Metal Detecting at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
ALLOWED
No permit required
Key Conditions
- The City of Myrtle Beach's own government has confirmed metal detecting is allowed on the open public beach — but not in the dunes, on street ends, or on other public property
- Holes and trenches can't exceed 2 feet deep, and every hole must be filled in before you leave, under City Code § 5-20
- Metal shovels are banned for recreational digging; metal sand scoops are allowed, and specifically while metal detecting
- This page covers the City of Myrtle Beach only. North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Garden City, Murrells Inlet, and Pawleys Island are separately incorporated towns along the same 60-mile Grand Strand, each running its own ordinance — don't assume this page's rules travel with you
"Myrtle Beach" isn't one rulebook
This page covers the City of Myrtle Beach specifically. The Grand Strand is a 60-mile run of continuous sand from Little River down to Georgetown, and at least six separately incorporated towns — North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Garden City, Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, plus unincorporated stretches of Horry and Georgetown County — sit along it, each capable of writing its own beach ordinance. North Myrtle Beach enacted its own hole-digging rule independently of the city's. Treat every town line on this stretch as a possible rule change, not a formality.
The name comes from a newspaper contest. Before 1900 this stretch was called Long Bay, or Withers, or just "New Town," and it took the Horry Herald running a naming contest — won by Mrs. F.E. Burroughs, who picked "Myrtle Beach" for the wax myrtle trees growing wild along the shore — to give it the name that now draws 18 million visitors a year. The Burroughs & Collins Company, a timber and turpentine firm that owned most of the beachfront, opened the area's first hotel, the Seaside Inn, in 1901.
That late start matters for what you'll find here. This isn't a colonial port or a documented shipwreck corridor the way stretches of Florida's Treasure Coast or the Carolinas' older port towns are. Myrtle Beach's history as a place people actually visit starts in the 20th century, and the beach's finds reflect that: modern jewelry, coins, and everyday tourist losses in real volume, not centuries-old material.
- Metal detecting allowed on the open public beach; not in the dunes, on street ends, or on other public property
- No hole or trench over 2 feet deep; every hole filled before you leave — Code § 5-20
- Metal shovels banned for recreational digging
- Metal sand scoops permitted, specifically while metal detecting
- Dunes, sand fencing, and sea oats cannot be climbed or disturbed
Source: City of Myrtle Beach Code of Ordinances, Ch. 5; City of Myrtle Beach Government
Myrtle Beach at a Glance
~18.2M (2025)
Annual visitors
No (city beach)
Permit required?
2 ft
Max hole depth
~60 mi
Grand Strand length
City Beach vs. Nearby Jurisdictions
| Location | Detecting allowed? | Permit? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Myrtle Beach (this page) | Yes, open beach only | No | Dunes off-limits; 2-ft hole cap; metal shovels banned |
| North Myrtle Beach | Not covered by this page | Verify separately | Separate municipality with its own hole-digging ordinance |
| Myrtle Beach State Park | No, by default | Yes — lost property only | Surrounded by the city but a completely separate, more restrictive jurisdiction |
| Huntington Beach State Park | No, by default | Yes — lost property only | Same SC State Parks policy as Myrtle Beach SP; State Historic Sites always closed |
Status confirmed against each jurisdiction's own published policy, August 2026. Always verify current rules directly before crossing a town line.
Why no state hobby license is needed here
South Carolina's Underwater Antiquities Act requires a hobby license for archaeological material recovered from state waters — but that jurisdiction begins at the mean low water mark, not the high-tide line. It's the same law behind this site's Congaree River magnet-fishing page, where the lakebed itself triggers the license requirement. Ordinary metal detecting on Myrtle Beach's dry sand and surf zone sits above that line and isn't reached by it at all — a different fact pattern from a submerged riverbed, even though it's the same statute.
Getting to the Sand
General access patterns as of August 2026 — confirm current parking rules with the City of Myrtle Beach before a summer trip.
