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50-state metal detecting intelligence

Metal Detecting in Montana

Official-source rules, permission pathways, map context and practical next steps—kept separate from the rockhounding atlas.

50-State Metal Detecting Map

Montana Metal Detecting Map

Filter, inspect and navigate the current Montana records with real map layers and permission-aware location details. Written rules always control permission.

14,825verified records
50states
298verified pins
14,825navigable
Map ≠ detecting permission. A marker or temporary search match is navigation context only. Written manager rules, posted restrictions, permits, protected-resource law, ownership and exact designated zones always control.
United States
State bubbles, verified pins and clusters are clickable · drag, zoom or change map layers
● Allowed / conditional● Permit● Prohibited● Restricted● ReviewBasemaps: OpenStreetMap / USGS · overlays: BLM
Verified pins are independently grounded public reference points. Query-only records appear on the map only after an explicit visitor request and remain temporary.

Montana metal detecting status at a glance

Montana does not have one universal public-land answer. The controlling result depends on the exact managing agency, legal scope, recovery method and any designated-zone requirement.

238Total researched locations
238Actionable decision pages
100%Actionable coverage
0Research holds

Montana coverage complete: every record in the researched state inventory has a public actionable decision. This does not mean every site is allowed and it does not turn confirmation-required or zone-confirmation pages into trip-ready places.

145Written FWP permission required
44Conditional — land status/resource checks required
18Search/recovery restricted; refuge-specific confirmation required
8Prohibited on NPS-administered land
8Exact site/resource confirmation required
6Conditional — exact parcel confirmation required
3Local ordinance/property confirmation required
2Parcel-manager confirmation required
1Do not bring/use metal detectors
1Exact recreation-area/zone confirmation required
1Activity/impact confirmation required
1Current Tribal/USACE manager confirmation required

Montana metal detecting: quick answers

Is metal detecting legal in Montana?

There is no single statewide yes/no answer for every public place. This database currently contains 238 verified Montana records, and each result depends on the managing agency, exact legal scope, recovery method, protected-resource rules and any permit or designated-zone requirement.

Do you need a permit to metal detect in Montana?

0 current Montana records have a permit/authorization signal. Other records may be prohibited, confirmation-gated, zone-restricted or governed by a different rule, so public access alone is never treated as permission.

Does every record have map access?

Yes. Independently verified coordinates appear as pins; records without verified coordinates use safe on-demand address/name navigation, and sensitive records use a broader agency/locality reference. None of these map modes represents a permission boundary.

How current is the Montana metal detecting database?

The newest verification date represented in the current Montana verified inventory is 2026-08-31. Every location page also shows its own verification date, evidence grade and official source.

Montana structured dataset

Use the state-filtered JSON inventory for machine-readable legal status, managing authority, permit/recovery fields, verification evidence and safe map-reference metadata.

Open Montana JSON dataset

Explore Montana by agency, system and local area

Montana Metal Detecting Laws

Use the map explorer above to browse the complete state inventory without loading every location page into one response.