Labor Day weekend: Metal detecting, seeking buried treasure? Try these Florida beaches

It's a holiday weekend in Florida − that's a great reason to hit the beach.

Some people surf, tan, build sand castles ... but if you're in the Treasure Coast, it's a great opportunity to seek buried treasure. The long holiday weekend − Monday, Sept. 2, is Labor Day − gives people an extra day to relax. One consideration is "metal-detecting."

You may have seen people with metal detectors, headphones on , deep in concentration, scanning close to the shoreline. Amateur treasure hunters or "metal detectorists" hoping to find jewelry, valuables or perhaps a piece of the legend that gave the Treasure Coast its nickname.

This part of the Sunshine State, which includes Indian River County, Martin County and St. Lucie County, is known as the Treasure Coast because of a historic maritime disaster in 1715, when 11 ships of the 1715 Treasure Fleet were sunk by a hurricane. Each were laden with treasures and gold from the New World to Spain.

What happened to the gold?

From the 1970s to the '90s, world famous treasure divers Mel Fisher and Kip Wagner were credited for discovering millions of dollars worth of artifacts from the 1715 fleet − along the Treasure Coast, 70 miles of shoreline from Vero Beach to Fort Pierce. In fact, there's a Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Sebastian (one of two, the other in Key West) located near one of the shipwrecks.

And in recent years, 1715 Fleet − Queens Jewels LLC, owned by Brent Brisben, has recovered millions in artifacts from the 1715 shipwrecks. Brisben's company owns the exclusive salvage rights to the remains of the 1715 Treasure Fleet.

While millions have been discovered and recovered, most of the treasure still lies beneath the ocean .

But there are rules and differences to know: People can use a metal detector on shore, but people cannot (legally) dive for buried treasure.

Below is a list of beaches along the Treasure Coast to check out if you want to dabble in some treasure hunting as well as things to know about the hobby.

What is the 1715 Fleet?

According to TCPalm archive coverage from Ginny Beagan, Crystal Chew and Janet Begley, the 1715 Fleet is considered one of the most important maritime tragedies in history: 11 galleons, large ships, laden with treasures from the New World were bound for Spain, departing from Cuba on July 24, 1715. All 11 ships were lost during a hurricane off the coast of Florida on July 31, 1715.

Roughly 1,500 survived, and, accounts vary, but between 700 and 900 people died. The survivors of the shipwrecks struggled to shore between Sebastian and Fort Pierce, where they improvised shelters, gathered what they could to eat and tried to salvage their sunken treasures. Many died of exposure and exhaustion.

The July 31, 1715, storm, which might be categorized as a Category 3 or Category 4 hurricane by today's standards, hit full force, toppling masts and scattering the fleet. Some of the wooden vessels were capsized by mammoth waves, some ran aground, some disappeared, most disintegrated, crushed like matchsticks on the rocks.

Places to metal detect on the Treasure Coast of Florida, where to metal detect for 1715 Treasure Fleet

The following is a list of suggested beaches and areas close to where the shipwrecks of the 1715 Treasure Fleet occurred. Note: Melbourne Beach and Sebastian are in Brevard County or the Space Coast, on the border next to Indian River County, which is part of the Treasure Coast.

• Aquarina Beach , 7500 S. SR A1A, Melbourne Beach
• Bonsteel Beach , 8455 State Road A1A, Melbourne Beach
• Sebastian Inlet Park , 9700 S. State Road A1A, Melbourne Beach (there is a cost to enter)
• Wabasso Beach Park , 1808 Wabasso Beach Road, Wabasso
• Ambersands Beach Park , 12566 N. SR A1A, Vero Beach (free parking)
• South Beach Park , 1700 Ocean Drive, Vero Beach (free parking)
• Seagrape Trail Beach , 8462 N. SR A1A, Vero Beach
• Treasure Shores Park , 11300 SR A1A, Vero Beach
• Golden Sands Beach , 10350 SR A1A, Vero Beach
• Pepper Park Beach , 3302 N. SR A1A, Fort Pierce
• Fort Pierce Inlet , 905 Shorewinds Drive, Fort Pierce
• near St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant on Hutchinson Island, near Port St. Lucie
• Herman's Bay Beach , 7880 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach

Things to know about metal detecting on the Treasure Coast of Florida

• Metal detecting is permitted in Indian River County, Martin County and St. Lucie County. However, removing natural elements from parks and beaches is prohibited.
• Digging in the sand with anything larger than a small scoop or hand trowel isn’t allowed. People must fill in any holes they create.
• Visitors should stay off the dunes and never disturb sea turtle nests.
• Does "finders keepers" apply? If you find treasure between the foot of the dune to the low tide line, you can likely keep it.
• You cannot legally dive for treasure or explore the Treasure Coast shipwrecks.

Contributing: Kelly Tyko, Ginny Beagan, Janet Begley, Crystal Chew , TCPalm archive

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang . Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper .

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Labor Day weekend: Metal detecting, seeking buried treasure? Try these Florida beaches