Forty-niner

Gold panning is fast-becoming one of the most popular activities today.  In fact, more and more travel groups are offering vacation packages that center around the activity.  So if you’re bored of the usual vacations and you want to do something new with your family, or if you’re in it for the money, I suggest that you continue reading.

Gold panning in California

Of course, we can’t talk about gold panning without talking about California.  After all, there’s a reason why the state is called “The Golden State”.  It’s safe to say that it’s because of the contribution of gold to the development of the state.  Most historians would tell you that the discovery of gold in the state led to its modern development.

History of gold panning in California

In order to know the full history, we have to go back to almost two centuries ago.  It’s an established fact that it was James W. Marshall, with the help of Samuel Rogers, who first discovered gold on January 24, 1848.  Both were working on a project for John Sutter.  It was Mr. Rogers who first saw the precious metal that he immediately brought to Mr. Marshall.  He immediately had his suspicions that it was gold so he brought it to Mr. Sutter.  The two tested the metal themselves and they confirmed that it was indeed gold.

However, there were no shouts of joy after the discovery.  The duo actually became concerned that the discovery would start a gold rush and that their project will be affected.  Mr. Sutter wanted to set up his own agricultural kingdom and he feared that if word got out, people would flock to his area looking for gold.

His fears proved to be prophetic as people started flocking to his land after a San Francisco publication released news confirming that there is indeed gold in California.  This led to locals trooping to the river, ready to look for gold.  News then spread all over the world and people from all over started settling in, completely modernizing the state.

Since most people who came didn’t have any tools or know-how to extract gold, they used a very simple but effective system – gold panning.  Actually, that wasn’t the first time that the strategy was used to extract gold.  In ancient Rome, they used the strategy as well.  It’s simple, low-cost and effective.

Gold panning in California gained popularity in 1849 when the “Forty-niners”, or those looking for gold, started extracting gold using the simplest strategy that they know of.  Armed with gold pans, they competed with the bigger groups that have more technologically-advanced strategies.

Interesting facts about gold panning in California:

• 125 million troy ounces of gold were extracted during the Gold Rush of 1848–1855.
• Converted to today’s money, that’s over $50 billion worth of gold.
• A 195 pound gold nugget was discovered in 1854.  Back then, it was valued at $43,534.
• Due to the Gold Rush, California’s population exploded to 223,000 from 14,000 in four years from 1848 to 1852.

Counties where they found gold in California

This is a list of the top 12 California counties when it comes to extracted gold.  These counties were able to produce over $100,000,000 worth of gold since the start of the Gold Rush until 1965.

• Nevada
• Amador
• Tuolumne
• Butte
• Calaveras
• Sierra
• Yuba
• Sacramento
• Placer
• El Dorado
• Plumas
• Siskiyou

NOTE: El Dorado, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Amador and Calaveras were the original “Mother Lode” counties.

Where can you pan for gold in California today?

It’s been estimated that only 20% of the total gold in the Mother Lode were extracted.  This means that there are still 80% of them still available for extraction.  Aside from the original five counties, it now covers northeastern and central California so those are great places to start with.

Hopefully, this information will help you explore gold panning in California.  Take advantage of these resources and have fun with your success!

Building your own gold prospecting equipment is a great way to ramp up your gold production without spending lots of money. You can build your own sluice, rocker box, classifier, even your own drywasher!

Gold Prospecting Equipment Plans

Here’s two famous books, probably the only ones with DIY plans for mining equipment, both written by Sam Radding. They contain plans for everything you need to ramp up your gold production while at the same time saving hundreds of dollars!

Sam Radding’s Book of Plans 1 – $ 14.95

This first book in the two-volume series contains seven sets of plans and instructions on how you can easily build your own prospecting equipment. Build your own gold prospecting equipment with Sam Radding’s Book of Plans 1.

All plans contain materials and hardware lists, tips and advice for construction and also detailed drawings. Using common tools you’ll find in every home and cheap materials you can have your own prospecting equipment in a matter of hours.

Plans included in Volume I:

1. Port A Sluice

   Build a compact, yet full-sized sluice box that breaks down into sections for portability and storage

2. Rocker Box

   Build a traditional rocker box, a truly time tested pieces of prospecting equipment

3. Small Rocker

   Plans for a small rocker box that is easily portable and great for sampling

4. Wooden Concentrator

   Add a strong pump and this wooden highbanker style concentrator is great for getting gold out of those high benches. These plans also include a section for how to build a rocker concentrator

5. Aluminum Concentrator

   Similar to the highbanker style concentrator above, but in lightweight and tough aluminum

6. Bellows Drywasher

   Plans for how to build a hand-crank bellows drywasher, perfect for desert gold prospecting. Can also be powered by a small motor

7. Conveyer Belt

   Build a conveyer belt for moving your drywasher tailings out of the way as you work

Sam Radding’s Book of Plans 2 – $ 15.95

Sam Radding’s Book of Plans Volume II is the second book in the series and expands on the first one. You’ll find 8 more DIY plans for homemade mining equipment, for example a crack hook and a fanning board.

As in the first book this one also offer easy step-by-step instructions complete with materials lists, diagrams and detailed drawings.

Plans included in Volume II:

1. View Scopes

   Build your own viewing scope to snipe for gold underwater.

2. Snuffer Bulb

   Works in a similar way to a snuffer bottle but can be used underwater to suck up any gold while sniping.

3. Crack Hook

   A great tool for easily scraping out material from cracks.

4. Fanning Board

   Use a fanning board underwater to quickly move sand, silt, moss and more.

5. Suction Stick

   Use this homemade hand dredge to quickly and easily suck up material from holes or cracks and easily transfer it to your recovery equipment.

