Finding Gold in Colorado

Staying Safe While Prospecting

Thu, 29 May 2025 15:17:48 -0600

As you head out into the wilds, or even just wander down to the neighborhood creek to go prospecting, it is wise to think about safety and being prepared for problems. There are several items I always carry along on outings to improve my safety and ability to deal with problems along the way. Some of them are simple things tossed in the bottom of my pack, like a length of rope to fasten a sluice in place if I am worried about it getting washed away, or an old raincoat to keep me dry in a storm, or just to stay warmer if I slip and fall in the water. Other items are for more exotic situations but are perhaps even more important since they can be life and death! FYI: I chose to work with these websites because they offer great service and better prices than other online sources. Some of the products I recommend provide small referral fees to me if you make a purchase. Of course, I only recommend what I use myself whether I get these fees or not.

Epithermal Gold Deposits

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 11:09:37 -0600

Just ignore the fact that it purports to be about Newfoundland and Labrador!

Here is an amazingly good article on epithermal gold deposits. Highly relevant to Colorado because it explains the vast majority of our gold deposits. Of course, we also have volcanic deposits such as in Cripple Creek and Lake City areas, but the majority of our hard rock gold occurrences in the Colorado Gold Belt are epithermal in origin. Enjoy this deep dive into geology and remember “wherever there is hard rock gold, there will be placer gold there and downstream as well”!

The Dolores River and The Hanging Flume

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 11:09:08 -0600

http://www.denverpost.com/2012/04/13/121-year-old-western-colorado-mining-flume-clings-to-its-secrets/

Click on the picture above to go to the article directly. Or try this Colorado mining flume clings to its secrets – The Denver Post. Just don’t click on the DP logo at the bottom of the image since that takes you to their overall webpage.

The Dolores River runs through an amazing range of environments as it flows through western Colorado. It has surprisingly good gold in spots right at river level along the river and on benches above the current river on the lower Dolores too. One of these lower Dolores sites had good enough gold to motivate the construction of the “hanging flume” which is described so well in the linked article. The flume was meant to bring water to a gold-rich hillside dozens of feet above the current river level during an era before cost-effective water pumps were available. Unfortunately, the mining operation was unable to successfully capture the gold with the mining equipment available at that time. Not a total loss, the flume was used for a few years to provide water to cattle kept on the site of the failed mine. Even that use stopped fairly quickly though. This was because dirt and rocks washed off the cliff every spring into the flume, damaging and blocking it within a few years.

Chills and Thrills (winter prospecting) magazine article!

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 11:08:43 -0600

https://findinggoldincolorado.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ChillsAndThrills_KevinSingel-1.pdf

Check out this magazine article I wrote! It was published in the Gold Prospectors Association of America’s GPAA Gold Prospector, Jan/Feb 2024 edition.

Of course, I also suggest joining the GPAA at www.goldprospectors.org or at least subscribing to their magazine for 25 bucks a year.

HAVE FUN going prospecting all over Colorado using the information in the gold prospecting sites section of this website (START HERE) or leveling up by getting copies of my guidebooks. Between the two books, they list over 450 unclaimable, public access prospecting sites across the state! Learn more about our guidebooks on this page.

Year-round Gold Prospecting in Colorado

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 22:48:39 -0600

A lot of prospectors talk about their “gold prospecting season”. Even here in Colorado where we get all four seasons, this idea seems a little limiting to me. In the last decade or so, I’ve been able to go prospecting at least once every month around the calendar! Many months have included lots of outings of course. In fact, since Father’s Day 2011, I’ve only missed digging in two months out of all of those years. Many years, all of that digging was done right here in Colorado!

The King of Colorado Gold Dredging

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 00:36:32 -0600

Benjamin Stanley Revett was a British-born mining engineer and entrepreneur who made his fortune in the gold-dredging business in Colorado. He was known as the “Gold Dredge King” for his innovative use of dredge boats to scoop up riverbed material in search of gold for the first time in Colorado. He also built a lavish Victorian style mansion near Breckenridge, called Swan’s Nest, as a summer home for his wife and himself.

Ben Parker: Colorado Gold Placer Mining Hero

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 22:54:48 -0600

Ben Parker is justifiably one of the heroes of the Colorado gold prospecting community. He was a student at Colorado School of Mines over 60 years ago. For his dissertation, he chose to create a compilation of ALL the information he could find about gold placer deposits across the state. He used original source material from every commercial gold mine he could find to build this giant summary document. This is a massive piece of work as you might guess.

I’m on TV!

Sat, 17 Jun 2023 19:30:07 -0600

There was recently a broadcast of a short piece about prospecting in metro Denver with long time fellow prospector and friend JJ Long and me. The local TV station, KDVR 31 runs special interest stories about cool things across the state. When they decided to talk about gold prospectors, they reached out to my friend JJ who has been a very visible leader in our prospecting community for the last decade. JJ asked me to join him, which I was excited to do of course!

The Wandering Prospector Guidebook

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 23:16:16 -0600

We are excited to offer you the next book in our gold prospecting guidebook series**. Finding Gold in Colorado: The Wandering Prospector** - Volume 2 in our guidebook series. A #1 New Release in its category and a frequent Amazon bestseller, it includes over 340 pages of all new material covering 270 new prospecting sites across Colorado gold country. This book represents five years of research and exploration trips from late 2018 through into early 2023. It also represents the collaboration of many of my fellow prospectors in the Finding Gold in Colorado Facebook group. Without them, many of these prospecting areas might have been overlooked or gone untested. I update the book annually with any rule changes or other information learned along the way. Now updated for 2025!

Edwin Carter Museum

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 12:55:45 -0700

Free Admission!

The Edwin Carter Museum on the east edge of downtown Breckenridge is a charming little museum housed in the original log cabin of Edwin Carter. Carter was a multitalented guy and was in Breck for its early days. If you are exploring Breck during a visit, this is a fun museum to check out. You’ll learn about Carter’s naturalist passion and his part in the gold mining history of the area. Even if you linger over the exhibits, this is a quick 30 minutes Museum stop.

Welcome New Prospector!

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 00:21:58 -0600

Hi all, the following article is from Paul Schiffer. Paul is a relatively new prospector who has taken a very intense approach to the initial learning process so I thought he would be a good person to write a guide for other new prospectors.

Kevin and Paul

Now here’s Paul:
At some time, everyone reading this decided to at least explore the idea of finding gold in Colorado.

Finding Gold Beyond Colorado

Mon, 30 May 2022 13:47:42 -0600

Although this website is fundamentally about Colorado, I do get to prospect in other places now and then. In the past I have been able to prospect across North America in Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado (obviously!), Georgia, Massachusetts, and Michigan. I’ve also found gold in Portugal and most recently in Puerto Rico. I hope to write about each of these areas and more! Here’s to many more gold adventures in the future!

Finding Gold in Puerto Rico

Mon, 30 May 2022 09:00:27 -0600

Gold prospecting in Puerto Rico dates back to at least the Spanish in the early to mid-1600’s, so it’s no surprise there’s still gold to be found today!! On a recent visit, my wife and I were able to spend some time gold panning the Mameyes River in the USFS El Yunque National Forest. As the only tropical rainforest in the United States Forest Service (USFS) system, it’s a special place: jungle greenery, waterfalls and gold - all less than an hour east of San Juan!