Best Times to Detect
Winter (Nov–Feb)
GoodLightest crowds of the year and no turtle-nesting restrictions. Off-season storms can rework the sand the same way hurricanes do later in the year.
Spring (Mar–May)
FairCrowds build toward summer and loggerhead nesting begins mid-May — start checking for staked nests near the dune line by month's end.
Summer (Jun–Aug)
PoorPeak tourist season means maximum modern losses but also the heaviest crowds on this list — early morning before the beach fills is close to the only workable window.
Fall (Sep–Oct)
GoodCrowds thin fast after Labor Day and Atlantic hurricane season is still active into October — a storm passing offshore can strip sand and expose material the same week it clears out tourists.
Before You Detect — Myrtle Beach
- Confirm you're within Myrtle Beach city limits, not North Myrtle Beach or another neighboring town
- Leave the metal shovel at home; bring a sand scoop instead
- Plan to fill every hole, not just ones over 2 ft
- Check for staked turtle nests near the dune line if visiting mid-May through October
- Go early — this beach is genuinely crowded by mid-morning most of the year
Permits & Licenses
| Permit | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| City beach metal detecting | No | No city permit is needed to detect the open public beach. A metal sand scoop is allowed; a metal shovel is not. |
| State park metal detecting (lost personal property only) | Yes | South Carolina State Parks prohibits metal detecting on Division-managed land by default. The only exception is a ranger-approved special activity permit for someone searching for a specific, verifiable lost item — not general recreational detecting. State Historic Sites are off-limits regardless. |
Time & Seasonal Restrictions
- No hole or trench deeper than 2 feet; any hole must be filled before you leave the area — City Code § 5-20
- Metal shovels are prohibited for recreational digging; metal sand scoops are the exception, and only while actively metal detecting
- Dunes, sand fencing, and sea oats can't be climbed, walked on, or disturbed — a separate rule from the digging ordinance, but the one detectorists working the upper beach trip over most often
- Loggerhead sea turtle nesting runs mid-May through mid-August, with hatching continuing into October; marked nests can't be approached or disturbed, and since nests sit in the dune line, this mostly reinforces the existing dune ban rather than closing any new stretch of open sand
Equipment Notes
- Multi-frequency or PI detector recommended — Atlantic saltwater sand runs conductive the same way it does on Florida's beaches
- Metal sand scoop (city-legal specifically for detecting; a metal shovel is not)
- Headphones — this is one of the most crowded beach corridors on the East Coast in summer, and wind/surf/foot-traffic noise is constant
- A shallow-depth mindset: the 2-ft hole cap means this isn't a site for deep-target digging technique
What People Find Here
- Modern jewelry and coins, in volume — roughly 18 million annual visitors lose things at a rate few other beaches on this site can match
- Sunglasses, phones, and other everyday tourist losses, more so than most sites documented here, given the hotel-corridor density
- Little pre-20th-century material. Myrtle Beach didn't exist as a settlement until the Burroughs & Collins Company built its first hotel in 1901; unlike Florida's Treasure Coast or the Carolinas' colonial port towns, there's no documented offshore wreck corridor or early-occupation history feeding this stretch of sand
Penalties for Violations
← Scroll to see all columns
| Violation | Statute | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Digging a hole deeper than 2 feet, or leaving any hole unfilled | City of Myrtle Beach Code of Ordinances § 5-20 | Misdemeanor; fine up to $500 and/or up to 30 days in jail upon conviction |
| Using a metal shovel for recreational digging | City of Myrtle Beach Code of Ordinances § 5-20 | Same misdemeanor class as unfilled/oversized holes; up to $500 and/or 30 days |
| Metal detecting inside Myrtle Beach State Park or Huntington Beach State Park without an approved special activity permit | SC State Parks Division metal detecting policy | Citation and removal from the park; State Historic Sites carry heightened enforcement regardless of permit status |
Etiquette & Leave No Trace
- Fill every hole completely, even ones well under the 2-ft legal cap — this beach sees emergency and beach-cleaning vehicles daily, and an unfilled hole is a real hazard, not just a rule
- Work the early morning low tide before the beach fills with swimmers; by mid-morning in summer, this stretch is one of the most crowded in the country
- Give any staked or roped-off turtle nest a wide berth, and never dig near dune vegetation even if a target reads strong
- Expect close quarters — a metal shovel left in a beach bag can draw the wrong kind of attention from city staff who patrol for exactly that violation
Frequently Asked Questions
Is metal detecting legal at Myrtle Beach?