6. Vibrobasic Drywasher

   Build your own small and lightweight vibrostatic drywasher.

7. Mini-Magic Drywasher

   A bellows drywasher that is small and light enough to carry into otherwise unreachable spots.

8. Gold Classifying Screens

   Make this handy classifier set to classify down all that gold you’ve found into various mesh sizes.

More DIY Plans

Highbanker/Sluice guide by Chuck Cummins – link
Build your own Gravity Dredge – link
Field classifier – link
High Volume Bucket Classifier – link
Ratled’s Highbanker – link
Home made sluices – link
Various DIY plans for gold prospecting tools – link

DIY Videos

You can find lots of homemade gold panning equipment on Youtube. Here’s one of a homemade classifier:

Don’t want to build your own equipment?

Then click here to check out the best gold prospectors store you’ll find online. They have a wide assortment of gold prospecting supplies and tools. Also, check out my list of gold prospecting equipment essentials to learn what you need to get started with prospecting and panning for gold.

There are some basic gold panning equipment you simply must have to be a successful prospector, and there are some supplies that will make your gold panning efforts so much easier, more fun, and more profitable. Here’s the full list of must-have and nice-to-have tools:

Must-Haves

• Gold Pan

  Without a gold pan, no gold panning. If you only get one tool on this list, this is the one. There are many different shapes, sizes and options when it comes to choosing a gold pan, and some pans are better than others. To make the choice easier for you, here’s a guide on choosing a gold pan.

• Classifier

  
  A Classifier can save you a lot of work in your gold panning operation. Instead of having to remove stones by hand, the classifier takes care of the dirty work for you, which makes it possible to process far more material in a day. You can get a good classifier for a couple of bucks, like this one from Garret.

• Snuffer Bottle

  Also called a sucker bottle, for sucking your new found gold out of your gold pan. They’re made of plastic so they won’t break if you drop them on the rocks, and most importantly, they float. Good snuffer bottles are constructed so the gold can get in, but it can’t get out. A snuffer bottle is included in all serious gold panning kits, otherwise you can buy a snuffer bottle here. You can also use a tweezer to pick out the gold from your pan, or if none of those are available, wet your finger with saliva, make the gold flakes stick to your finger, and move them to a container or glass vial.

• Shovel

  Having a sturdy yet light shovel is invaluable when you go gold panning. You need something to shovel all that gold bearing dirt and a good shovel will make it a whole lot easier for you. Take a look at this handy mini shovel.

• Bucket

  A bucket comes in handy when you need to carry your gold bearing material a distance to your panning spot. It’s also nice to have something to carry your prospecting gear in. Any larger bucket should do it.

• Glass vial

  For showing off and storing your gold! The vials comes in larger and smaller sizes.

Nice-To-Haves

• Gold Magnet

  To remove black sand from your gold pan, which makes for easy gold panning. The “Top Hat” Gold Magnet from Jobe is a good choice, you can see it in action here.

• Jeweler’s Loupe

  It’s not always that you find large nuggets when you’re out panning. That’s why it is nice to have a loupe when you want to take a closer look at that tiny gold flake you just found. Here’s a budget choice that will work just fine, you don’t need anything fancier out in the field.

• Gold Panning Concentrates

  If you buy all the gold panning supplies above, it still can’t guarantee your success in finding gold. You need to know where the gold is too, unless you get your hands on some gold bearing material of course. You’d think you have to go out in the field to practice gold panning, but you can actually buy real gold panning concentrates and practice panning in your own backyard. I’ve found a good source of “pure Oregon paydirt” as the seller describes it. It has some good reviews, so check it out here.

Taking gold panning to the next level

• Gold Sluice

  Using a sluice is an effective way to recover more gold in a day. Compared to a gold pan you’ll be able to process far more material in a day, and thereby recover much more gold. A sluice is a great addition to your gold panning tools and is a logical step up from using a pan. You just have to find one good spot for your sluice and you can make up for the cost in less than a day. You can get started with a beginners sluice box from Tee Dee for less than $50 or buy a high quality sluice box from Proline for a hundred bucks.

• Gold Dredge

  A dredge is like a sluice on steroids. It’s basically a sluice with a large suction hose attached to it that you use for sucking up the river bed. The material you suck up is then automatically classified and dropped onto the sluice which catches all the gold

Go back to Gold Panning 101

Related Links

Learn How To Pan For Gold – Gold Panning Instructions
Choosing Which Gold Pan to Buy
Gold Panning Vacations – State by State Guide
Top 5 Gold Panning Videos

When you’ve been out panning for gold and you finally strike it rich, you will want to protect your find. By staking a claim you get the exclusive rights to extract valuable minerals from the ground and to develop the site. These rights are protected by the Mining Law of 1872 and as long as you are 18 years or older and a United States Citizen you can stake as many claims as you want.

Two Types of Mining Claims

The two types of claims below has different regulations mostly regarding the maximum size of your claim.

• Lode Claim

  If you’ve discovered a quartz vein or lode containing gold, a lode claim is what you need. Whenever the gold is inside or stuck to a rock, it belongs to this category.
  Maximum Size for Lode Claims: Length of 1,500 feet along the vein or lode. Width is a maximum of 600 feet, 300 feet on either side of the center line of the vein or lode.

• Placer Claim

  This is where the gold can be found in gravel and sand, for example in a stream. Placer claims are more common than lode claims and most likely what you’ll encounter first.
  Maximum Size for Placer Claims: 20 acres per locator. If you have a friend you two can together as an association locate 40 acres, three of you may locate 60 acres, etc. The maximum area of an association placer claim is 160 acres for eight or more persons, except for In Alaska where the maximum size is limited to 40 acres under State law. For corporations the maximum size is 20 acres per claim. According to BLM “Corporations may not locate association placer claims unless they are in association with other private individuals or other corporations as co-locators”.

