Detector Maps
Start free for 3 days on any yearly plan — nothing charged until the trial ends.
Open the map150 years of goldfield history, in your pocket, even offline.
Start free for 3 days on any yearly plan — nothing charged until the trial ends.
LiDAR that pulls old diggings out from under the timber — USGS 3DEP, where it’s flown
Every BLM claim re-checked weekdays — know before you drive
Soil, stream and rock-chip assays from USGS and the state surveys
Shafts, placers and lodes the old-timers already worked
From the community
Logged in the Detector Maps community feed.
5.4 oz
3.6g
22g+Recorded gold occurrences, old workings and the mine symbols off the historic topo sheets — geo-referenced onto the map where the ground actually is.
100yr+ — shafts, placers & lodesEvery active placer and lode claim on federal land, colour-coded and linked to the official BLM record — so you know whose ground you're standing on before you drive.
By 6am — every BLM claim re-checked weekdaysOur model reads decades of occurrences, geochemistry and geology and scores the ground — so you can see where gold is most likely before you've driven an hour.
10M+ — soil, stream & rock-chip assaysSeamless bedrock geology from the state and federal surveys — the host rocks, contacts and structures that control where gold sits.
USGS SGMC + state surveysHigh-resolution LiDAR bare-earth, rendered eight ways — light it from any angle, tint it by elevation or slope, and read the old workings, costeans and benches the forest hides.
1-metre — USGS 3DEP, where it's flownHow it works
The full loop from couch to find — one subscription, three devices with Pro.
01 · Web
On the laptop.
Scout old workings on the LiDAR and check the ground is open. Save the area for offline and the whole trip is planned before you’ve left the house.
02 · Offline cached
On the way out.
Everything is already on your phone before you leave home — every base layer, every claim, every shaft. No signal needed on the way out, and nothing to load when you arrive.
03 · iOS + Android
In the field.
Mark targets, log finds and drop waypoints as you go — photos, weights and GPS coordinates, encrypted on your device. The moment you’re back in coverage, everything syncs to the web automatically.
Chat with like-minded prospectors and detectorists. Learn, engage, show off your finds — the most-liked find each month wins prizes from real prospecting brands.
Data Lineage
Every layer in Detector Maps comes from a public dataset we can point to. We licence what we use, credit who we use, and update on a schedule you can actually depend on.
Every layer comes from a public dataset. Claims refresh every weekday between 4 and 6am local time. Historic workings and geochemistry refresh as each survey publishes.
Gold maps by state
Every state page shows which layers you get, what the ground looks like, and where the goldfields are — before you spend a cent.
Watched for you
Your subscription gives you all 41 layers — and watches the BLM claim registers for you, so you know the moment ground opens up.
We watch the BLM mining-claim registers daily. New claims, closures and relinquishments — with the freed-up ground mapped. A daily email digest plus a push the moment ground drops, each alert with its own map.
Pay monthly or save on yearly — the 3-day free trial lives on the yearly plans. In the US, advanced LiDAR hillshade comes with Pro.
Join 10,000+ Prospectors
Start free for 3 days on any yearly plan — nothing charged until the trial ends.
Get on the ground.
$5.00/mo — billed yearly
About 16c a day.
LiDAR, property boundaries, PLSS sections & claim alerts live in Pro.
billed monthly — cancel anytime
3-day trial, then $59.99/yr — cancel anytime
The full toolkit, unlocked.
$8.33/mo — billed yearly
About 27c a day.
billed monthly — cancel anytime
3-day trial, then $99.99/yr — cancel anytime
Web is for planning. The phone is for swinging. Same subscription, same data, same waypoints, three devices with Pro. Start the 3-day trial on the web, then sign in on the app.
Overall rating 4.7 / 5 (179 ratings (US App Store) across the App Store and Google Play)
Brent Shannon · 1 Mar 2026 · App Store
I found that Detector Maps is an essential tool for the prospector and miner alike, its super easy to use and offers great prospecting and mining mapping and information Australia wide, the LiDAR function layer where applicable is a game changer.Read more reviews →
nanny bish · 7 Jan 2026 · App Store
I use Detector Maps every time I go out prospecting. Puts me in the right spot every time. Worth every cent.Read more reviews →
Anlopatravels · 26 May 2026 · App Store
I am so impressed with the simplicity of detector maps. Most platforms make things complicated and difficult to navigate. D maps are amazingly simple to understand. With regular updates and extra features constantly added it really makes the fee very reasonable.Read more reviews →
Three independent creators tested it in the field. We didn’t pay for any of these — we just showed them the app.
