Gold Prospecting Areas

Places to go

This page is where we will explore some good places to try your luck. You probably won't find your "retirement nugget" in these places but there could be enough gold to keep you interested.

I would like to really expand the "Where to Find It" section of Minin' Gold. What I'm looking for are fairly specific places where prospectors (especially beginners or those visiting from other states) can reasonably expect to find some gold with a pan, sluice box and/or metal detector. I would prefer places that are open to anyone without charge or having to join a club. I received some info on Calaveras County, CA from Ward Hollesen and it is a great example. If you have a web site with this kind of info broken out by state, let me know and I will link to those pages.

I'm not looking for your "hot spot" or "glory hole", just places where we can get and keep people interested in our hobby. There is strength in numbers which we will need to fight off the regulations that are threatening our right to prospect.

Important: Keep in mind things change over time. Areas mentioned here as open to prospecting now may not be open in the future. It is your responsibility to determine the land status *and* any regulations applicable to the area you are interested in.

Click on the state you are interested in for local info.

USA Map

AL | AK | AZ | AR | CA | CO | CT | DE | DC | FL | GA | ID | IL | IN | IA | KS | KY | LA
ME | MD | MA | MI | MN | MS | MO | MT | NE | NV | NH | NJ | NM | NY | NC | ND
OH | OK | OR | PA | RI | SC | SD | TN | TX | UT | VT | VA | WA | WV | WI | WY

General notes on where to find gold

I get a lot of e-mail asking where to find gold in Kansas or Rhode Island etc. I don't know much about where to go other than a few places in Northern California. Here are a few suggestions:

Join a prospecting club. Many clubs own claims for the exclusive use of their members. Some also have outings in good gold areas throughout the year. The experienced club members you will find at the meetings and outings are usually more than willing to answer your questions.
Find the closest mining equipment dealer to the area you are interested in. Try the yellow pages under Mining Equipment and/or Metal Detectors. Keene Engineering advertises in all the mining magazines and the ads have a listing of their dealers sorted by state. Local dealers will probably be your best source of information. Oh, it helps if you are buying something when prying information out of them.
Buy a book! Again, a local dealer should have the best selection of "where to go" books for their area. Another good source is Cal-Gold. Although they are located in Southern California, they have a good selection of books on other areas. Take a look at their book list.
Check the alt.mining.recreational newsgroup FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list. There is a lot of good information in the FAQ and you may just find what you are looking for.
Ask your questions in the alt.mining.recreational newsgroup. There is a much better chance someone will have the answer in the newsgroup than if you ask me.
Try Tom Ashworth's site for more gold locations.

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