Gold Prospecting in the United States

The federal rules

• National forests: On national forests, hand panning with hand tools and non-motorized gear is usually allowed without a permit or bond. Some areas are closed, such as wilderness areas, acquired mineral lands and mineral withdrawal areas. Private land inside forest boundaries needs the owner's permission. Check with the local ranger district.
• BLM land: BLM rules generally let the public collect reasonable amounts of rocks, mineral specimens and semiprecious gemstones for noncommercial use. Collecting is generally not allowed at developed recreation sites, on active mining claims or other authorized mineral uses, or where the mineral estate is privately owned. Ask the local BLM office about local restrictions.
• Sluices, high bankers and dredges: On national forests, suction dredges, high bankers and sluices (all sizes) need a notice of intent to the district ranger. If significant disturbance is likely, a plan of operations and a reclamation bond are needed. State water-quality and stream permits may also apply.
• Metal detecting: The Black Hills National Forest allows metal detectors for prospecting and rockhounding but not digging holes, and bans metal detecting where there are archaeological, historic or prehistoric sites or artifacts.
• Mining claims: Unpatented claims stay public land, but rockhounders must not interfere with mining or take the minerals the claim was located for; patented claims are private land. A placer claim can be up to 20 acres per claimant (up to 160 acres for an association), and a lode claim up to 1,500 by 600 feet. Prospecting on someone else's claim without permission is treated as claim jumping (trespass). Most easily reached deposits on national forests are already claimed. Check BLM's MLRS database, county records and claim markers before you dig.
• Claim fees: The annual maintenance fee is USD 200 per lode claim, mill site or tunnel site, and USD 200 per 20 acres (or part) for placer claims. It is due by 1 September each year (1 September 2026 for the 2027 assessment year). A new claim also costs a USD 49 location fee and a USD 25 processing fee, so a new lode claim costs USD 274 in the first year.
• National parks: National Park Service rules (36 CFR 2.1) ban possessing, removing, digging or disturbing minerals in their natural state, and ban possessing or using metal detectors (unless broken down and packed away, or used for authorized scientific, mining or administrative work). A USGS pamphlet also states that prospecting is not allowed in national parks.
• Archaeology (ARPA): The Archaeological Resources Protection Act does not require a permit to collect rocks, coins, bullets or minerals for personal use, as long as the item is not an archaeological resource. Archaeological and historic sites and artifacts on public land are protected under federal law, and disturbing historic cabins or objects on federal land is prohibited under the Antiquities Act of 1906.
• National forests general: Forest Service national guidance: most national forests are open to recreational rock and mineral collecting, gold panning and metal detecting, usually with no notice or permit. Some eastern forests require a letter of authorization for gold panning because of clay-heavy soils, and some wilderness areas are closed. A notice of intent may be needed if you disturb more than a small shallow hole, and a plan of operations for significant disturbance. Searching for buried treasure needs a special use permit, and searching for historic or prehistoric artifacts is allowed only for permitted scientific research. Metal detecting is not allowed in or near archaeological or historic sites (36 CFR 261.9 and ARPA); coins for personal use are exempt from ARPA only when not in an archaeological context.
• Private land: You need the landowner's permission to prospect on private land; most land in the eastern states is privately owned. Check BLM land status records to see which federal lands are closed to mineral entry.

California

Where: Hand panning is allowed in some state parks. At Auburn State Recreation Area (American River canyon), panning is limited to beaches and gravel bars that flood each year and the wave-action zone of lakes; not in swimming or boat-launch areas. National forest and BLM land follow the federal rules. On the Plumas National Forest most stream areas already have placer claims, so panning usually needs the claim holder's agreement; wilderness (e.g. Bucks Lake), the Wild Zone of the Middle Fork Feather River, Lakes Basin Recreation Area and other withdrawn land are closed to mining.

Permits: No permit is needed for nonmotorized recreational mining such as panning. Suction dredging (any mechanized or motorized system to remove or process streambed material for minerals) is currently prohibited statewide, and CDFW cannot issue suction dredge permits. Violations are a misdemeanor. Under SB 637 (2015), a future permit would also need State Water Board or regional board water-quality approval. On national forests, panning needs no notice of intent.

Equipment: At Auburn SRA only a gold pan (and hands) may be used: no sluices, other hand tools or metal detectors. Limit 15 lb of mineral material per person per day, no selling, and muddy water must not be visible more than 20 ft away. Archaeological or historic items may not be collected.

