Permitted Pursuits

Metal Detecting in Colorado

1 location in Colorado checked against the rules of the agency that manages each one: 1 unconfirmed. Each page gives the permit requirements, limits, restrictions and penalties, with the primary sources it was checked against.

Rules last checked in October 2026

1 Unclear

Loading map…

Site Guides

Verify Locally

Cherry Creek State Park

Colorado, Arapahoe·Metal Detecting

Metal detecting at Cherry Creek State Park is unclear. No Colorado park rule mentions detectors, but the park sits on Army Corps land where detecting is allowed only on designated beaches. Call the park first.

  • Colorado Parks and Wildlife's park regulations (Chapter P-1, in both the 2023 and the November 2026 text) never mention metal detectors, so no CPW rule bans them here
  • The reservoir and park are Army Corps of Engineers land leased to the state, and the Corps rule allows detectors only "on designated beaches or other previously disturbed areas", with the policy kept at the manager's office (36 CFR 327.14(d)). We found no published designation for Cherry Creek

Laws That Apply to These Sites

ARPA Explained: The Archaeological Resources Protection Act for Detectorists, Rockhounds and Collectors

The Archaeological Resources Protection Act makes it a federal crime to dig up or remove artifacts at least 100 years old from federal and tribal land. It doesn't cover coins, bullets or rocks unless they're part of an archaeological site, and its famous arrowhead exception doesn't make picking up arrowheads legal. Here's what the law covers, what it doesn't, and how it fits with the land managers' own rules.

Compare With Other States

Other Hobbies in Colorado

Gold Panning in Colorado(3)Fossil Hunting in Colorado(2)