Making a Ring From Your Gold

Sat, 14 May 2022 07:23:03 -0600

A common goal for gold prospectors is to get enough gold to make a ring. Maybe for themselves or for a loved one, but either way, I am often asked what it takes to do this. So, here’s what it takes:

TLDR: You need about 5 grams of pure gold to make one ring. Then you need a goldsmith with the skills to do the job.

The ring I had made for Laura. The flowers are daisies she has doodled for years.

Gold Prospecting in different types of Streams

Fri, 15 Apr 2022 17:13:08 -0600

Finding the best gold deposits in a stream is a tricky business. It is made more challenging by the fact that there is more than one sort of waterway. When we look at a stream to decide where to do our first sample pans, it helps to know what we are looking at in a little bit of detail. So what are the types of waterways? How do we identify each? Oh, and what do we look for in each one to find the GOLD?

Mines of the Alpine Loop Books Available!

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 11:24:07 -0600

New Books available inspire adventurers to visit old mining sites in the southwest of Colorado!

As an affiliate marketer I get fees if you buy certain products through my website. I ONLY recommend things I’ve used extensively and love. If you like the info here, please do buy through the links here, it’s the only thing that covers the costs of building & running the site and it won’t cost you extra.

Breckenridge Gold Prospecting History Talk

Thu, 01 Jul 2021 01:23:26 -0600

This is a presentation on the history of gold mining in the Breckenridge, Colorado area, which I gave in collaboration with the Frisco Museum & Historic Park and our local TV station. They were kind enough to post a copy of the broadcast on YouTube so I can share it with you! https://youtu.be/6d2FLfoFPoM

In this video you will learn a bit about the history of the gold rushes in Breckenridge and Summit County. I also cover info on where you can see the history, where you can do fun things like tour an underground mine right outside the town of Breckenridge (www.countryboymine.com ) and where you can pan for gold. Of course, for specific details on all the local gold-related attractions and the exact spots you can go gold panning in the wild, you will want my book. Learn all the ways to get the book at www.findinggoldincolorado.com/buy-the-book/

Local press covers gold panning

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 23:20:48 -0700

5280 Magazine is the premier magazine in metro Denver. I was thrilled to see that when they recently wrote an article on gold panning, they chose to reference this website twice! I’m so happy my efforts to serve the prospecting community are reaching a broader audience. On top of that, our state Governor was inspired to promote the article on Facebook in the spirit of encouraging healthy, safe outdoor activity that is “Covid friendly”. Wow, just wow! Here’s the article, I hope you enjoy it 🙂

Colorado Gold Mining during the Great Depression

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 21:55:11 -0700

Was it the last hurrah of the small scale miners?

Gold mining in Colorado goes back a long way of course. One of the more interesting periods after the initial gold rushes is the Great Depression era of the 1930’s. The industry went into the Great Depression in a weakened condition. In the 1920’s inflation had made the cost of operation prohibitive for many small miners already. Interestingly, the conservative Republicans leading Colorado state government through the 20’s did nothing to help the industry that had created the state. The early years of the Depression continued this theme until the New Deal programs were implemented by President Roosevelt and the Democrats in 1932. Funny how politics evolves over time right? Of course the government interventions would also have its disadvantages as we will see.

Castle Rock Conglomerate gold in metro-Denver

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 11:03:44 -0700

One of the great mysteries which stumped The early gold rush pioneers was the gold they found in metro-Denver, and south of there, which seemed to have no upstream source. This mystery was highlighted several times in the early stages of the gold rush:

- decent gold found in spring 1850 in lower Ralston Creek by Louis Ralston brought William Greenberry Russell and his Cherokee friends back to the front range in 1858 but they found very little gold in upper Ralston Creek and no signs of a source lode deposit;

Finding Gold in Colorado Books

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 22:18:15 -0700

Our book collection!

Here at Finding Gold in Colorado, we have stepped up to create and publish the books Colorado prospectors want and need. We currently offer four books:

Finding Gold in Colorado: Prospector’s Edition Volume 1 of our guidebook series, provides 20 chapters of information on all the major gold mining areas of the state in 480 pages. It includes history, touristic info on what to go see, and where you can dig as a visiting casual prospector. With 186, unclaimable, public access dig sites, it is the keystone book in our collection! Learn more and buy Amazon #1 New Release and #1 Category Best Seller here. Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats!
Finding Gold in Colorado: The Wandering Prospector Volume 2 of our guidebook series adds another 270 unclaimable, public access dig sites. Many of these new sites add to the information in Volume 1’s chapters; Volume 2 also includes five new chapters covering sites in whole areas unmentioned in Volume 1. Available in paperback and hardcover versions. Released in May 2023, it immediately earned a #1 New Release and then #1 Best Seller status in its category on Amazon! Learn more and buy h ere.
Finding Gold in Colorado: Inspiring Images uses the same chapter structure as the Prospector’s Edition to present over 150 pages of gorgeous, full color photos highlighting the beauty of Colorado Gold Country. This book will inspire you to go explore! Learn more and buy here.
Finding Gold in Colorado: Prospecting Log helps you track your prospecting outings at the level of detail needed to help you learn more, faster, as you develop your skills and explore the state. Also, an excellent way to track the work done on a mining claim, this book is a smart prospecting tool. Learn more and buy here.

The links above tell you more about each book and where to find each one. Meanwhile, here’s my “Honor Roll” list of where to find all four books in the same store:

Finding Gold in Colorado: Prospecting Log

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 21:44:26 -0700

We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new tool every prospector should put to work! Keeping track of where you dig will help more than you may realize. By tracking our outings and how those trips turn out, we can learn more, faster, and become better prospectors. This is something I have done informally for years and I finally got around to designing a proper log book. With Laura’s help, and the contribution of a bunch of her inspiring photos to make it more fun, we are both happy to announce the publication of Finding Gold in Colorado: Prospecting Log.

Finding Gold in Colorado: Inspiring Images

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 10:03:11 -0700

We are very excited to announce the next book in the Finding Gold in Colorado collection! Finding Gold in Colorado: Inspiring Images takes you on a photographic journey through Colorado Gold Country. If you enjoy the Prospector’s Edition, you’ll love this new book. It includes hundreds of full color photos, all organized in the same chapter structure as the first book but so much more beautiful!

Think Like a Miner

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 21:45:35 -0600

Think like a miner. Hmm what does that mean if you are a small scale prospector in a public access prospecting area? Well, a miner is someone working a mine. Maybe on their own claim or someone else’s. Either way, a miner thinks longer term. They know they will be back to get more of the gold and they know their mining activity is being judged by all who pass by.

Gold Panning In Southwest Colorado

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 22:03:08 -0600

The southwest part of Colorado was the last area properly explored by US gold prospectors as they migrated across the state. Many towns such as Ouray, Telluride, Silverton, Durango, Rico, Dolores and Placerville owe their existence to the early prospectors.

Excerpted from Ben Parker’s dissertation on Colorado Gold Placers (see link below). Dark lines and X-marks indicate areas of significant placer deposits (as known in 1960). Additional interesting deposits do exist beyond what Parker was able to document…go sampling and “Find Your GOLD!”

Prospecting Waterfalls

Tue, 16 Jun 2020 00:10:10 -0600

Whether in a little stream or a big river, waterfalls can create interesting areas to prospect. If you’ve looked closely at even a small drop, you may have been excited by various features of a waterfall such as the plunge pool where the water drops or perhaps an area of bedrock exposed by the rushing water.

