Hello everyone,
Many folks inquire about free places to pan or sluice, so we thought we would post some free areas around Colorado that anyone can go to anytime they wish.
These are places where you are either "allowed", or given permission to pan/sluice on private (patented) land or it's public land withdrawn from mineral entry (unclaimable) which we can all still prospect with our pans and sluices.
All 3 are historically known as gold bearing areas and chances are very good you WILL FIND GOLD at all of them.
*Added March 2014-These areas DO NOT INCLUDE ANY CITY PARKS EAST OF TUNNEL #1 ON CLEAR CREEK OR ANY CITY PARKS ON THE SOUTH PLATTE RIVER.
CLEAR CREEK - WEST OF GOLDEN
JEFFERSON COUNTY OPEN SPACE
First we will talk about the Clear Creek/Hwy 6 area just west of Golden begining just above tunnel #1.
This area is all private land which has been donated or traded to Jefferson County open space and they "allow" panning and sluicing on the open space......they do not want motors on open space.
The only place not included in the open space is a private claim on BLM land the extends 1 mile upstream from Elk creek on Clear creek.......Steer clear of this private claim unless you have permission to be there.
WARNING-This area is all very steep and parking is limited. Traffic can also be very heavy at times, use extreme caution when in this area!!
FAIRPLAY'S TOWN BEACH - PARK COUNTY - $10.00 FEE
Second is a wonderful spot up a bit higher in elevation but the scenery is just awesome on the ride.........The Fairplay Beach.
http://fairplayco.us/ Click on "forms and permits".
You will need to aquire the $5 permit from the town office on front street or use the online printable form and send it in prior to your adventure. Once you have this permit you must have it with you while you pan/sluice at the beach.
Again this is privately owned by the town of Fairplay and they "allow" panning and sluicing here. Follow their rules and you will not have any problems. Gold here historically was just amazing and the beach is very close to what the old timers used to call the "GOLD SLIDE".
ARKANSAS RIVER RECREATIONAL AREA-CHAFFEE COUNTYiNCLUDING CACHE CREEK AND POINT BAR
Third we will be heading further south and across the divide to the arkansas river area.
There is alot of public land here that is withdrawn from mineral entry. This area is also a "recreational area" which has addtional rules for some activities. Panning or sluicing fortunately is not one of those....no permits needed here.
Even though this area has been withdrawn there are still a few claims to watch out for as well as many private parcels.
To know where these many private parcels are and claims in this area, you will need to have some info/maps to help you out on the sites to assure yourself of being on the open areas you are looking for. A good map to start with would be the BLM series of "Surface/Mineral Management Status-Gunnison map" from there you can then progress to more detailed maps and pinpointing.
There are many areas intertwined along the river heading upstream (northerly) from Hwy 24 along the next 10 miles of river or so.
Then further on down south on hwy 285 from the Hwy 24 intersection, at Helca Junction (11 miles or so), there is a large stretch of public land on the river extending approximately 1.5 miles downstream from the campground and approximately 4.5 miles upstream. Again use the above mentioned map to get started and pinpoint with more detailed info from there.
If you are interested in finding out how those "details" are obtained........You may wish to check over the CP club memberships at http://www.coloradoprospector.com and click "membership" to the left in green.
Our main goal is to learn as a collective so we all know as much as we can......We would love to have your families participation too.
Thank you to all CP club members as their participation has brought you these free panning and sluicing areas to explore!!
Enjoy your adventures!
The CP club
Thank you Dan and Denise for providing us with this fine club. Colorado Prospector is a very different kind of a club to belong to. They have claims that are owned by other members that let us mine on them. But the really BIG difference is all the areas that they have researched and are OPEN to mine on. So whats so BIG about that? Well that means that a heck of alot work has already been done for you. All that is left is for you to make a discovery and file your own claim. Thats right FILE YOUR OWN CLAIM. And yes it very much encouraged by Dan and Denise. So if you like diggn in beautiful Colorado this is the club to join. Joe
Thank you Joe, excellent post.
Many folks are going to be able to pan and sluice with this information over the years to come, and that is thanks to folks like Joe <------COOL DUDE!
CP members are the coolest group!!
OOOOOHHHHRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
For those who are planning to get a free town permit for the Fairplay beach this year.........you will need to cross out the year and write in 2009 prior to sending in. Just got our permit for this year in case we wish to pan/sluice there or give any free lessons......got permit #1 for 2009 Print your's off today and don't forget to change the year. Also don't forget to mention family members and friends on the permit who might be with your party.
CP
Hi - I have a question about the Clear Creek open space. I've panned in a couple places along the creek with very little luck - of course, that's all relative depending on what one expects. But I don't think I've found more than half a dozen small, tiny, itty-bitty grain of sand sized specks after going through 5 5 gallon buckets concentrated through a 1/10" screen. This is a new hobby to me, but I think I'm doing a pretty good job of concentrating down, sluicing and panning through the diggings with a loupe. I'm getting some black sand, but almost no color. My father-in-law has a gold panning machine - has a rotating blue wheel, flushes water over, like an Archimede's screw - I'm sure you folks know they kind I mean (maybe a Desert Fox?), and still nothing shows. Do you know if that area has been worked to death or are there some decent spots to try? Also, what about the places above the traffic light on the way to Blackhawk? Is that still open area and any good places to try along that part of the stream? I don't mind getting out and digging - in fact, I really like being on the water as it's very relaxing, but I'd sure like to have something to show for the effort.