Step by Step Guide To Protecting Your Find

1. Do the research

   First of all, you need to ensure that your discovery isn’t located in one of the following areas: National Parks, National Monuments, Indian reservations, most reclamation projects, military reservations, scientific testing areas and most wildlife protection areas (such as Federal wildlife refuges). When you’ve ensured that, you need to check that the area isn’t already claimed. You don’t want to be caught claim jumping!

2. Mark Your Claim

   The next step is to go out and mark your claim. This is required so that other people can see that the area is taken, as well as showing you where you can mine. You should always check with the State authorities before marking your claim as regulations differ from state to state. The most common practice is to mark each corner of your claim with a post, made out of either wood(at least 3.5 inches in diameter), plastic or metal(at least 2 inches in diameter), with a minimum visible height of 3 feet. You can also mark the corners with rock cairns. You start with marking the NE corner of the claim, known as the number 1 corner, where you also post the location notice. Then you mark the other corners, numbered in a clockwise direction.

   The Location Notice should contain the following information: 
   • Date of location on the ground
   • Name of the locator (That’s you!)
   • Name of the claim or site
   • Type of claimor site
   • Acreage claimed
   • Description of the parcel on the ground.

 

3. Take Care of the Paper Work

Copies of the claim documents and location notices must be filed at both the County Clerk’s office and the Bureau of Land Management state office. All this must be completed within 30-90 days of the staking depending on the state. Filing fees must also be paid. The total cost of staking a single claim ranges from $170 to $200 from state to state.

Keeping Your Claim

In addition to the annual fees, you must fulfill requirements of “annual labor” in order to keep the claim. You must basically be able to show that you are actively working the claim or improving the site. If you don’t do this you’ll loose your claim and won’t be able to restake it for one year from the “date of abandonment”. During this time some other prospector may stake a claim at your spot.

Fancy Signs To Keep Prospectors Out

Buy Now at $4.95 – This sign is made of weather resistant aluminum and is bright orange, so it will be hard for other prospectors to miss it.

Buy Now at $4.95 – 11″ x 7.5″ aluminum sign to mark borders and entry points of federal mining claims.

Buy Now at $1.49 – 4″ x 4″ Corner Monument sign for your corner posts. You might want to get four of these!

Related Links

Gold Prospecting 101 – Introduction to Easy and Effective Gold Prospecting
Check Out These Gold Prospecting TV Shows

Thanks to Alaska Mining for letting me use your image.

There ain’t many TV shows about gold prospecting out there, we can thank the Outdoor Channel for the few that exists! Here’s three shows that’ll keep you occupied for some time:

The Shows

Gold Fever

This is the biggest show on gold prospecting, it has been running for thirteen years and is likely to run for many years ahead. Here’s Outdoor Channel’s description of the show:

Gold Fever is currently one of the highest rated shows on the Outdoor Channel, taking viewers on adventures all over the United States, and soon the world.

The show is shot in high definition, and has captivated hundreds of thousands of people with its visually stunning photography. The success of Gold Fever has derived from two core principles: education and entertainment. We work hard to teach the fundamentals of finding gold while at the same time making the show exciting for all viewers.

Gold fever is not your typical travel show, it is much larger than that. We take viewers in to some of the most remote locations in this country, showcasing the vast beauty of mother nature, and one of the gifts she provides… gold.

You can watch some episodes of Gold Fever online for free here and here and buy single episodes or boxed sets on DVD over at GPAA.

There’s an old discussion over at TreasureNet about the show and the Massie brothers. There are some mixed feelings about the shows and the hosts Tom and Perry. Some people love it, some think it’s the same thing over and over in every show. Here’s a viewer’s description of the hosts:

Perry does more of showing what the other people do, where as Tom does it first hand, from jumpin in a river to walking a cave, seen Perry pan but not dredge. you won’t see Perry with holes in the knees of his pants.

Prospecting America

Host Perry Massie travels the US, sharing his knowledge on gold prospecting. The series features tours of prospecting facilities, historical landmarks, people, places and exhibits related to gold prospecting.

You’ll never know who you’ll meet and what you’ll learn on every episode of “Prospecting America”.

Watch shows of Prospecting America here and buy single DVD-episodes here.

Gold Prospecting

This show is mainly hosted by George “Buzzard” Massie, founder of the Gold Prospectors Association of America. As far as I know 28 episodes were made before George passed away in 1993. In the show you’ll get to follow him dredging in the far north, metal detecting in the desert, recover gold from the beaches of Alaska, and much more.

Join the team on an exciting Alaska Expedition or on an adventure to the Mother Lode.

Watch shows of Gold Prospecting here and buy single DVD-episodes here.

The Hosts

George “Buzzard” Massie

Tom Massie

George Massie is the founder of both the Gold Prospectors Association of America and the Outdoor Channel. It was George’s goal to develop a club where members could get access to claims all over the United States to go prospecting.

It started with an idea to share his expertise in mining with others and television was the way to go back then. That was the beginning of the “Buzzard’s” prospecting adventures, where he filmed together with his son Tom, who is the host of Gold Fever. Instead of buying time on other networks a natural step was to start their own channel, which they did in 1993 under the name of the Outdoor Channel. Unfortunately George “Buzzard” Massie died the same year, leaving both the Gold Prospectors Association of America and the Outdoor Channel to his sons, Tom and Perry Massie.