Most plunge pools are scrubbed out fairly throughly and have surprisingly little gold. The abrasive movement of rocks flowing over the waterfall grinds any material in the pool. Then the ground up material gets blown out of the pool. So where does the gold accumulate? There are a few likely areas that should be sampled by a wise prospector.

Gold Rush Ghost Towns

Sat, 11 Jan 2020 10:32:13 -0700

Prospectors out exploring often look for, or stumble onto, old ghost towns left behind by the gold rush. These can be fascinating to explore whether they are truly abandoned, preserved, or even still in use. In my book I give directions to visit virtually every significant gold mining ruins area in Colorado. My wife and I visited a few in summer 2019:

The Mountain Pride Mill outside Breckenridge

Fallen smokestacks amid collapsed mill buildings

Texas Creek BLM prospecting site

Sun, 24 Nov 2019 01:50:45 -0700

The Arkansas River has lots of spots where prospecting is allowed in some form. The Texas Creek BLM site is a bit unique as you can see if you study the map - both parking and access are wedged in around private property. The north parking is also used by ATV enthusiasts since it is the starting point of some extensive ATV trails to the north. Whether you use the north parking site or the west one, please be sure to only park in a designated area. Both parking areas are quite close to the dig area. There’s only public access to the river here because the private land owner generously allows the public passage across their land. Be a good guest: stay on the established paths and only dig on the strip of public land.

Far Northwest Colorado Gold

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 22:25:34 -0600

Ever heard of the Iron Springs Divide? How about the Little Snake River? Maybe Lay Creek? These are geographic features in far northwest Colorado and are geographical highlights of a gold bearing region better known for the town of Craig, Dinosaur National Monument, and the Yampa River.

The placer gold in this region of the state was good enough to attract the attention of commercial gold dredges in the first part of the 20th century and it’s still good enough to draw small scale prospectors today!

Cocktails of the Colorado Gold Rush

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 22:08:56 -0600

This post is really just for fun!! For serious info about prospecting in Colorado, start on the home page: www.findinggoldincolorado.com

Ever wonder what the gold rush era miners drank besides beer and straight whisky? Here’s a couple popular cocktails you might like to experiment with yourself:

Cherry Bounce:

This drink stems from the early American “shrubs” – a combination of fruit and brandy or rum. When made properly, the “bounce” is a delicious liqueur that is full of history. Apparently even Martha Washington used to make it with the whiskey George produced on their farm. At the holidays she would add cinnamon and nutmeg.

Finding gold in Colorado! The George Andrew Jackson story.

Fri, 29 Mar 2019 20:10:54 -0600

Interested in what it was like to be a prospector before the Colorado Gold Rush? Here’s the journal of the first U.S. person to discover serious gold in Colorado and then mine it. George Andrew Jackson was a big part of making the Pikes Peak Gold Rush of 1859 into a success.

George Andrew Jackson

By the time George arrived in Colorado, he was already an accomplished prospector and outdoorsman. Indeed, his hunting skills served him very well until he could start mining in the spring of 1859. Obviously, his prospecting skills were excellent too. In fact, he was the first prospector to discover serious gold in Colorado and stick around long enough to make his personal fortune mining it. You could say his discovery, which also led to Gregory’s discovery of the first commercial scale hard rock claim, rescued the Colorado Gold Rush from being a “no-gold” rush! Here’s his story in his words:
https://www.historycolorado.org/sites/default/files/media/document/2018/ColoradoMagazine_v12n6_November1935.pdf

Gold in black sands?

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 23:58:41 -0700

This article about the truth of gold in Colorado black sands is a guest post by David Emslie. David has done extensive research in this area and is the owner of Prospectors Gold & Gems in Fort Collins. He provides refining services to many commercial placer mines and hard rock mines across Colorado. He is also happy to work with individuals who want to buy or sell placer gold, silver or scrap. Learn more about his business at www.prospectorsgoldandgems.com or in this article http://findinggoldincolorado.com/getting-your-gold-refined-prospectors-gold-gems/

BLM & Mining

Sat, 16 Feb 2019 11:22:41 -0700

A guest post by my friend Barry at www.mylandmatters.org

There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about the BLM’s role in mining. I keep seeing prospectors looking to the BLM as if it’s an authority on mining or it’s the government agency that controls mining. The truth is a lot more interesting than those myths. To begin with the BLM had no role in mining claims until 1976. Even then the Mining Acts (laws) did not change. A little history about the BLM and mining claims might help understanding the BLM’s role in mining and how we got here.

Prospector Library

Mon, 28 Jan 2019 23:19:21 -0700

The “core 4” books for a Colorado Prospector

Note: I get paid referral fees for things purchased through this website. Thanks in advance!

Of course, I think you need my book Finding Gold in Colorado:Prospector’s Edition if you are gold prospecting Colorado (get it here) oh and Finding Gold in Colorado: The Wandering Prospector (get it here) for even more legal dig sites. There are a few other print resources I’d also recommend. One caution: online prices for these next three books are generally higher than you will pay in a prospecting shop! If you can get to a local prospecting shop, go there for the best deal!

Logo Gear Available

Wed, 02 Jan 2019 20:41:18 -0700

Like this website and the Finding Gold in Colorado books? Want other prospectors to know you’re in the know? Then check this out! Lots of cool gear with the official logo on it.

Note: I get a small commission from each item sold on Red Bubble so…thanks for your support!

There’s all sorts of stuff: T-shirts, coffee mugs, note pads, stickers, even a dress! Just click here or copy the link below into your browser.

How to: Buy a Mining Claim -the smart way

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 17:01:59 -0700

Many small-scale prospectors dream of owning their own mining claim but don’t want to face the challenge of locating a new one. Instead, the idea of buying an existing claim sounds more appealing. Is this you or maybe your prospecting buddy?

Pounding in a dredge anchor on a mining claim in western Boulder County. My friend bought this claim and has done very well with it.

Buying an existing mining claim on federally managed public lands can be a fast path to accelerate your gold accumulation or just a path to frustration and an empty wallet. If you want to improve your chances of buying wisely, here are some tips for you:

Gold Panning in Utah? You need this book!

Sun, 09 Dec 2018 12:09:15 -0700

Our next-door neighbors in Utah have some beautiful lands worth exploring. This is also true for gold prospecting in Utah. While there was never a real gold rush in Utah, there are accessible placer deposits in each quadrant of the state. If you are interested in learning more, you need Alan Chenworth’s book Gold Panning in Utah, second edition. Having looked at everything available, I’m confident this is by far the best resource out there. You can find it on Amazon here.

Prospecting bench gold placers

Fri, 30 Nov 2018 23:54:12 -0700

Gold bearing placer streams in Colorado are generally many thousands of years old, sometimes millions of years old. In that much time, a stream can move around and erode much deeper into a valley. As this happens, cobble deposits containing gold can be orphaned, or left behind, by the flowing water. As the stream continues to erode deeper into the valley floor, the old riverbed cobble and gold deposit ends up sitting high and dry on a hillside.

Ore Dump Gold Prospecting

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 22:00:58 -0700

When exploring old mining districts across Colorado, prospectors may run into hard rock mines with ore dumps nearby. These large piles of brocken rock from underground can contain impressive gold/rock specimens and overlooked ore.

Mine-side ore dumps are often a combination of barren rock removed as the original miners followed the vein, and ore which was rejected as too poor to bother shipping to the mill. Sometimes it’s possible to visually inspect the piles to identify waste rock and low grade ore. However, often this is difficult because the whole pile is a yellowish color.

