Public Dig Sites Across Colorado

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.
Also consider joining the Facebook group ‘Finding Gold in Colorado’ to join the community of Colorado-oriented gold prospectors and adventurers. Get your questions answered, advice found, and prospecting buddies arranged too!
If the list of sites here isn’t enough for you or there is no site in your area even though you live in gold country, then you really need my guidebooks! Finding Gold in Colorado: Prospector’s Edition, Volume 1 in our guidebook series, covers the 18 gold rush areas of Colorado, each with its own chapter and details on public dig sites in that area. There are over 180 dig sites in the book! In Volume 2, Finding Gold in Colorado: The Wandering Prospector there are another 270 prospecting sites, for a total over 450 across both books the series! Check out all of our books at www.findinggoldincolorado.com/fgicbooks/
This site costs money to keep up. The only way it pays for itself is shopping referrals. If you appreciate the info here, please click thru one of my Amazon 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
Disclaimer: Rules change, I make mistakes, verify before you prospect! Your actions are not my responsibility, they are yours.
WITH ALL THAT SAID, SCROLL THROUGH THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES AND FIND A FEW DIG SITES TO GO TRY OUT…THE GOLD IS WAITING FOR YOU!
Articles

Year-round Gold Prospecting in Colorado
August 25, 2023 · 3 comments
Where and how to dig year-round in Colorado. Includes links to specific prospecting sites recommended for each season of the year.
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The Wandering Prospector Guidebook
June 16, 2023 · 12 comments
Announcing the latest book in the FInding Gold in Colorado series: The Wandering Prospector. Available now!
Read more →Mines of the Alpine Loop Books Available!
March 18, 2022
4-Wheel drive guide books to the Alpine Loop and the Animas Forks Triangle, in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado.
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Castle Rock Conglomerate gold in metro-Denver
November 11, 2020 · 4 comments
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 …
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Finding Gold in Colorado: Inspiring Images
November 4, 2020
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 …
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Texas Creek BLM prospecting site
November 24, 2019 · 13 comments
Tips on prospecting the Arkansas River at Texas Creek Junction, including a map.
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Finding Gold in Colorado Book Index
October 19, 2018 · 2 comments
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 …
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Lions Open Space Park in Laporte - Prospecting Tips
October 9, 2018 · 5 comments
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 …
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Map of dig areas by chapter for Finding Gold in Colorado Books
September 18, 2018 · 2 comments
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 …
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Buy the Book! Finding Gold in Colorado: Prospector’s Edition
May 27, 2018 · 16 comments
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 …
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Museum of Northwest Colorado & prospecting In Craig
May 1, 2018 · 2 comments
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 …
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Piñon Bridge BLM Prospecting Area - Prospecting Tips
January 5, 2018 · 2 comments
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 …
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Vic’s Gold Panning
November 16, 2017 · 10 comments
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 …
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Norwood Bridge Recreational Placer Mining Area - Prospecting Tips
September 10, 2017 · 3 comments
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 …
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Rattlesnake Gulch public prospecting area
July 24, 2017 · 5 comments
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 …
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Prospecting at Middle Fork RV Resort
July 2, 2017 · 4 comments
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 …
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Silverthorne is built on a Placer Deposit
April 13, 2017 · 16 comments
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 …
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Cherry Creek prospecting tips
February 24, 2017
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 …
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Point Barr Prospecting Site on the Arkansas River
February 7, 2017 · 10 comments
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 …
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Satisfy your gold fever with a little winter reading and digging
December 28, 2016 · 4 comments
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) …
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Cache Creek Prospecting Site
December 14, 2016 · 27 comments
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 …
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Gold Prospecting & Tourism - Lomax Placer
September 5, 2016 · 2 comments
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, …
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Clear Creek (Broadway to Washington) - Prospecting tips
August 31, 2016 · 3 comments
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 …
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Fairplay town prospecting park - prospecting hints
July 26, 2016 · 5 comments
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: …
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Dudley's Bar prospecting tips (& nearby)
July 8, 2016 · 4 comments
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 …
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A moment of fame (now I just need to find the fortune to go with it!)
July 2, 2016
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 …
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Finding spots to dig in town (metro Denver)
May 28, 2016 · 11 comments
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 …
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Gold Tourism - The Phoenix Mine Tour
May 24, 2016 · 1 comment
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 …
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Hints for prospecting Goldstrike Park
May 21, 2016 · 4 comments
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, …
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So where did all this gold come from anyway?
May 15, 2016 · 10 comments
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 …
Read more →Another good source of info on prospecting in metro Denver
May 8, 2016
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 …
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Mile High Bar prospecting tips
March 13, 2016
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 …
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Grant-Frontier Park prospecting tips
March 5, 2016 · 5 comments
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 …
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Twin Lakes Open Space Park Prospecting Hints
February 16, 2016
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 …
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Hints for prospecting at "Big Bend"
February 5, 2016 · 17 comments
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 …
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Arapahoe Bar prospecting tips
January 14, 2016 · 31 comments
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. …
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Clear Creek Canyon Open Space Park Prospecting Tips
December 7, 2015 · 12 comments
A quick read on gold prospecting in Jefferson County at Clear Creek Canyon Open Space Park.
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Where to start if you want to gold pan in Colorado
November 29, 2015 · 9 comments
Free places to gold prospect in Colorado
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