Tom Massie

Tom is the current president of the GPAA and is also a Vice Chairman on the board of the Outdoor Channel. Several gold prospecting shows has been produced on the Outdoor Channel throughout the years, including: “Buzzardite Classics”, “Prospecting America”, “LDMA Specials”, and “Alaska Expedition” specials. In 1996, Gold Fever was created and quickly established as the head stone of both the GPAA and the Outdoor Channel. Tom has been described by some viewers as “having the heart of a warrior” and being “the goofy cousin nobody wants around them at the family reunions”. He also falls down a lot.

Today “Gold Fever” sits in its thirteenth year with 129 complete episodes and another forty episodes under contract. With such an established history, the name Gold Fever and Tom Massie stand as an icon for Outdoor Channel and Prospectors alike.

Perry Massie

Perry Massie is the current host of Prospecting America and has been a director of Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc. since 1984. Perry has a B.S. degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

Related Links

Gold Panning 101 – Introduction to Easy and Effective Gold Panning
How To Pan For Gold The Easy Way ]]> http://www.operationgold.com/gold-prospecting-tv-shows/feed/ 1 http://www.operationgold.com/gold-prospecting-tv-shows/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OperationGold/~3/6WiyzJhaaX0/ http://www.operationgold.com/gold-panning-kits/#comments Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:12:07 +0000 Dan http://www.operationgold.com/?p=483

A gold panning kit is the easiest way to get started with gold panning. All the panning kits below except for the kit for kids includes the 14 inch Proline Professional pan. Most kits include at a minimum a pan, a snuffer bottle for sucking up the gold, and a vial for keeping the gold. Here’s a couple of kits I’ve found that also includes a book with 80 pages of gold panning and prospecting basics.

Buy Now

Starter Gold Panning Kit

$20.95 – This kit has all the basics you need to go out and do some gold panning.

Includes:

• 14″ Proline Professional Gold Pan – deep, undercut riffles, tough construction and textured surface
• Snuffer Bottle
• 1 Dram Glass Vial
• The Weekend Gold Miner

Buy Now

Deluxe Gold Panning Kit – For The Serious Prospector

$28.95 – For just a couple of extra bucks you’ll get everything you need for some serious gold panning adventures with this Deluxe Gold Panning Kit.

Includes:

• 14″ Proline Professional Gold Pan – One of the best pans on the market
• Snuffer Bottle
• 1 Dram Glass Vial w/ Blk Screw Cap
• 5/8 Dram Shortie Glass Vial w/ Blk Screw Cap
• Gold Nugget Display Cup
• 20x21mm Folding Jeweler’s Loupe
• The Weekend Gold Miner

Buy Now

Kid’s Gold Panning Kit

$13.40 – This kit will make any kid happy. Taking your kid on a gold panning adventure is a great way to get out and experience nature in a fun way. This kit is the same as the Starter Gold Panning Kit, but includes a 10″ Archer gold pan instead of the 14″ Proline Professional pan. The pan comes in two colors, steel gray or terracotta red.

Includes:

• 10″ Archer Gold Pan
• Snuffer Bottle
• 1 Ounce Glass Vial – So the kid can show off the gold to his friends!
• The Weekend Gold Miner

Buy Now

Couples Gold Panning Kit

$35.95 – If you have a loved one, panning gold is a great way to spend quality time together. This kit is a great start to your gold panning adventure together. Why not combine a romantic picknick with some gold panning?

Includes:

• 2 x 14″ Proline Professional Gold Pans
• 2 x Snuffer bottles
• 2 x 1 Dram Glass Vials
• 1 x The Weekend Gold Miner

Great Additions to the above gold panning kits

Gold Panning concentrates is basically dirt that is guaranteed to contain real gold. This makes it possible to practice panning in your own backyard without having to find your own gold bearing material in the field. Fancy Litter Gold Panning Concentrates is “pure Oregon pay dirt” and contains real gold and black sands.

Classifiers are also popular additions, as they make it a lot easier for the prospector to process gold bearing material. The Garrett Classifier is a good beginners choice.

Back to Gold Panning 101

Related Links

Tips On Choosing Which Gold Pan To Buy
Gold Panning Instructions
Gold Panning Videos

Gold panning vacations are great fun whether you’re going away for a long vacation or just a day-trip. Kids love it, and you will love it too when you see the first glitter of gold in your pan! You can often borrow all gold panning equipment needed on the spot, but most people prefer to buy their own gold pan or gold panning kit. Here’s a state by state guide to gold panning locations through out the US, Canada and South America. Click on any of the states below and it will take you to the right section.

Jump to:
USA
Alabama – 1 listing
Alaska – 5 listings
Arizona – 2 listings
California – 8 listings
Colorado – 2 listings
Georgia – 2 listings
Nevada – 1 listing
North Carolina – 3 listings
Oregon – 3 listings
South Carolina – 1 listing
South Dakota – 2 listings

Canada
Yukon – 1 listing

Dominican Republic 1 listing

USA

Alabama

Alabama Gold Camp

1398 Co. Rd. 5
Lineville AL 36266 USA
Phone: 1.256.396.0389
E-Mail: gold@alabamagoldcamp.com
Alabama Gold Camp has something for everyone!
Bring your whole family and stay awhile or stop by for a day of picnicking and prospecting. We have easy access to all of our creeks. Plenty of camping right on Wesobulga creek. We offer water, electricity, bathrooms with hot showers, a pavilion where a group can gather for a meal or meeting. We’re currently working on a building which houses our office, general store and enclosed panning area.
With over twenty five years of prospecting and mining experience we will be glad to teach anyone how to pan, sluice, highbank, or even dredge. The best way to learn how to pan for gold is with dirt you know has gold in it and we have lots of it to get you started.