Yes, on the open public beach within the City of Myrtle Beach's limits. The city's own government has stated directly that detecting is allowed, with two hard limits: stay off the dunes, and follow the city's 2021 hole-and-shovel rule.
Does this page's rule apply to the whole Grand Strand?
No, and this is the single most common mistake visitors make here. The Grand Strand is a 60-mile stretch running from Little River to Georgetown, and it isn't one jurisdiction — North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Garden City, Murrells Inlet, and Pawleys Island are all separately incorporated towns, each capable of running its own beach ordinance. North Myrtle Beach, for one, enacted its own hole-digging rule separately from the city's. Confirm the specific town's rules before assuming this page covers your stretch of sand.
Can I bring a shovel to dig deep targets?
Not a metal one. The city's 2021 ordinance banned metal shovels for recreational digging beach-wide, specifically because of the safety and beach-maintenance problems deep, unfilled holes were causing. A metal sand scoop is exempted from that ban, but only for actual metal detecting — and no hole, scoop or otherwise, can go past 2 feet.
Can I metal detect at Myrtle Beach State Park instead?
Not for general recreational detecting. South Carolina State Parks bans metal detecting on its land by default statewide, including at Myrtle Beach State Park and nearby Huntington Beach State Park. The only path in is a ranger-approved special activity permit for someone looking for a specific lost item, and State Historic Sites are closed to detecting entirely regardless of permit. That's the opposite default from the open city beach a few hundred yards away.
Do I need a state hobby license to detect here?
No. South Carolina's Underwater Antiquities Act requires a hobby license, but only for material recovered at or below the mean low water mark in state waters — the same law that governs the Congaree River magnet-fishing page on this site. Ordinary dry-sand and surf-zone metal detecting at Myrtle Beach sits above that line and isn't reached by the license requirement.
What will I actually find at Myrtle Beach?
Mostly modern losses — jewelry, coins, sunglasses, phones — at a volume driven by roughly 18 million annual visitors. Don't expect colonial-era or shipwreck-era material the way you might on Florida's Treasure Coast. Myrtle Beach didn't exist as a town until 1901, and there's no documented offshore wreck corridor feeding this stretch the way there is further south.
Is there a turtle nesting closure I need to know about?
Loggerhead nesting runs mid-May through mid-August, with hatchlings emerging into October. Marked nests sit in the dune line, an area already off-limits to detecting under the separate dune-protection rule, so in practice this mostly means giving any staked nest extra distance rather than losing access to open sand.
New to This? Start Here
Disclaimer
Information is provided for general guidance only. Regulations change frequently. Always verify current rules with the official jurisdiction before relying on this information for legal decisions. Permitted Pursuits is not a substitute for official agency guidance. Report an error.
Sources
- City of Myrtle Beach Government — official statement on metal detecting policy(accessed 2026-08-31)
- City of Myrtle Beach Code of Ordinances, Chapter 5 — Beach and Boat Ramp Regulations, § 5-20 (Municode)(accessed 2026-08-31)
- "City Council: New beach regulations boost safety for Myrtle Beach" — MyHorryNews(accessed 2026-08-31)
- South Carolina State Parks — FAQs (metal detecting policy)(accessed 2026-08-31)
- South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 54, Chapter 7 — Shipwrecks and Salvage Operations (Justia)(accessed 2026-08-31)
- SCDNR — Sea Turtle Nesting(accessed 2026-08-31)
Last verified: 2026-08-31 · Last updated: 2026-08-31