Step 2: Find a Place to Go Gold Panning
The next thing you are going to need is a stream to pan in. You'll want to pick one that has a history of producing placer gold. You can strike out on your own and prospect streams that haven't been mined in the past, but odds are you won't find any undiscovered gold deposits. At one time or another, every stream, river, creek, and beach in North America has been test panned by prospectors. So odds are, you won't find anything new. Going where gold has been found in the past is your best bet. Besides, over time, more gold weathers out of the bedrock and gets carried down into the same creeks and streams that have been mined in the past. Every rainstorm deposits more gold in the stream beds. So don't worry that all the gold has been mined out.
If the stream isn't on public land, get permission from the owner first, or move on. Nobody likes trespassers. If the stream is on public land, make sure there isn't an active mining claim in the area where you want to do your panning. Also check with the agency that manages the land the stream is on. They may have restrictions on what sorts of activities are allowed there. If it is a designated wilderness area, then you probably aren't allowed to do any prospecting there. Even if prospecting and recreational mining activities are allowed on the land, there may be restrictions on where you can do it and what sort of equipment is allowed.
This photo shows my favorite little secret place to pan for gold. I'm not going to tell you where it is because I like the fact that it isn't very crowded. I will tell you what makes it such a good spot though. Not a lot of people know about it. It is on public land where recreational mining and prospecting is allowed. It has a history of producing lots of gold. It is not hard to get to. It is just far enough off the beaten path that most people miss it, even though the general area is overrun with people most weekends during the summer.
I usually go panning here in the late spring. The floods from winter storms and the early spring snow melt wash fresh gold into the stream every year. By late spring the water level is down and it has warmed up enough that the water is ice free (but still really cold). By summer though, this stream is usually bone dry. You can't pan without water.
If the stream isn't on public land, get permission from the owner first, or move on. Nobody likes trespassers. If the stream is on public land, make sure there isn't an active mining claim in the area where you want to do your panning. Also check with the agency that manages the land the stream is on. They may have restrictions on what sorts of activities are allowed there. If it is a designated wilderness area, then you probably aren't allowed to do any prospecting there. Even if prospecting and recreational mining activities are allowed on the land, there may be restrictions on where you can do it and what sort of equipment is allowed.
This photo shows my favorite little secret place to pan for gold. I'm not going to tell you where it is because I like the fact that it isn't very crowded. I will tell you what makes it such a good spot though. Not a lot of people know about it. It is on public land where recreational mining and prospecting is allowed. It has a history of producing lots of gold. It is not hard to get to. It is just far enough off the beaten path that most people miss it, even though the general area is overrun with people most weekends during the summer.
I usually go panning here in the late spring. The floods from winter storms and the early spring snow melt wash fresh gold into the stream every year. By late spring the water level is down and it has warmed up enough that the water is ice free (but still really cold). By summer though, this stream is usually bone dry. You can't pan without water.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpFlag this comment as:
Not NiceInappropriateSpam
skipmcomber
says:
Dec 28, 2009. 12:06 PMReply
As a new paner, can anyone point out where to get maps in California showing streams that were gold producing and what type of land they sit on? I would like to know a resorce list to call or e-mail to determine access restrictions on public lands that encompass these streams.
grumpygrady
in reply to Feb 21, 2010. 9:47 AMReply
google GPPA and gold in california
mistazimbahater
says:
Jul 20, 2009. 9:37 AMReply
i realize you dont want to say where this is, and thats fine, but is it anywhere near congress or prescott? and if it is, is it near the trailsend mine?
4
lil jon168
says:
May 9, 2009. 5:32 AMReply
omg u went from florida to arizona?!?!?!?!?!?!
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