Alaska

Chicken Gold Camp & Outpost

PO Box 70
Chicken, Alaska 99732 USA
Phone: 1-907-235-6396 (voice mail)
E-Mail: chickenrvpark@gmail.com
Fortymile Adventures, Recreational Mining, National Historic Site
The “Chicken Gold Camp & Outpost” is a relaxing, off-the-highway resort in historic Chicken (on Airport Rd), with an active gold mine, tours of the historic Pedro Gold Dredge, gold panning, recreational mining (primarily gold), hiking and river recreation. The gold camp includes an internet cafe (serving home made entrees), Espresso/smoothie bar, a gift shop offering unique, hand-crafted Alaskan jewelry and gifts, rooms/cabins and kayak rentals. Separate caravan area with pavilion and barbecue grill for large groups. Pull-thrus, electric sites, WiFi internet, tent sites, a dump station, water and showers are all available. Our camp & claims are located in In Chicken Alaska in the middle of the oldest mining district in Alaska, the 40 Mile.

Faith Creek Camp

Faith Creek Camp, AK
69 Mile on Steese Hwy (Hwy 6)
P. O. Box 70929
Fairbanks, AK 99707
Phone: 1-303-719-6680 or 1-907-347-8373
E-Mail: faithcreekcamp@aol.com
Faith Creek Camp is 6 patented placers which encompasses 115+ acres and is privately owned by Clarence & Pat Douthett.

Offers a chance to experience the excitement of the wilderness, while prospecting.. Situated in the White Mountains, yet accessible by a well maintained highway.

Visit Faith Creek Camp, where Faith Creek and McManus Creek come together and form the headwaters of the Chatanika River. Do some gold panning, sluicing, dredging in one the richest mining districts in Alaska. Enjoy the wildlife; moose, caribou, fox, wolves, bear, and many more creatures of the wild. See the wildflowers that bloom in the land of the midnight sun. Pick blueberries and raspberries. Fish in the creeks and river. Come prepared to have an outdoor experience of a lifetime, at Faith Creek Camp.
We offer camping, gold panning, sluicing and dredging. We also have cabins for rent.

Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge

Phone: 1 (800) 426-0500
Duration: 2 1/2 hours
Price from: $24 per person
Enjoy a true Gold Panning experience. Prospector John will take you back to the days of the Gold Rush. He takes you through the steps of modern and old-time techniques of gold panning. Try your hand in panning, for a guarantee of finding gold. Take home your riches, and a true Alaskan experience.

Located on the beautiful Kenai Peninsula in Cooper Landing, and nestled among 43 acres on the banks of the Kenai River, the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge offers all the luxuries of a small resort in a relaxing wilderness setting. This peninsula, renowned as a sportsmanʹs and scenic paradise, offers a spectacular setting amid fabulous mountain and river views. Optional activities include nature hikes, sportfishing, river rafting, flightseeing and sightseeing day cruises to the Kenai Fjords National Park.

Moore Creek

Call Roger or Arlene Cowles at: 907-653-1120 (Alaska Time)
E-Mail: info@moorecreek.com
The Moore Creek Alaska Gold Adventure is hosted by Moore Creek Pay-to-Mine LLC, at the historic Moore Creek mine, located along the old Iditarod trail, 50 miles Southwest of McGrath, Alaska. At Moore Creek, you’ll enjoy metal detecting, suction dredging, and highbanking – they provide all equipment and instruction, and you keep all the gold you find!

Moore Creek provides comfortable accommodations, great cooking, fun people, and a genuine mining camp for a unique Alaskan gold prospecting experience. Hundreds of gold nuggets and specimens, weighing a total of about 300 ounces – have been found at Moore Creek while Metal Detecting over the last few years. The majority of the nuggets are in the ¼- to ½- ounce range, and quite a few nuggets run from 1- to 6- ounces each! 2009 over 86 ounces was found by 28 visitors!

Moore Creek Alaska Gold Adventures, start at $2,500.00 per-person – Ask about their special Family & Group Rates!

Ophir Creek

E-Mail: landoffice@akgoldadventures.com
The 1906 gold strike at Ophir Creek, brought gold miners from Fairbanks and Nome by the hundreds! Over 70,000 ounces of Alaska gold came out of Ophir – and the surrounding creeks by 1932. Now you have a chance to lease a private One-acre claim for your entire stay in this breathtakingly beautiful and gold rich area of Alaska.

You will stay in a real Gold Rush era gold camp, and eat three great meals each day with snacks! You’ll prospect your private claim with sluices, highbankers, dredges, metal detectors and the classic gold pan! Afterwards, relax with a hot shower and just enjoy the wild and beautiful surroundings, or fish for world class trout in nearly 24-hours of daylight!

Full Week Price Packages start at just $1,999.98 per-person, and $2,999.98 per-couple.

Arizona

Arizona Gold Adventures

Phone: 914-589-3985
E-Mail: Info@ArizonaGoldAdventures.com
Arizona Gold Adventures (AGA), offers gold prospecting Day Trips and Vacations in the Weaver Mountains, less than two-hours from Phoenix, Arizona! Private instruction on our gold prospecting equipment, or yours! Panning, Drywashing, Sluicing and “Gold Nugget Shooting” (PI & VLF metal detecting) vacations, lessons & Day Trips!

Their Fall Prospecting Season starts September 18th – Make Your Reservations Now!

Stanton

LDMA Camp

125 patented acres at an old ghost town with several buildings dating from the 1870′s. Full-time caretaker; hook-ups for water & electricity. Dump station, sanitary facilities and club house. Dredging and/or highbanking along Antelope Creek. Dry-washing, coin shooting. Year-round camping for up to 200!