Prospecting Colorado Skim Bars

Fri, 02 Nov 2018 01:18:53 -0600

Many of the waterways of Colorado are gold bearing and carry flood gold downstream during high water seasons. As many placer gold prospectors quickly learn, flood gold accumulates in cobble bars. Studying the details of how gold accumulates in a cobble bar will dramatically increase gold production for casual prospectors.

Prospectors usually know to dig on the upper end of a cobble bar or at its widest point to find good gold. Many will hit the spots with collections of larger rocks. All good strategies.

FGIC - The Guidebooks

Fri, 19 Oct 2018 23:00:37 -0600

Here are all the articles directly related our guidebooks. The books expand dramatically on the information provided on this website. They include MANY more places to dig (over 450 between the two books!!), more gold mining & history tourism and more fun!

The Wandering Prospector Guidebook

Volume 2 in our Guidebook Series, this book is a “must have” for prospectors.

Also, here’s a cool story that ran on TV that highlights our first guidebook. A big thanks to David V for the support!

Finding Gold in Colorado Book Index

Fri, 19 Oct 2018 22:45:35 -0600

Finding Gold in Colorado Book Index: The following index will be included in books published in late 10/2018 and onward. It is provided here for those who own the earlier version of the book in an effort to continue to make the book more useful to all. For those without the book, I hope it serves to give a sense of the scope of the book (and yes, the chapters are lettered instead of numbered, that’s just how it worked out). To see a map of the areas covered in the book go here. For more info on the book, check out this article - www.findinggoldincolorado.com/buy-the-book/

Lions Open Space Park in Laporte - Prospecting Tips

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 23:54:52 -0600

Welcome sign at the turn into the parking lot

Can you see the little specks of gold to the left of my suction pipette and toward the upper end?

Lions Park is about as challenging a place to pan as you may ever find. Well, that may be overstating it a little bit. The Cache la Poudre River runs through the park bringing small amounts of very fine gold downstream to collect here where the river is flatter and slower than upstream. There are a couple of nice, cobbled bends here to explore. Just be prepared for gold so small you can barely see it. When I visited, I did ten test pans and saw a few specks in my pans. Careful processing of my concentrates later produced a grand total of six specks of gold.

Helpful websites for the small scale Colorado prospector

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 16:19:23 -0600

In the course of the research for my book (buy it here) and otherwise, I found quite a few online resources to be helpful. So, to give others a hand, here is my random collection of helpful web links. But first here’s a picture of some gold…because, gold.

A nice day in the water.

DRCOG interactive GIS of parks in metro Denver showing ownership https://data.drcog.org/dataset/parks-recreation-and-open-space-2016

To locate and identify every little waterway in metro-Denver: http://mapsearch.udfcd.org

Respect Claims

Thu, 20 Sep 2018 12:54:34 -0600

A professionally done claim marker

This is a claim marker for a claim next to one of the spots in my book. It’s accurate and quite clear in what it is marking. Even without this, a gps will guide you in staying on the public lands where you are welcome since I provide GPS coordinates for the edges of each public access area. Please don’t go wandering around an unfamiliar site without both using a gps as well as looking for signs of various sorts.

Map of dig areas by chapter for Finding Gold in Colorado Books

Tue, 18 Sep 2018 23:16:17 -0600

To help those of you planning trips, this simple map shows you which areas of the state are covered in each chapter of the book Finding Gold in Colorado - Prospectors Edition. This image should print fairly well at 8x10 but be sure to set your printer to “best” print quality.

Chapters A-R across Colorado, the chapters in Volume 1 Finding Gold in Colorado: Prospectors Edition

Buy the Book! Finding Gold in Colorado: Prospector’s Edition

Sun, 27 May 2018 18:04:41 -0600

The preeminent guidebook on gold prospecting across Colorado is now available here and ‘in stores everywhere’. Awarded recognition as the “#1 New Release” in its category on Amazon in June 2018 and an “Amazon Bestseller” frequently since! Over 10,000 sold in the first 5 years. Re-edited and updated annually. Note: As an affiliate marketer I get fees if you buy certain products through my website.

Get it on Amazon here or in a local store listed below (support your local prospecting shop!).

Museum of Northwest Colorado & prospecting In Craig

Tue, 01 May 2018 00:07:49 -0600

The Museum in central Craig

The Museum of Northwest Colorado (http://www.museumnwco.org) recently added a permanent exhibit on the gold prospecting and mining history of that part of our state. This area is not well known for gold since there was no significant gold rush around these parts. The historical prospectors found gold but the lack of water and small gold particle sizes limited commercial options in the late 1800’s. So they left the gold for us!

Specific Gold Prospecting Gear Recommendations

Mon, 26 Mar 2018 12:59:36 -0600

As a affiliate marketer I get fees if you buy certain products through my website. I ONLY recommend things I’ve used extensively and love. If you like the info here, please do buy through the links here, it’s the only thing that covers the costs of building & running the site and it won’t cost you extra.

Beginner’s panning kit: I go with Garrett because too many of the others include pans you’ll eventually toss aside in favor of something better. Garrett makes a whole line of well designed, popular pans (I mention one below which isn’t in the kit but is a nice addition.) Check out the Garrett kit here. Side comment: here’s a great video from Dan Hurd on gold panning. Skip to the 5-minute mark to see him start the panning process if you are impatient lol! For your first sluice see my thoughts on Geo Sluice and Dream Mat products below. Either one is a great choice, but the affordability of the Geo Sluice often makes it a first choice for new folks.

Colorado Gold Mine Tours - Hidee Mine

Sun, 25 Mar 2018 22:35:07 -0600

The Hidee Mine is one of the easier underground gold mine tours to do since you walk right into a flat, dry tunnel. It’s also very easy to get to from the Denver area. It’s on the Central City Parkway between I-70 and Central City. If you’ve been to Central City to gamble or see other historic gold mining community sights, this is an easy add-on. This mine is quite historic itself, it was patented in 1896 and operated intermittently into the modern era. You can read more about the mine history on the Hidee website at http://www.hideegoldmine.com/menu_aboutus/aboutus.htm

How to locate your own placer mining claim in Colorado

Thu, 25 Jan 2018 23:47:50 -0700

A supplemental corner marker (non-standard), placed 8 feet up on a tree to dissuade vandalism.

At some point, many casual prospectors get the itch to have their own claim. Then the discussion comes up about buying one vs. locating their own. Buying seems simpler to many but is rife with risks that lead to needing to do many of the same things as locating your own new claim requires. In the end, the decision is up to the individual prospector of course, but I caution those considering buying to confirm the legal status of the claim, and to properly sample it, BEFORE buying.

Getting your gold refined - Prospectors Gold & Gems

Sun, 07 Jan 2018 12:42:25 -0700

Prospectors Gold and Gems (PG&G) is an important asset in the commercial gold mining infrastructure of Colorado…available to prospectors all over. It is also more than that, it’s a one stop shop for a whole range of post-digging services small scale miners and active prospectors may desire.

Back in the late 90’s you may recall there were lots of internet businesses sprouting up, successfully tempting their founders to drop out of college to make a go of a rapidly growing business. That is exactly what happened to Fort Collins based PG&G founder, David Emslie. He started the company to earn money while in college just like Michael Dell (Dell Computers founder) and many others in the 90’s and before he knew it the business had hijacked his college career. The key difference is that David was studying Mining and Materials Engineering so in 1999 he started PG&G around his interests. At first the company focused on gems, jewelry making and jewelry-related metallurgy. In 2008, he responded to market demands by moving into gold and silver bullion production based on in-house refining systems he had designed and built.