Alaska

Where: State recreational mining areas set aside by the legislature in 1997, such as the Petersville Recreational Mining Area (Peters Creek), and Hatcher Pass Public Use Area (Little Susitna River, Gold Mint Trail; also Independence Mine State Historical Park after talking to staff). On federal land, BLM lists open stream segments along the Dalton Highway. Not on active mining claims without the owner's permission.

Permits: Panning, prospecting and light hand tools (pick, shovel, pan, earth auger) need no permit at Petersville. Suction dredges, water pumps and other mechanized gear need permits from Alaska Department of Fish and Game (Habitat, free) and Department of Environmental Conservation. Along the Dalton Highway, suction dredging on a federal claim needs separate BLM authorization and recreational dredging is not allowed on most of the Inner Corridor.

Equipment: Petersville and Hatcher Pass: suction dredges up to 6-inch intake and 18 hp; at Petersville power sluices up to 18 hp, 30,000 gallons of water a day, and dredging only 15 May to 15 July. Dalton Highway (BLM): metal detectors, pans, hand-fed rocker boxes, sluices, picks and shovels; no motorized equipment; hand tools only on someone else's claim; no mining within 27 ft of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

Nevada

Where: BLM manages nearly 48 million acres of public land in Nevada; unclaimed public land is open to prospecting. Recreational panning without mechanical equipment is allowed even in wilderness and wilderness study areas if it causes no surface disturbance. Mining claims are often marked by corner posts; stay out of them. Prospecting is banned in national parks and on private land without permission. In state parks, check with a ranger before using a metal detector.

Permits: No permit for hand prospecting on BLM land. Sluicing, dredging and commercial mining need permits.

Equipment: Hand tools, including pans and metal detectors. No power equipment or explosives for general collecting, and no pits or trenches. Metal detectorists may keep modern money but not coins or artifacts more than 100 years old; historic sites such as cabins, graves and townsites are closed to collecting.

Arizona

Where: Federal land (BLM and national forests) that is open to mineral entry and not covered by a claim, following the federal rules. BLM says more than 55,000 mining claims are recorded on Arizona public land, so check claim records first. Recreational mining or mineral collecting on Arizona State Trust land is prohibited.

Permits: No state recreational panning permit was found on the official pages opened. State Trust land needs an exploration permit or mineral lease for any mineral work. Federal claims follow the BLM fee rules (USD 200 per claim a year, or the small miner waiver for 10 or fewer claims).

South Dakota

Where: Black Hills National Forest, except wilderness areas, acquired mineral lands and mineral withdrawal areas. Private tracts inside the forest need the owner's permission; use forest visitor maps. Most easy-to-reach deposits are already claimed, and prospecting on a claim without permission is claim jumping.

Permits: Hand panning needs no permit in South Dakota or on Forest Service land. Motorized equipment and suction dredges need a South Dakota permit and a Forest Service notice of intent; a plan of operations and bond may be needed. Black Hills claims are recorded with BLM Montana-Dakotas.

Equipment: Hand tools and non-motorized panning gear. Metal detectors are allowed for prospecting and rockhounding but you may not dig holes, and they are banned at archaeological or historic sites. Rockhounding is surface collection only; fossil collecting is prohibited.

Oregon

Permits: Hand panning needs no DEQ water-quality (NPDES) permit. Suction dredges and other in-water placer mining are covered by DEQ's 700-PM general permit. Under Senate Bill 3 (2017, ORS 468B.114), motorized in-stream placer mining is banned in essential salmon habitat. Registration for a new motorized dredge costs USD 500 (USD 250 initial fee plus USD 250 first annual fee); gravity or siphon dredges pay USD 25 a year; non-motorized in-water gear such as hand sluice boxes needs no registration or fee.

Equipment: Outside essential salmon habitat: motorized dredges up to 30 hp with hoses up to 4 inches, and gravity or siphon dredges with hoses up to 6 inches. Inside essential salmon habitat: gravity or siphon dredges with hoses up to 4 inches only. Highbankers and power sluices below the ordinary high-water mark are not covered by the permit. Dredging only in ODFW in-water work periods, typically 2 to 8 daylight hours a day, and not where fish eggs, freshwater mussels or lamprey larvae are present. Some waters are excluded, including state scenic waterways.

Washington

Where: Gravel bars and side channels of the Columbia River and tributaries with placer history in north-central Washington (Wenatchee, Entiat, Methow and Okanogan basins), reached from state and federal access points. Some rivers are closed to in-stream prospecting because of ESA-listed fish; confirm ownership on tribal and private land.