California

Roaring Camp Mining Company

PO Box 278
Pine Grove, CA 95665 USA
Phone: 1-209-296-4100
E-Mail: roaringcamp@volcano.net
Roaring Camp is something special in the way of family recreation. It is an old goldmining camp on the Mokulmne River. In the past, it was accessibly only by horseback. Roaring Camp was once a camp for Forty Niners, but since it was so inaccessible, most of the gold still remains. Visitors can see our operating gold mine an can mine their own gold by panning, sluicing, dredging, and dry washing.

Gabby’s Historic Gold Rush Tours

PO Box 92
Pine Grove, CA 95665
Ph: 1-209-296-3106 (voice)
E-Mail: gabby@gabbysgoldtours.com
Fun, authentic, escorted tours of the Mother Lode. Great tour packages to choose from.

Gold Prospecting Adventures LLC.

18170 Main St.
Jamestown, CA 95327 USA
Phone: 1- 209-984-4653 or fax: 1-209-984-0711
E-Mail: Brent Shock info@goldprospecting.com
Family gold prospecting trips at “1849 Jimtown Mining Camp,” family trips from 1 to 5 hours. For the serious prospector, 1 to 3 days. Our authentic 1849 “Jimtown Mining Camp” will handle an group. From over 12,000 4th grade students on our “Educational Program,” to “Adventure In Gold Country,” for our motorcoach clients at “Jimtown Mining Camp”. Helicopter and rafting trips also.

Duisenburg

LDMA Camp

160 patented acres near Ransberg, CA. Club house, outhouse and exhibit barn. A well and sanitary facilities are planned for the near future. Camping for Up to 1,000! Drywashing and metal detecting. No water at present.

Finley Camp

140 patented acres at the site of an early mining town. (All structures now demolished.) Part-time caretaker. No facilities, but Forest Service campground across the road. Dredging and highbanking along the Salmon River and Russian Creek. Camping for 200+.

Italian Bar

LDMA Camp

160 patented acres in the fabulous Mother Lode! Full-time caretaker, water, showers, club house and sanitary facilities and dump station. Camping for up to 150, open all year. Dredging (June I to Oct. 15) and high-banking on the Stanislaus River.

Klamath River

26 patented acres. Camping for 25, but no facilities or caretaker. Dredging (June 1 to Oct. 15), highbanking and nugget shooting on old bucket-dredge tailings.

Scott River

LDMA Camp

Junction is 28 patented acres at the old townsite of Steelhead. No facilities or caretaker, but plans are underway for bathrooms, showers, clubhouse, dump station and well. Dredging on both the Scott and Klamath Rivers, highbanking, sluicing and coinshooting.

Colorado

Leadville Camp

Approximately 60 acres in the heart of one of Colorado’s premiere mining areas. Enjoy the picturesque view of the Colorado Rockies. You can pan, sluice and dredge. No facilities at this time. Clubhouse, rest- room/showers are in the planning stages.

Nederland Camp

West of Boulder, offers 5 patented acres. No caretaker or facilities. Access by hike-in only. Lode mining for silver with some gold.

Georgia

The Loud Mine

LDMA Camp

Just west of Cleveland, Georgia, has 39 deeded acres. Full-time caretaker. Clubhouse, dump station. Bathrooms & showers are planned for the near future. highbanking, sluicing, panning and dredging along Town Creek in the historic Dahlonega Gold Belt.

Vein Mt. Gold Camp

Go for the Gold Prospecting Tours / Georgia Gold Prospector’s Association

Nevada

High Divide Property

20 acres of patented property located just south of Tonopah, NV in Esmeralda County. This property was patented for Lode. This property is remote and only dry camping is allowed. No facilities.

North Carolina

The Lucky Strike Recreational Gold and Gem Mine

Phone: (828) 286-3016
E-Mail: info@thermalcitygoldmine.com
The Lucky Strike is a gold and gem mine with a campground that is committed to making sure our visitors have a memorable outing. You can take a step back in time to the days of yesteryear by taking a pan or sluice box into the stream. Experience the thrill of that golden gleam in your pan that only finding your first flake of gold can give. We also have Gold Panning at the flume line with local ore from the Second Broad River. When you get tired or hungry you can visit the Miners Diner , located next to the covered panning area and have a delicious Bonanza burger or Klondike dog with a frosty glass of Sluice Juice.

Gem mining is very popular with our visitors. The Lucky Strike has gemstone buckets for you to screen at the at the flume line. There you may uncover semi precious gemstones such as ruby, sapphire or emerald that are actually worth cutting.

We are open to the public all year 8:00 AM till 7:00 PM daily except DEC 25.

Thermal City Gold Mine

Phone: 828-738-4893
E-Mail: liz@luckystrikegoldandgem.com
Located in Western North Carolina’s Rutherford County. Gold Camp, mining supplies, events, camping.
Thermal City Gold Mine is the best recreational gold and gem mining facility in the Eastern United States. For great family fun, Gem Mining in North Carolina, Gold Panning NC, Camping Mining North Carolina and much more, Thermal City Gold Mine is the perfect find!

Thermal City Gold Mine offers a unique experience hosted by people who are real prospectors! We are dedicated to keeping the tradition and history of Gold Mining in North Carolina alive. Anyone who wants to pan or prospect for gold is welcome. We enjoy teaching and talking about mining!

OPEN MARCH 1 TO NOVEMBER 15, 8:30AM TO 5:00PM 7 DAYS A WEEK.

Vein Mountain

LDMA Camp

This 130 acre private property is the most recent acquisition of the LDMA and is located in one of the richest gold bearing areas of the eastern gold belt. Gold ranges from fine to flake and is plentiful. Historical reports give the property a good potential for large nuggets.