Piñon Bridge BLM Prospecting Area - Prospecting Tips

Fri, 05 Jan 2018 22:20:59 -0700

The BLM manages what it calls the Piñon Bridge Recreational Placer Mining Area to allow casual prospecting by visitors on the San Miguel River. The land highlighted in green on the map is open to casual use but is unclaimable because it was previously private (railroad company) land and was reacquired by the Federal government. This area is in far western Colorado, south of the Grand Junction area and northwest of Telluride. There is a highway along the San Miguel River that runs direct between here and Telluride.

Welcome to the Mountains...Now Behave!

Sat, 02 Dec 2017 23:45:00 -0700

Some of my readers here are planning a visit to the Rocky Mountains as part of a family vacation, prospecting adventure or other sojourn. If you are inexperienced with real mountains, you may have some anxieties about coming. Worried about extreme weather, fast moving rivers, dangerous animals, road conditions or screwy locals? Good. You should be. Folks die every year here from mountain stuff they don’t understand.

Good news, I have a few points of advice here and guidance on how to learn more so you can have fun AND be safe in the mountains.

Vic’s Gold Panning

Thu, 16 Nov 2017 10:24:59 -0700

Jesse in front of the Chaffee Mine on-site at Vic’s Gold Panning

Most people stop at Vic’s Gold Panning to learn to gold pan. No shock right? But, honestly, there are lots of places to learn to gold pan…although some are less picturesque or less convenient (“Vic’s” is on the way from Denver to Blackhawk/Central City so its an easy stop when you headed up for some gambling fun). However, the real reason to learn here is the expertise and the great stories you’ll hear. It’s worth your ten bucks just to get to hang out with Jesse (the owner since he bought the place from Vic about 40 years ago!!) or one of his small staff to hear their mining stories. Even seasoned prospectors will be amazed and amused when they spend some time with these guys :) Feel free to also ask about any of the old machinery sitting around that may catch your eye…the site is loaded with mining equipment and other odds & ends. It’s been an active mine site for decades. The tourist panning operation has been running since 1957 and was highlighted in National Geographic magazine in August 1969. In fact, when I was just a kid, my dad read that article to me and that is what started my gold fever!

Western Museum of Mining & Industry

Fri, 10 Nov 2017 10:24:10 -0700

Welcome! Turn here :)

A visit to the WMMI will excite and educate anyone with an interest in gold mining in Colorado. Indeed, this museum could almost be called the Colorado Museum of Gold Mining! When I visited, I was thrilled to see their focus on gold mining while also educating on mining and mining history in general.

Your admission price ($10 or less depending on who you are) includes a guided tour of the museum by a volunteer docent. Do you want to bother with this tour? YES! Yes, you do, because your tour guide will operate much of the equipment on display!

Don’t Stop Now! (prospecting year-round)

Fri, 03 Nov 2017 08:15:39 -0600

Your author doing some off season digging in Colorado. The trees are brown, but the gold is still yellow!

Don’t stop now! It’s the perfect time of year to get out digging…of course I say that year-round, so I’m not worried about when you stumble over this article. As I write this, it’s the beginning of November and I’ve recently seen/heard several comments about the season ending (although in at least one case, the comment might be the person’s way of making an excuse to go hunting ;) ).

Norwood Bridge Recreational Placer Mining Area - Prospecting Tips

Sun, 10 Sep 2017 22:34:33 -0600

The BLM reacquired the land and river south of Norwood Bridge after it had been in private ownership. This unclaimable land along the San Miguel River is now available for your non-motorized prospecting.

San Miguel River in this area

BLM map with GPS coords (image courtesy of US BLM)

The gold here is pretty good! You get to this area by taking highway 145 easterly and southerly from the town of Norwood in western Colorado.

Where to look for gold & How to catch it

Thu, 10 Aug 2017 13:38:32 -0600

Your author tapping a pan in little tiny Cripple Creek

I get asked to provide my advice on where to look for gold in a creek and how to pan. I think there are already experts out there on YouTube so here are a few of the best…

First, here’s a great video for beginner prospectors on where to look for gold:

Second, a great explanation of how to pan from the master, Freddy Dodge. He is a great guy and a fellow Coloradan. Freddy also highlights the advantage of looking for bench deposits (only do that where it is allowed!). The actual panning starts at the 6 minute mark:

Rattlesnake Gulch public prospecting area

Mon, 24 Jul 2017 23:39:03 -0600

WARNING: This site may be closed due to environmental concerns. Contact the BLM office in Montrose or in Grand Junction before making plans to visit this location.

Rattlesnake Gulch is a historic area north of Delta off Highway 50. It was private (railroad) land which the BLM reacquired so it’s open to panning and sluicing but can’t be claimed! The turnoff is between mile marker 60-61on Highway 50 and is marked well (Rattlesnake Gulch Rd 730). The old road down to the Gunnison River is not bad but once you turn left to drive upstream along the railroad tracks, it is in rough shape, high clearance vehicles only are advised.

Prospecting at Middle Fork RV Resort

Sun, 02 Jul 2017 23:55:13 -0600

Stay at Middle Fork RV Resort in FairPlay, Colorado and you’ll get to park your RV on dredge tailings. Most importantly, the resort allows those staying there to dig virgin dirt and pan or sluice it.

Gold from 4 hours of sluicing when we stayed at the RV resort. I love the tree shaped picker I found :)

The virgin dirt comes from the east side of the property at the edge of the historic large-scale dredging area. You want to dig the hillside dirt with lots of river cobble in it. The resort has set up a comfortable panning area near the dig zone. To sluice, you’ll have to haul dirt to the west side of the resort where the South Platte River runs by. It’s not that far to walk but bring a hand cart or even an ATV…those buckets get heavy at 10,000 feet elevation where the air is thinner! As the water levels in the river drop through the summer, you also have the option of digging in the river. Doing so means digging dredge tailings since all of this was dredged decades ago. When I dug dredge tailings just upstream at the Fairplay Prospecting Park I found some fine gold but not the bigger stuff I found in the virgin dirt here at the RV Park. Of course, your results may vary!

Is it gold? ...Free Mineral Sample Identification

Sun, 14 May 2017 16:12:47 -0600

I think most of us have climbed around on old tailings piles, or walked a creek bed, while picking up interesting stones. As gold prospectors we are attracted to rocks that aren’t just pretty, they provide intriguing clues pointing us toward gold. Of course, you need to know what mineral you’ve found to learn whether it is really a good clue or even valuable itself.

Hmm, interesting…I wonder?

Mineral Belt National Recreation Trail - a loop around Leadville

Thu, 04 May 2017 07:41:40 -0600

The next time you are in the Leadville area, consider walking or biking the Mineral Belt National Recreation Trail to see cool gold rush artifacts and mining sites.

My wife and I drove due east from Leadville on 7th Street for a mile or so until we crossed the trail. We parked and walked a chunk of the trail to enjoy a warm October day…which ended with snow flurries lol! The many historical mining artifacts and sites along the way were interesting. The views across the valley to 14ers were magnificent.

