Antiquity Laws and the
U.S.F.S. laws about detecting on N.F. lands BEFORE you get started.

There have been cases where very costly actions have been taken against people that did not do this!
Don't be one of them!

Also be very careful of what you post on this or any other Forum as to locations and photo's of your finds
because there are people out there that watch and read these Forums that will stop at nothing to stop
us from doing what we enjoy as part of there own sick enjoyment.

I know that to some this might sound a little " UP TIGHT " but it's just the way it is in the good old U.S.A.
today and it's getting worst every day.

Be sure you FILL YOUR HOLES where ever you dig! This one thing has caused more areas to be closed
to us and caused more ill will than any other.

Number two on the list of things that brings us all grief is " DO NOT TRESPASS " !!!

I don't was to discourage any one that wants to enjoy this hobby, this is the real world today and only a small
part for the things we have to face to enjoy it.

Bad things can and do happen to good people, remember that!

Now go out and enjoy your self and fine a tun of good stuff!

XT

 

[Vancouver Larry]

Well here's another newbbie.
I almost bought a detector off of Craigs List and when I went to pick it up I found that it had been driven over by a drunk.
So I still have the itch to get started but can't scratch the itch yet.
I have an RV and get around quite a bit (being retired), I have ask around at most of the places we camp and have not been greeted very friendly, especialy at Washington State parks.
That being said I am unsure about how much I want to invest in a detector.

 

[BADBAJA]

All the parks and schools around the Vancouver have been beaten to death. Don't get me wrong you can probably find stuff on top but forget old silver and such. You will have to think outside the box. Best thing to do Is ask permission and search old homes but I am not gonna give you all the secrets. Just as said above keep your finds to yourself. Unless you can return what you can.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

What kind of campgrounds do you "camp at"? I mean, fed? county? city? private (koa, etc..)? Do you think the "unfriendliness" you encountered/perceived could simply have been a case of no one caring ..... till you asked? Barring of course, if there was/is an actual written rule, then there would be no need to ask anyhow. Usually park rules are written on the sign as you enter, or on the brochure they hand out at the pay kiosk. If it doesn't say "no metal detecting", then presto, I guess it must not be disallowed.