Oregon

Cracker Creek Mining Camp

Cracker Creek Road
Sumpter, OR 97877
Phone: 1-541-894-2419
E-Mail: info@sumpteroregongoldmining.com or webmaster@goldminerscorner.com
Operation Hours: Monday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CLOSED SUNDAYS.
Our gold mining camp is tucked away on Bourne road along side the historic Cracker Creek in the quiet mountains away from town and you’ll be working the original gold vein discovered over 150 years ago! This is one of the largest continuous gold veins in North America! And….don’t worry, you won’t be alone! We will provide all the proper equipment, tools and even gold panning instruction necessary to find gold and have a great time doing it!

Burnt River Camp

LDMA Camp

Just south of Baker, has 167 patented acres, sanitary facilities, clubhouse and several other buildings. No hook ups, but water is available at the full-time caretaker’s house. Dredging and excellent high-banking along Burnt River.

The Cave Creek Property

Consists of 32 patented acres on Cave Creek just a short distance from the Burnt River Camp. This slender parcel takes in about a mile of Cave Creek providing members with plenty of Hunting ground. This property is good for Panning, Sluicing, highbanking and Dredging. Camping is available at the Burnt River Camp.

South Carolina

Oconee Camp

LDMA Camp

This property is located north of Walhalla, S.C. Approximately 120 acres of pristine wooded land with year round stream. Flake, Fine Gold, and nuggets are found here. You can dredge, sluice and pan. No facilities at this time. Clubhouse, restroom/showers and water are planned for the near future.

South Dakota

Big Thunder Gold Mine

PO Box 459/604 Blair Street
Keystone, SD 57751
Phone: 605 666-4847 or 1-800-314-3917
Fax: 605 666-4566
E-Mail: mclainsandra@aol.com or strikegoldat@aol.com
Big Thunder Gold Mine has recaptured the excitement and romance of this bygone era. Find yourself traveling back in time as you tour the authentic 1890′s gold mine and learn about the mining experience from knowledgable guides.

Big Thunder Gold Mine is completely handicapped accessible and fun for all ages!

Black Hills Mining Museum

Phone: 605-584-1605
Email: bhminmus@mato.com
Located in the mile-high city of Lead, South Dakota, there is fun for the entire family. Welcome to the Black Hills Mining Museum, located in the mile-high city of Lead. Our non-profit educational corporation is dedicated to the preservation of the rich mining heritage of the Black Hills of South Dakota. We invite you to visit us and enjoy our numerous exhibits and activities. For more than a century, gold mining has been the #1 industry in Lead and in the Northern Black Hills.

Share the thrill experienced by the prospectors the world over in the museum’s hands-on gold panning display. (Gold Guaranteed!) With the friendly, personal attention of our staff you will learn the techniques of panning and take home your own sample of real placer gold!

Canada

Yukon

Eureka Gold Panning

P.O. Box 33072, Whitehorse, YT Canada Y1A 5Y5
Phone: (867) 633-6519 or our Summer Gold Camp Phone, June to September – (867) 993-6411
E-mail: info@eurekagoldpanning.com

Pan or sluice for gold, then take a break and hike, bike, quad or drive old Gold Field trails for hilltop views of mountain scenery. Explore 1898 Gold Rush cabins and ghost towns; view wildlife or just relax and listen to the song birds within the background of a flowing creek. Avoid the crowds and stay with us, just a 45 minute drive from Dawson City, through modern and historic mining country.Take a step back in time and experience life as they lived it.

Dominican Republic

Jarabacoa Gold Company

Phone: 829-838-4653
E-mail: Jarabacoagold@yahoo.com
We at Jarabacoa Gold Company strive to give our customers the best outdoor adventure possible. With over 20 years experience prospecting in both the USA and the Dominican Republic and the hospitality industry we are the #1 choice when it comes to Gold panning adventures and other excursions and tours in the Dominican Republic. We know that your vacation is very important to you, so working with a reputable and honest company can mean a lot. Our goal is to give you the best excursion possible for the best possible price. If you choose, we will assist you with other excursions and lodging in order to help get you the best rates and experience. We are a family owned business and our reputation is very important to us. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Have a Nice Prospecting Vacation!

If you know of any place that is missing, please help your fellow gold panners out by sharing it in the comments below and I’ll add it to this list! I will update the list continually as I find more vacation spots.

Back to Gold Panning 101

Related Gold Panning Links

Gold Panning Instructions – Simple How-To Guide
Choosing Between Gold Pans – Some Tips
Gold Panning Videos

Dawson City was the last boomtown of the 19th century and is often referred to as the heart of the Klondike Gold Rush. The town recently had a visit from Tom Hron over at AlaskaExpert. Tom has written a series(1,2,3) about the town, which is once again booming as gold miners can make $500 a day by sluicing the tailings of supposedly worked out old claims. He met a guy that was a gold miner by day and poker player by night, just like in the good old days. So how rich was the area in gold back in the days?

Even today, it’s said that if you can find ten square feet of original ground it will produce $1,000,000 in nuggets.

I don’t know if I believe that claim, that’s a lot of gold from just one square meter! He does mention though, that the easy gold was gone by the time most gold seekers reached Dawson. After the surface gold was gone, miners dug down through the permafrost with the help of fires to thaw the soil. So they tunneled and pulled up buckets of pay dirt during the winter which they sluiced during the summer.

Today people are still making money mining gold around Dawson City, but according to Tom they just keep their mouths shut about it, which is a good move if you ask me. He was shown nuggets worth $4,000, which the miners sell to jewelers who specialize in nugget jewelry.

There is a thriving underground economy for those who are lucky enough to own a claim that produces good-sized nuggets, and those mines are highly prized. Mining is hard work but it has very special rewards, since it’s nobody’s business what you find in the dirt and shove in your pockets.