Silverthorne is built on a Placer Deposit

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 00:06:40 -0600

In the fall of 2016 I was driving by a construction site in our little town of Silverthorne. The site is a block west of the main highway through town and therefore about three blocks from the Blue River. The construction was for a new microbrewery and I noticed a big pile of dirt from the foundation digging. The dirt looked like ancient river bed material - it had sand and lots of rounded river cobbles! I stopped and talked to a couple guys standing in the middle of the construction site in business clothes (not construction worker appropriate gear). As I guessed, they turned out to be the owners. I explained my interest and they gave me permission to come process some of the dirt to see if there was gold in it. I brought the drywasher down a couple days later and yup, gold! The dirt was damp so I had to run it through my battery-operated puffer 5-6 times until it dried out…this is so I could be sure the gold wasn’t sticking to the other sand. Those of you with similar equipment know rerunning dirt is actually quite quick to do, so I didn’t mind doing it. The gold was small and not as rich as I’d hoped but gold all the same.

Using a Gold Cube

Tue, 04 Apr 2017 17:11:59 -0600

The Gold Cube is absolutely a standout product for us small scale gold prospectors in Colorado. Our beautiful state is known for having fine gold that prospectors back in the gold rush found frustrating. This makes the Cube an ideal tool for the serious prospectors who want to move up from pans and stream sluices. In fact, there are two situations where I strongly recommend it as the best choice. The first use is in the field where it catches fine gold more completely than other high bankers. It has become famous for this. The second is to process concentrates from a dredge or other operation that produces a lot of concentrates. In this scenario it will make quick work of your dirt, getting you down to less than a panful in mere moments.

A good reminder - bring your heavies home!

Sun, 02 Apr 2017 19:14:22 -0600

That little scatter of gold above Ike’s forehead is a good reminder to bring your concentrates home no matter what! Why you ask? Well this gold comes from an outing to the BLM lands just north of Joshua Tree National Park in early December 2016. It’s dry land so I was dry washing with some help from my wife (a rare pleasure for me).

Of course we wore dust masks!

Shop Here

Tue, 28 Mar 2017 22:39:12 -0600

This site costs money to keep up. The only way it makes money is shopping referrals. If you appreciate the info I’m sharing, please click thru one of my ads the next time you want to shop online. It won’t cost you anything extra and it keeps the site going: Gold Prospecting on AMAZON

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Cherry Creek prospecting tips

Fri, 24 Feb 2017 17:53:41 -0700

Cherry Creek in lower downtown Denver (photo: USGS)

Cherry Creek was one of the first places early prospectors found gold in Colorado. In 1858 William “Green” Russell and his party even briefly set up the gold camp “town” of Russellville south of the modern town of Parker on Cherry Creek. They moved on toward Denver fairly quickly looking for richer diggings but left some gold in the creek-bed for us. The area is still called Russellville Gulch. Sadly, the area where they were is all large private ranches now so it’s unavailable to dig casually…maybe someday we’ll get access, most likely when suburbia gets this far!

Point Barr Prospecting Site on the Arkansas River

Tue, 07 Feb 2017 20:36:11 -0700

Point Barr Site Map

Point Barr is unclaimable land on the Arkansas River where you can drive right to the riverside and get to digging!

The gold here is the typical fine Arkansas River material. This means fairly consistent in size - small! This means it would be the ideal place to run a Gold Cube; read about that prospecting tool here:

http://findinggoldincolorado.com/using-a-gold-cube-in-colorado/

Prospecting at Point Barr

As you can guess from the map of the 37-acre site above (almost as big as two mining claims!), there’s plenty of river to work here and plenty of dry camping space too. The BLM allows dry camping which means you have to bring everything you need and pack it all out too. There is a fee to spend the night ($28 as of the time of writing in June 2020).

Gold Tourism - Iowa Hill Hydraulic Mining historic site

Sun, 15 Jan 2017 15:55:58 -0700

Learning about gold placer mining includes everything from panning (which we all do) to sluicing, dredging and, at the large industrial scale, hydraulic mining which is also called hydrauliking. Maybe you’ve seen modern hydraulic mining on TV. The Gold Rush TV show included this technique when the Hoffman team was in South America and late one season on the claim Parker was operating in the Yukon. If you’d like to see what a hydraulic mining site is like in person, the Iowa Hill site is a fun & educational place to go. Stop by the next time you are visiting Summit County (Breckenridge, Frisco, Dillon, Silverthorne area; really between Frisco and Breckenridge).

Prospecting Stores across Colorado

Fri, 13 Jan 2017 01:56:54 -0700

There are quite a few places around here to buy prospecting supplies. When you need gear, please shop via my links or support your local shop. There’s nothing like looking at your choices in person to get what you need and getting expert advice as part of the bargain.

The Rock Doc outside Nathrup

If you know of other prospecting shops, feel free to message me or add their info in the comments.

Satisfy your gold fever with a little winter reading and digging

Wed, 28 Dec 2016 12:17:25 -0700

Bazooka Sniper on the Winter Solstice 2016

I’m sitting at my computer, looking out the window at yet another winter storm (we’ve had almost 6 feet of snow this month (12/2016) here in Summit County!) and satisfying my gold fever with a little winter reading. I thought you might like to see some of the best of the web regarding Colorado gold. Here’s some of the more unique things I found:

Cache Creek Prospecting Site

Wed, 14 Dec 2016 19:55:45 -0700

A must-visit for any casual prospector spending time in the Colorado mountains, Cache Creek was a commercial operation that was shut down in the midst of productive operations. Of all the places open to casual prospecting in Colorado, this is the one to hit if you dream of finding a nugget. No promises of course, it may remain just a dream for you, but it can happen here. The site was privately owned for about 100 years and was repurchased by the Feds (under BLM management) in 1992 specifically to provide a place for gold prospectors to dig…and for the elk winter habitat it represents. Since it is repurchased land, it is unclaimable…open for you to play :)

Gold Tourism

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 20:13:58 -0700

Many places across Colorado are worth visiting to learn more about the history & science of finding gold in Colorado. Some are worth a trip just to see them; others are more of a “see it if you happen to be in the area” sort of site. Which is a matter of personal taste in most cases of course. Virtually all of them make a good excuse to see a beautiful part of the state so, either way, “enjoy!”

Public Dig Sites Across Colorado

Tue, 15 Nov 2016 00:37:23 -0700

There are a surprising number of places in Colorado where you can dig for free (or for a token fee). The places I have highlighted here are ALL places where you don’t need to worry about federally registered mining claims or hostile private property owners. All of these sites allow pans and sluices. If you want to use battery or gas powered equipment, please check with the land owner first. This can usually be done via their website but a phone call may be needed.

Tools, Techniques and Recommended Products

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 09:58:10 -0600

Any prospector wants equipment that is great at catching gold, easy to transport, dependable, and of course, affordable. I’ve spent a lot of time researching, field testing and listening to other prospectors about their experience. All of this as convinced me that there are a few facts:

Gold Tourism News Flash: Grand Opening of view point for Cripple Creek Gold Mine

Sat, 17 Sep 2016 20:02:56 -0600

If you are reading this “now”, you missed the grand opening, but the overlook is open 24/7/365. Call the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum about scheduled tours of the whole historic mining area. The tours are organized through the museum in Victor; learn more here.

…to read more about this site and the area, check out this post: http://findinggoldincolorado.com/news-flash-new-viewpoint-at-cripple-creek-victor-mine/

Ok, sure Kevin, the tour sounds like fun but is there any gold I can pan there? Well, maybe barely. There is an open space park at the south end of 2nd Ave in Cripple Creek that includes a stretch of the infamous Cripple Creek next to the sewage treatment plant. You may find a few micro-specks there, as I did, but there’s a reason they called this area “Poverty Gulch” back in the day!! Want to learn more about places to go gold prospecting? Check out my books here.

