Gold prospecting near me
Gold has been recorded at 20,280 sites on the map. 1,163 of them are placer ground, where gold sits loose in creek gravel and a pan can work it. Most of the others are old hard-rock mines.
Gold panning equipment
Buy the first two before anything else.
Step 1Gold pan and classifierA 14-inch riffled pan and a screen to take out the gravel first. Everything else is optional.See it on Amazon →Compare picks
Step 2Snuffer bottle and vialsSucks the flakes out of the pan so your first colour makes it home instead of back into the creek.See it on Amazon →
Step 3Sluice boxRuns far more gravel than a pan, and the riffles hold the heavy gold. Check your state’s rules on motorised equipment first.See it on Amazon →Compare picks
Step 4Metal detectorFor nuggets in dry ground and old workings. Start with an entry machine; gold-specific detectors can wait.See it on Amazon →Compare picks
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Photos: Gold pan by Nate Cull, CC BY 2.0; Placer gold by James St. John, CC BY 2.0; Sluice box by Nienetwiler, CC BY 2.5 CH; Metal detector by Zalfija, CC BY 4.0.
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Where to find gold in a creek
Gold is about 19 times heavier than water, so a creek drops it wherever the current slows: on the inside of bends, behind boulders and in cracks in the bedrock. Dig down to bedrock and pan the gravel sitting on it.
- Sites with gold
- 20,280
- Placer sites
- 1,163
- Most gold sites
- California, 901
- Active federal claims
- 565,193 in 16 states
Learn to prospect for gold
- Gold prospecting in streamsWhere a creek drops its gold, and the best season and time of day to pan it.
- Banks, gullies and hillsWhere gold sits away from running water: old banks, gullies and hillsides.
- Gold prospecting clubsClubs hold claims their members can work, and run group outings.
- The history of goldFrom the earliest worked gold to the great strikes and the mining districts of the United States.
- Why people prospectThe outdoors, the history, the clubs and what a find can be worth.
- Prospecting books and toolsThe guidebooks and equipment prospectors recommend, compared.
Gold prospecting, topic by topic
Gold panning questions
Where can I pan for gold near me?
Open the gold map and filter to the sites near you. There are 1,163 placer sites on the map, with the most gold sites in California, Nevada, Oregon, Montana and Idaho.
Do you need a permit to pan for gold?
Panning with a pan and shovel on open BLM land usually needs no permit. Sluices, dredges and anything motorised often do, and state rules differ.
Can you keep gold you find?
On open public land, yes, in recreational amounts. On an active mining claim the gold belongs to the claimant unless you have their permission.
How do I tell gold from pyrite or mica?
Gold stays the same buttery yellow in sun and shade, and it is soft: a knife point dents it without breaking it. Pyrite is brassy and brittle and crumbles to a dark powder. Mica flashes bright and then goes dark as you turn the pan. Gold is also about 19 times heavier than water, so it sinks straight to the bottom.
Do I need any experience to start?
No. A pan, a classifier screen and an afternoon on a creek with known gold is enough to learn. A local club or a pay-to-dig site with a guide is the quickest way to see it done.
Is gold prospecting safe?
It is as safe as any day beside moving water if you plan for it. Wear boots with grip, carry water and a first aid kit, watch for flash floods in narrow canyons, stay out of old mine openings and tell someone where you are going.
Data: rockhounding.org site database, sites that list gold among their finds; BLM mining claims, updated weekly.