You’ve seen their field tests. Run your own.
Start free for 3 days on any yearly plan — nothing charged until the trial ends.
Updates
New features, fresh releases and field guides — the latest from the workshop, newest first.
The USA gets a full Coin & Relic mode, Detector Grids plan your coverage lane by lane, and the new Academy teaches the whole app in 34 short lessons.
Read more →Release23 June 2026Our biggest update yet — a new Pro tier, our first Canadian region in British Columbia, and a ground-up New Zealand rebuild. Ships 17 June.
Read more →Guide19 June 2026A complete guide to fossicking in NSW — permits, geology, the best historic goldfields (Hill End, Ophir, Sofala) and how Detector Maps helps you search smarter.
Read more →FAQ
If yours isn’t here, email [email protected] — we read every one.
Start free for 3 days on any yearly plan — nothing charged until the trial ends.
No. Pre-download the area on Wi-Fi and the base layers — claims, geology, historic workings, geochem — live on your phone. The GPS still works without coverage. Cell only matters for syncing waypoints back to the web when you’re done. Offline LiDAR caching is coming soon.
Yes. The 3-day trial on the yearly Explorer and Pro plans takes a card up front, but nothing charges until the trial ends — cancel before then and you pay nothing. Cancelling is two taps: Settings → Subscription → Cancel.
The sources are public — we name every one of them in the Data Lineage section and link back to them in-app. What you’re paying for is the work: sixteen gold states merged into one map, claims re-synced every weekday morning, historic plans georeferenced so they sit where the ground actually is, everything tiled for offline. You could absolutely build this yourself. It took us years.
No app can promise that. What we can promise: the same data the geologists who run government surveys use, served on a map you can read in the field. If you swing in the wrong country, no detector will help. We get you to better country faster.
Mining claims aren’t public land. We show them so you know where not to swing. The land-access layer marks BLM and USFS public land where recreational prospecting is generally allowed, away from active claims. Rules vary by state — we link to the relevant agency page in-app.
All of them. We’re not a detector app — we don’t connect to your coil. We give you the map. Subscribers run it next to a Minelab GPX 6000, SDC 2300, Gold Monster 1000, Garrett Axiom, XP Deus II, Equinox 900 and everything in between.
Every weekday between 4 and 6am local time, state by state. New claims, expiries, transfers, applications — all live by the time you wake up.
Explorer ($7.99/mo or $59.99/yr) includes both modes — Gold Maps and Coin & Relic — with historic gold workings and goldfield layers, offline maps, 9,500+ historical maps, community feed and 10 georeference uploads. Pro ($11.99/mo or $99.99/yr) adds property boundaries and land access, PLSS sections, claim-change alerts, advanced LiDAR hillshade, unlimited georeference uploads and the full desktop web app. If you’re testing the water, start with Explorer. If you’re a serious prospector, Pro is built for you.
No. Most members prospect on the base layers — claims, historic workings, geology, geochem — and plenty of gold comes up that way. In the US, advanced LiDAR hillshade comes with Pro wherever there’s coverage — no per-state add-on.
Yes. In the US, Advanced LiDAR hillshade comes with Pro wherever there’s coverage — no add-on and no per-state charge.
Yes — drop a pin, hit share, send the link. They can open it in the app or on the web. Your private patches stay private unless you share them.
From the app or the web — Settings → Subscription → Cancel. No phone call, no retention queue, no questions. Access stays live until the end of the period you’ve paid for.
We’ve spent a lot of time on this one. Offline mode + battery-saver GPS means a full Saturday in the field on a single charge for most modern phones. Bring a small power bank if you’re swinging dawn to dusk.
Support
The Detector Maps support inbox is staffed by Matt and Tom — the two brothers who built it. Email [email protected] and you will get a reply from one of us, usually the same day. Business hours Monday to Friday, AEST.
Every layer unlocked from the first minute.
Start free for 3 days on any yearly plan — nothing charged until the trial ends.
A hand-picked roster of creators and dealers repping the map across AU, the USA, the UK, NZ and Canada. Backed, rewarded and featured. One spot is always open.
Claim your spot Prospect smarter, not harder. .
Trip reports, layer updates, the occasional gold-find email. No spam.
© 2026 Gold Discovery Solutions Pty Ltd