Gold Prospecting & Tourism - Lomax Placer

Mon, 05 Sep 2016 12:08:15 -0600

The Lomax Placer site gives you a chance to see and touch placer hydrauliking equipment at a site where it was actually used. You can also see a fully equipped gold assay office, small museum and learn to gold pan.

As you drive up Gold Run Road from Highway 9 (just southwest of the gondola base parking lots in Breckenridge) you’ll see a fancy Lomax Placer sign with a full-sized prospector on it just a few hundred yards up the hill, and then a gravel parking lot facing this view:

Clear Creek (Broadway to Washington) - Prospecting tips

Wed, 31 Aug 2016 16:46:09 -0600

The chunk of Clear Creek in north-central Denver from Broadway to Washington St. has some really good gold.

An interesting cobble bar in mid-creek deserves to be sampled! Note: the large rocks on the far side are an anti-erosion structure and shouldn’t be disturbed. Always avoid disturbing things someone else paid to put there.

This stretch of river also has quite a few bridges over it which does two good things:

Gold Tourism: New viewpoint at Cripple Creek & Victor mine!

Wed, 03 Aug 2016 22:06:54 -0600

Newmont North America runs the huge open pit Cresson gold mine near Cripple Creek, a small town in the Colorado Rockies. The folks running the largest gold mine in Colorado today have done a lot to support the local community from sponsoring local sports leagues to donating the gold to cover the state capital dome. However, due to safety issues, it’s been a while since there was a way for tourists and fans to see the mine in operation…but no more! As you’ll read in the link below, they are about to open a new viewing area. (n.b. As of September 2016, it is open!)

Fairplay town prospecting park - prospecting hints

Tue, 26 Jul 2016 00:19:31 -0600

The Town of Fairplay has done what we all wish every town in gold country would do: bought some land on a gold bearing waterway and set up a prospecting park! See weblinks here:

http://findinggoldincolorado.com/where-to-start-if-you-want-to-dig-in-colorado/

The park consists of about 1/2 mile of waterway, some huge dredge tailings piles and a beautiful setting on the South Platte River next to the town that inspired the TV show South Park. The commercial dredging barge is long gone and the gold they missed is yours for the taking. Here’s a view of the road coming down to the river. Parking is on the flats above the river or at the end of the road by the reservoir and toilets.

Gold Tourism - Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Tue, 12 Jul 2016 23:35:45 -0600

If you make it to Denver, this is a must stop! The Hall of minerals has lots of gorgeous crystals, mineral samples and lots of gold, especially Colorado gold. Here’s the entry area on the ground floor of the museum:

They are even encouraging everyone to “be a prospector”!!
Here’s a preview of the gold you’ll see. It includes the largest known placer nugget from Colorado and the largest gold specimen:

Dudley's Bar prospecting tips (& nearby)

Fri, 08 Jul 2016 20:11:37 -0600

Dudley’s bar is upstream from Big Bend (see my other post on Big Bend) a bit. This part of the South Platte is just down stream of the confluence with Clear Creek and due to some quirks of river flows during high water events, there’s GOOD gold on the west bank of the river in exposed cobbly deposits. Here’s a pic of Red Wilcox (co-inventor of the Gold Cube, Banjo Pan, etc.) at his favorite spot along this stretch of river.

A moment of fame (now I just need to find the fortune to go with it!)

Sat, 02 Jul 2016 00:16:43 -0600

For a couple years, the Jefferson County Open Space website had a page on their rules for prospecting in the park and guess who they picked as a model for doing it right?

In the pic, I’m dressed for cold weather because it was December! That’s a Gold Cube with a trommel on top of it. I love that setup and I bet you will too! Read my Gold Cube review and recommendations here:

Finding spots to dig in town (metro Denver)

Sat, 28 May 2016 21:17:49 -0600

Digging in the city means participating in recreational gold prospecting as a guest of a local government, parks & rec district or similar organization.

While the tools of prospecting are the same (shovel, pan and sluice, maybe an electric highbanker like the Gold Cube), the process of finding a spot to dig is vastly different. No worries about the BLM, National Forest Service or checking on prior mining claims at the county clerk office. Instead, once you find a spot you’d like to dig, go to the local county assessor website to find the parcel of land there. The assessor website will hopefully (usually) have an interactive map you can use to spot your spot and see who owns it. Then you contact the owner to ask permission, or just review their website to confirm rules of use.

Gold Tourism - The Phoenix Mine Tour

Tue, 24 May 2016 23:05:42 -0600

A while back, I had a friend from China and her husband come visit. They wanted to spend a day as gold prospectors, so we visited Arapahoe Bar to dig (see my post about that site here). We dug the bottom of an existing hole and did very well, so they got to take home a nice souvenir vial of Colorado gold. We also made a visit to the Phoenix Mine. You can easily learn about the mine visit schedule, location and fees here: http://www.phoenixmine.com

Hints for prospecting Goldstrike Park

Sat, 21 May 2016 00:07:18 -0600

Goldstrike Park is an Arvada City park at the confluence of Ralston Creek and Clear Creek…both of which are gold bearing and open to non-motorized prospecting.

On Ralston Creek, you can find fine gold just about anywhere in the stream bed. A large cobble bar has developed under the 56th St bridge with decent flood gold in it. You will easily find a spot to set up your sluice here too. Working in the shade of the bridge also has its advantages on a warm day.

So where did all this gold come from anyway?

Sun, 15 May 2016 15:16:30 -0600

The gold in metro Denver is in almost every waterway big enough to have a name. In the early days of the gold rush this was confusing and frustrating for the first American prospectors. They found gold way out southeast in Elbert County, due south of what’s now Denver in Douglas County and Arapahoe County…and right in downtown Denver. Of course that’s why Denver is where it is!

However each of these deposits was quickly shown to be too small to make the miners rich. They also couldn’t find the hard rock sources of the gold. This meant many of the first serious prospectors in 1858 gave up and went back east. Of course we know there’s lots of gold in the mountains of Colorado …as the more tenacious prospectors found for themselves in early 1859!

Another good source of info on prospecting in metro Denver

Sun, 08 May 2016 07:29:44 -0600

A friend of mine has done his own blogging about places to go digging in metro Denver and he has some great spots to tell you about. Red Wilcox is the co-inventor/owner of the Gold Cube, Banjo Pan and the inventor of the Gold-n-Sand hand pump/dredge. (Note: I have an affiliate marketing relationship with Gold Cube since I’m such a big fan.) You can see his blog on his website about his products at www.goldcube.net/blog/

Mile High Bar prospecting tips

Sun, 13 Mar 2016 00:11:19 -0700

Exit 210C off of northbound I-25 in downtown Denver drops you right into Crescent Park on the east side of the highway. Driving a few yards south, you’ll see parking next to the South Platte River. Walk straight to the river and you’ll find yourself on the cobble bar. From the bar you can see a small cobble island just upstream and a bar downstream on the east side of the river near the amusement park. Here’s a view of the bar from the island, you can also see the area where there’s good flow to set up a sluice. In the distance on the right, you can just see the downstream cobble bar at the amusement park. I haven’t sampled that one, but you can bet it has gold. Maybe better than here from what I’ve heard since I last visited this site.