Dawson City seems like an awesome place to visit if you have the slightest interest in gold mining and history. There’s a big museum in town filled with artifacts from the Klondike Gold Rush days. I’ll make sure I stop by Dawson City on a future trip to Canada. Head over to Tom and read his first, second, and third post!

If you’ve been to Dawson City, please share your experience in the comments below!

Related Links

Gold Panning 101 – An Introduction To Easy And Effective Gold Panning
Join The New California Gold Rush – Not only Dawson City is affected by the high gold price

Gold panning videos are hands down the best way to learn how to pan gold, except for actually doing the real thing. I’ve gathered the five best videos on gold panning from Youtube for your enjoyment and education. These are all great instructional videos.

1. 
   The first video is the same as the one in my gold panning instructions, it’s a simple and informative demonstration of gold panning.
2. 
   In this video, treasure hunter Roy Roush shows a good spot to find gold and also teaches how to pan gold. Check out that beautiful nugget he finds!
3. 
   Demonstration of the Backwash and Tap method, where you separate fine gold from black sand. He makes it look so easy!
4. 
   Gary Smith is an old timer with over 40 years experience of gold panning. In this video he shows you how to pan gold using a genuine metal pan.
5. 
   Gold panning demonstration from Fairbanks, Alaska.

Bonus Video

Check out this video about gold panning over at How Stuff Works, where prospector Steve Herschbach demonstrates gold panning in the middle of Alaska winter. After watching all of the above gold panning videos, you should have a very good understanding of how panning works. For a step by step written guide, check out my article on how to pan gold.

What’s your favorite video on gold panning? Please share it in the comments below!

Back to Gold Panning 101

Related Links

How to Pan Gold – Easy and Effective Gold Panning
Choosing Which Gold Pan to Buy – 4 Factors To Consider

There are tons of gold panning equipment on the market, and most of the gold pans available will do the job. The important factors to consider when buying a gold pan is size, material, color and last but not least, the user.

• Size

  In gold panning size matters.. at least when it comes to gold pans. Large and small gold pans both have their good and bad sides. The size of gold pans range from 10 inches to 17 inches, of which 14 inches in diameter is the most common. As a beginner, I recommend that you buy a 14″ gold pan. A 10 inch pan is good as a backup pan or perfect if you’re looking to buy a gold pan for your kids, but you will be happy to have bought a larger one as your main pan. On the other end of the scale are the 17″ gold pans. They aren’t bad, but they are just so damn heavy when they’re loaded with wet material.

• Material

  Gold pans are made up of either steel or plastic today. Even though a steel pan may feel more genuine(there were no plastic gold pans during the gold rushes!), plastic pans has a lot going for it. Compared to steel pans, plastic pans are lighter and still durable enough for years of hard use. It is also way easier to remove black sand using a magnet from a plastic pan compared to a steel pan. Also, on plastic pans you will more often see those gold trapping riffles that gold prospectors come to love. To sum it up, buying a plastic pan as your first gold pan is a smart move.

• Color

  The most common colors for plastic pans are blue, green and black. You might think that the color doesn’t matter when buying a gold pan, but it all comes down to being able to see the gold in the bottom of your pan. A black gold pan might make it difficult for you to see the black sand. I recommend that you go with either blue or green with your first gold pan.

• The User

  When it comes down to it, you have to think about why you want to buy a gold pan. If you want to relive history, then go ahead and buy a metal pan even though it may have some drawbacks compared to today’s high tech pans. If you love black, by all means buy a black gold pan. You’re the one who will use the pan, only you can decide what feels best for you.

4 Great Gold Pans For Sale

• 

  Buy Now

  Proline Professional Gold Pan – 14 inch

  $12.95 – This is a great 14 inch pan for beginner and experienced prospectors alike and is one of the most best selling pans ever. It’s available in blue, green and black. The Proline Professional Pan is light-weight, durable, has 6 effective gold catching riffles and the colors will make even the smallest piece of gold stand out in the bottom of your pan. You can’t go wrong with this one.

• 

  Buy Now

  Garrett Gravity Trap Gold Pan – 14 inch

  $8.95 – This pan has been a popular choice among prospectors for a long time and it’s the only pan with a patented riffled design. It’s a good, solid pan with a deep bottom and three riffled traps to catch your gold.

  Garret’s pans has been tested and proven worldwide to find gold.

• 

  Buy Now

  Metal Gold Pan – 14 inch

  $8.99 – During the gold rush days miners on the way to the gold field could spend a small fortune on a gold pan and shovel. Times have changed though, now you can get a classic steel gold pan just like the ’49ers would’ve used for less than ten bucks. This pan also doubles as cookware around the campfire. Back in the days miners actually threw their pans into the fire until they ended up with an almost bluish black colored pan, which made the gold stand out better. As some people say, it was metal pans just like this that built the US economy, and a lot of prospectors still prefer metal pans.

• 

  Buy Now

  Archer Gold Pan – 10 inch

  $5.95 – Proudly made in the USA, this gold pan from Jobe is seen as one of the best 10 inch pans out there. Available in terracotta red or steel gray (picture at left), the Archer pan is made of rigid and light-weight plastic, features two raised, nearly undercut riffles and a drop bottom.

  This pan is great as a backup pan and is the perfect size for kids.

Fastest route to panning gold

The easiest way to get started with gold panning is to buy a gold panning kit. Most kits include all the basic tools that you need, for example a snuffer bottle for sucking up the gold, and a vial for storing the gold. Here’s some gold panning kits that I’ll walk you through, item by item.

Back to Gold Panning 101

Related Links

Gold Panning Guide – How To Pan Gold The Effective Way
Gold Panning Videos