Permits: WDFW's Gold and Fish pamphlet (current edition 19 May 2021) acts as the permit (Hydraulic Project Approval) for most freshwater and ocean-beach prospecting; carry a copy and follow the work windows for each stream. Motorized or gravity siphon equipment needs an individual HPA plus an NPDES permit or Ecology letter, and since 11 June 2020 many waters are closed to motorized or gravity siphon mining.

Equipment: Under the pamphlet, hand pans and limited-size sluice boxes, depending on the water and season. Work existing gravels rather than digging banks, and refill test holes. Out-of-state motorized or siphon gear must be inspected for aquatic invasive species.

Colorado

Where: Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (state park along the upper Arkansas River): Colorado Parks and Wildlife regulations allow recreational gold mining there, except in areas closed by posted signs. CPW describes the Railroad Bridge site as popular with gold panners. National forest and BLM land follow the federal rules.

Montana

Where: National forest and BLM land under federal rules (notice of intent to the district ranger for dredging on Forest Service land; ask BLM whether dredging is casual use). State School Trust land managed by DNRC needs an approved metalliferous mineral or gem mining release with a bond before any mining.

Permits: Montana DEQ does not regulate recreational miners who meet all of these conditions: no motorized excavating equipment, no blasting, under 100 sq ft of surface disturbance, under 50 cubic yards dug per site, unreclaimed sites at least 1 mile apart, and no mercury or cyanide. Suction dredging needs a DEQ general permit authorization letter (only at the place and dates on the letter) and a 310 permit from the local conservation district; Army Corps permits apply on parts of the Missouri, Yellowstone and Kootenai rivers. Larger hobby operations can use a Small Miner Exclusion Statement (under 5 acres of disturbance).

Equipment: Under the dredging general permit: portable suction dredges only, one at a time, with the permittee present, at least 500 ft from another permittee, and no processing of material from outside the wetted channel. Water-based gear brought into Montana or moved west over the Continental Divide needs an aquatic invasive species inspection.

Georgia

Where: Chattahoochee National Forest where it overlaps the gold belt, in streambeds only. Some U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land at Lake Allatoona allows recreational panning outside prohibited and lease areas. Georgia state parks do not allow gold panning, prospecting or rock collecting. Commercial panning sites around Dahlonega and Cleveland (such as Crisson Gold Mine and Consolidated Gold Mine) are recommended for beginners.

Permits: In the Chattahoochee National Forest, special permission is generally not needed if you use only a gold pan and a small hand shovel or trowel and disturb the stream very little. Forest Service national guidance notes that some eastern forests require a letter of authorization for panning, so check with the ranger district first.

Equipment: National forest: gold pan and small hand shovel or trowel; no digging into stream banks; no in-stream sluices or suction dredges. Lake Allatoona (Corps land): gold pans only, digging limited to creek beds; no sluices, rockers, dredges or metal detectors.

Idaho

Where: National forest land not covered by a claim, such as the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. Get the claimant's permission before panning on a claim; claim records are with the BLM Idaho State Office or the county recorder.

Permits: On the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, gold panning needs no Forest Service notice or approval. Suction dredging, high banking and sluicing (all sizes) need a notice of intent to the district ranger, and possibly a plan of operations and reclamation bond. In-stream dredging and sluicing are also regulated by the Idaho Department of Water Resources, Idaho Department of Lands, Idaho DEQ and the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Forest Service needs proof of those permits first.

Equipment: Hand panning without digging in or altering stream banks; fill hand excavations promptly.

North Carolina

Where: Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site, 9621 Reed Mine Road, Midland, has a panning area open to visitors. National forests follow the Forest Service rules (some eastern forests need a letter of authorization for panning).

Permits: No permit needed at Reed Gold Mine: admission is free and panning costs USD 5 per person plus tax. The site is open Tuesday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; panning stops in moderate or heavy rain, when thunder or lightning is detected, or when the heat index is above 103°F.

Wyoming

Where: The Wyoming part of the Black Hills National Forest follows the forest's rules: hand panning with non-motorized gear is usually allowed without a permit, except in closed areas and on claims or private land. Wyoming claims are recorded with BLM Wyoming.

Permits: The Forest Service says Wyoming may require permits for dredges or motorized equipment; the Forest Service also requires a notice of intent for them.

Equipment: Hand tools and non-motorized panning equipment; metal detectors allowed for prospecting but no digging holes on the Black Hills NF.