Grant-Frontier Park prospecting tips

Sat, 05 Mar 2016 01:32:09 -0700

Grant-Frontier Park is on the South Platte River just South of Evans Ave (and west of Santa Fe) in central Denver. This has been a popular gold prospecting location since the very beginning of US citizens coming west to prospect in what is now Colorado. It was the first “permanent” settlement in what’s now Denver and of course that first town was built by gold prospectors. In 1858 they got permission from the local Indian Chief and built three rows of log cabins on the east bank of the current park. Why? Because there was a promising gold deposit here. However, by the end of the summer, the miners had decided to move down to the new Auraria town forming near the confluence of The South Platte and Cherry Creek. They did this by floating their cabin logs downstream!
In more modern times, this has been a popular site for summer camps to teach kids to gold pan due to ample parking and easy access to the water. It’s also been very popular with local prospectors because the gold is pretty darn good. This is partly because there’s only 0-4 feet of gravel/cobble on top of a soft slate/clay bedrock. It’s a special thing to be able to dig down to bedrock right in town…in fact I can only think of one other major spot like that, you’ll have to buy my book to learn about the other spot! www.findinggoldincolorado.com/fgicbooks/ to learn about the gold prospecting guidebooks (this site is A-01 in the first book).

Twin Lakes Open Space Park Prospecting Hints

Tue, 16 Feb 2016 07:06:19 -0700

This site is just west of Broadway on the south side of 70th Ave. That’s right, it’s plop in the middle of north metro Denver. There’s a nice sign you’ll see from 70th Avenue and there are 32 parking spots here, plenty of room to bring your friends!

It’s a fairly long walk through the park to the creek. When you get to the rec path paralleling the creek turn left and walk downstream until you see an informal dirt path wandering toward the water. Follow this and look upstream when you get to the water. You should see a fairly large cobble bar on the opposite side of the creek. I’ve found gold here and I think you will too. The top gravels tend to be richer and based on my sampling, the upstream end of the bar is richer than further downstream. You can also head downstream about 50 yards to find another bar…sample around to see where the gold is best. It seems to vary over time probably based on fine gold migrating down river during storms. If you find sticky material or iron stained material, be sure to sample it.

Hints for prospecting at "Big Bend"

Fri, 05 Feb 2016 20:39:38 -0700

This is a spot you have to see to believe! Big Bend has good gold and lots of it! It’s officially called Steele Street Open Space Park and is part of the Adams County Open Space parks. You arrive at a parking lot on the east side of Steele Street just north of 78th Ave. This north metro-Denver park doesn’t look like much from here, you’ll just have to trust me. Walk to the rec path that parallels the river. At this point you’ll see a large cobble bar across the river:

Finish processing your concentrates after a day of digging

Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:23:15 -0700

I see a lot of people investing in fancy equipment to process their concentrates. Some folks just like having & using cool tools, I get it. Still, please don’t feel obliged to do the same. Getting to clean gold doesn’t have to mean spending big money on fancy gear, especially if you are just panning, sluicing or high banking.

Here’s my method:

1. Classify 30/50/100 (100 is optional depending on your cons). Here are the classifiers I use:
Mini Stackable Classifiers

Arapahoe Bar prospecting tips

Thu, 14 Jan 2016 23:43:09 -0700

This informational sign was donated by the folks at Gold Cube. After being up for years, it was taken down due to the new hospital constructed just south of the prospecting area.

Arapahoe Bar is a Prospecting Park in west metro Denver (in Wheat Ridge specifically…thanks Wheat Ridge and Jefferson County!) which welcomes prospectors for free on a gold bearing stretch of Clear Creek. As you can see in the photo, this site has an important part in the history of Colorado. To find it, go to 40th St and Youngsfield, then drive north to the creek to find a developed city park with bathrooms (on the east side of the road). You can’t dig the creek right here but, if you just walk under the highway bridge upstream on the recreational path, you come to this:

Gold Prospecting Clubs in Colorado

Sat, 02 Jan 2016 07:31:35 -0700

Some time ago, I was at the annual Christmas party for the Gold Prospectors of the Rockies and had a great time. This got me thinking it might be helpful to do a review of the prospecting clubs in Colorado.

Clubs have an important role in the gold prospecting community. However different clubs are good for different reasons and, heck, some of them aren’t even clubs…no matter what they call themselves, they are businesses. That’s ok too - let’s just be clear about what’s happening in each case.

Clear Creek Canyon Open Space Park Prospecting Tips

Mon, 07 Dec 2015 05:41:27 -0700

Feeding a Gold Cube & Trammel in Clear Creek on a winter day.

Here I am standing in Clear Creek feeding a Gold Cube with an attached trommel (photo credit: Jefferson County Open Space). It’s a great tool for this area. It’s up to the challenge of capturing fine gold!

Clear Creek Canyon Open Space Park provides almost 10 miles of access to gold bearing waterway for visitors. The park is owned and operated by Jefferson County Open Space. It’s just west of Golden Colorado at the edge of metro-Denver.

Where to start if you want to gold pan in Colorado

Sun, 29 Nov 2015 23:37:29 -0700

Here’s a quick list of some places you will be welcome to prospect across our beautiful state of Colorado. No need to join a club (although clubs definitely have their place!), just play by the rules of your hosts. This list is just a start, there are dozens of additional spots described in other articles on this website! (To see them all, go here.) Even better there are over 450 public dig sites across Colorado, all carefully documented, in my guidebooks, here.

Prospecting 101 (How To Read A River)

Sun, 29 Nov 2015 16:38:21 -0700

Prospector Jack does a great job showing where to prospect…much better than just “telling” right?

You have located a prospect. So now what. This is what I look for. I look for what I call the gold line, and that is the path that gold will most often travel. There are exceptions to this rule, but gold will more often than not follow a line from the inside bend in […]
https://prospectorjack.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/prospecting-101-how-to-read-a-river/

My journey here...

Tue, 24 Nov 2015 22:45:12 -0700

Prospectors often ask each other when they got ’the fever’. For me it came when I was a six-year-old kid. My dad used to read National Geographic magazine to my little brother and I after dinner. We had fun with the stories about gold prospecting in Australia, Africa, etc. In August of 1969 the magazine included a story about gold in Colorado. I was fascinated and at the age of 6 was soon digging pretend mines in our front yard (before my parents planted grass of course!).

About me & this site

Mon, 23 Nov 2015 13:17:01 -0700

FindingGOLDinColorado provides all the info you need to successfully pan for gold in Colorado. Lots of areas in Colorado are open to the public for casual, low-impact gold prospecting… I have over 30 listed here. There’s also info on the basics around tools and techniques. I intend this site to be especially helpful to newer prospectors and those visiting our beautiful state.

Please reach out to me with any questions :) Even better, buy the guidebooks, and join the Facebook group ‘Finding Gold in Colorado’ where a whole community of Colorado prospectors and visiting prospectors can answer your questions, arrange to meet you at the river and more!

Finding Gold In Colorado

Mon, 23 Nov 2015 07:32:51 -0700

People have been “finding gold in Colorado” since well before there was a place called Colorado and are still actively doing it today. From American Indian residents of this area and early Spanish and French explorers finding gold in the streams and using it in trade, to modern residents digging in their neighborhood creek, many have found success!

This website shares stories about both the history and current events in gold prospecting in Colorado. You’ll learn where to dig and where to see the highlights of Colorado’s mining history. This is all based on my personal adventures finding gold, exploring the past and, more recently, writing a book intended to help visitors and residents to explore our state for gold themselves!