PEAK PUTTERS

Yes I said it... Panning. The thing OG did back in the day before television, his fancy computer, and web wheeling. Do you guys know of any decent places out in either the Cascades or the Blues where you can camp and pan for gold. No I'm not out to get rich, but my Grandpa panned for gold in California and I just want to see what its all about. How cool would it be to find a few flakes? I figured it would be a fun camping activity as well. Something that maybe my son might enjoy. Well, he might just enjoy getting splashing the crap out of me, not so much staring at wet dirt. Unfortunately I'm at a loss for places to go. I know that there are places where prospecting is off limits and I also don't want to accidentally end up panning on a claim that belongs to some one else. I know that there are a ton of claims out there. Any one know of any good spots?

I've found maps on Google for our area. Apparently there was once a gold mine in Prosser and there are places along the Columbia where gold can be found. However said maps don't specify the legality of panning there or if there is a claim on said land. In fact, I don't even know where to start in finding that kind of information.

Liberty is great for gold panning. But, most of the good sights are claims. If you head up that way you might get some of the old duffers to point you in the right direction.

I'm interested in panning around here too. Haven't looked too hard into it, but have a pan! I was figuring on bringing it on whatever wheeling trips we do this year.

From the reading I did do, I got kind of lost in the rules around permits and mineral writes even for recreational panning.

If you get serious about going somewhere, let me know!

Don wrote:I'm interested in panning around here too. Haven't looked too hard into it, but have a pan! I was figuring on bringing it on whatever wheeling trips we do this year.

From the reading I did do, I got kind of lost in the rules around permits and mineral writes even for recreational panning.

If you get serious about going somewhere, let me know!

I don't have any pans yet, but I want to see if I can snag some soon. I read that you don't want to pan with just one pan and that you actually want two. I noticed on some prospector sites they sold their pans in twos as well. The ones I was looking at have a gold trap in the bottom at one end, a mini sluice on the same end, and riffles on the other end. They're awesome, but they're $20 for one and $36 for two. I heard I could also get a pan at big 5 for about $7.

From talking to my dad, apparently my grandpa was amazing with a pan and there was never any shortage of ounces of gold back when he was a kid and gold was only about $20 an ounce. My dad started to share my Grandpa's secrets with me, but the kids were ready to leave, so I didn't get it all. Next time. I have some really good ideas where to look on the Yakima. I used to canoe down the Yakima all the time. If you have a canoe, we can hit it when its low, and we can score a hand dredge (assuming we can use them there... still researching that), then I think there are a lot of rocky promising spots. Not to mention we could hit some of the taller banks when the water recedes after being high and fast moving. Back in the day when they were putting in the rail roads out here they sampled on the Yakima and came up with trace gold. I've also heard that people hit the Yakima and Naches rivers. So that's more to think about. On top of that, I've been talking to a guy who has a claim in the Cascades. His advice was to network with other miners and try to get in good. I'm assuming hes talking about opening up access to claims.

If you're down some time, I'd love to go some where. I have a map of places in our area where gold can be found. Most of the places are easily within driving distance. I am down and I'd love to have some one to pan with. I'm trying to talk my wife into more camping trips this summer to go. We should plan some.

I've got the pdf with all the rules, regulations, and permit info open right now and I'm reading it. I'll see if I can figure it out.

iaccocca wrote:Liberty is great for gold panning. But, most of the good sights are claims. If you head up that way you might get some of the old duffers to point you in the right direction.

I'll have to look into Liberty. What county is Liberty in. I can probably get a map of good spots and figure out what is claim and what is public.