Thanks - Rich
I hit clear creek once, got loads of fine gold. Gold in every pan where I set up. Ran 6 gallons through the sluice then got cold and left with as much gold as I got in 30 gallons in the ammonosuc mining district in NH. I also found some silvery heavies.
Are there places above the split where i can sluice? I want to test the north fork but don't know where i would be ok going. I know about the claim upstream from elk creek for 1 mile but above that I cant seem to figure out, is it open space or federal or private?
Cool Forestwalker sounds like you had a great day out panning on Clear creek.
Where North Clear creek splits off going upstream is where Gilpin county begins and nearly all of the land from there to Blackhawk is private holdings. You were in the best place being down stream from there as that is in Jefferson county's open space and they do allow panning and sluicing as posted above.
Except for that single claim at Elk creek and going up stream from there for a mile.
That claim is BLM land that somehow through history ended up completely surrounded by private land. It's not patented but it was a valid location claim last time I checked on it.
Just one of those strange instances where public land is surrounded by private or vice versa......it does happen here and there.
Hope this info helps and good luck prospecting.
CP
Fairplay beach is now $5 for a permit 2010...dang economy.
http://www.fairplayco.us/forms/GoldPanningPermit2010.pdf
$5. isnt any big deal.
Being new to the area, I need to ask. When do the rivers here get clear of ice? I'm itching to get out again, mostly clear creek.
Watch those sunny spots as there will be some opening up soon I'm sure. Once the ice breaks up and is mostly gone at the lower elevations, then the upper areas melt will be contributing as well and flow levels will be on the rise.
Have fun and good luck out there everyone! Stay safe.
Updated-
http://www.fairplayco.us/forms/GoldPanningPermit2011.pdf
http://www.fairplayco.us/forms/Fairplay_Beach_Camping_Permit_Application.pdf
Thanks for the update Coalbunny.
Hello fellow Prospectors
This is my first post, so rather than just ask questions....I am a 50plus year old guy from Orlando. I got into treasure hunting and gold panning oh about 6 years ago. My treasure hunting has been primarily a Florida affair and does include some diving and underwater detecting, but mostly beach detecting (its about the only legal place left in the state to pursue this hobby). My gold panning has been limited to Georgia and North Carolina.
My best MD finds: A copper ingot from the Power Plant Wreck, Ft Pierce, The brass door knob & lockset from the Cape San Blas Lighthouse destroyed in the 1800s by a hurricane, 3 gold rings w gems, and a 1939 silver Washington.
On the panning front, after about a dozen trips Ive accumulated less than a half viel of dust & pickers , one nice olive Peridot and two full viels of very small garnets.
Needless to say all totaled I have spent over 1000% more persuing the hobby than what these finds might be worth.
Why keep doing it? Because it takes me to some of the most beautiful mostly secluded places in my travel zone and takes my mind off of witnessing the purposeful destruction of our Nation before my eyes.
Which brings me here.
I have to travel to Denver for bussiness periodically and always just fly in go to a hotel, then meetings, then fly back without ever seeing what Colorado has to offer. This month will be different. I plan on arriving early for my bussiness meeting and spending two solid weekend days at the end of August doing some prospecting.
This website has lead me to believe that Clear Creek would be my most convienient best bet to spend my two days exploring some panning sites. While I will probably pack my pans, classifier, tweezers, snuffer, magnet, loop etc., I will stop by lowes or HD for a couple of buckets, shovel & pick before getting to my hotel on that Friday evening, so if anyone here wants to meet up with me that weekend, I will have those things you can take home with you after that weekend. Woopie....right?
Now a couple of questions.
In Googleing Route 6, I see there are what appear to be some widened areas without guardrails along the road.
Is it permissible to park your car at these locations?
If so, do all or some of these have trails down to the Creek?
I will have my waders with me, In late August are there areas near the parking pull offs where the creek might be reasonalbly traversable with high waders on?
Is there more color upstream toward the 119 intersection or lower toward tunnel 1?
I see notes on the site about a claim around Elk creek, I have not found this creek intersection on Google, the BLM map site keeps saying maps are curently unavailable for the past week or so. The Jefferson county open space map does not identify this claim site either. Could someone locate it relative to the tunnels for me. Is it marked in some way?
I am only panning (shovel, pick & pan), maybe this opens up more location opportunities, It does in the National Parks in GA & NC,so if anyone has a location suggestion better than this for me or has any other suggestions or tidbits they can share, please do so by post or PM. I will be staying in the Central City Area.
Thanks
Dave from Orlando
Hi Dave,
Welcome to the ColoradoProspector forums, make yourself right at home browsing around.
The more I read, the more I think I am going to try clear creek around the Golden area, and I may wander over to Blawkhawk and try at Vics. I really would like to find a spot that I could file my own claim, on a creek or river, then I would consider relocating. Gold is gonna do nothing but go up in price and at 1600.00 oz you could support or at least help support yourself.
This might not be the right thread for this question, but here goes: What is the status of areas along highways that are in the right of way? I know that you can't claim these areas, but can you work them on a very small scale on a sporatic basis? I'm thinking about maybe a sand bar that has formed under a bridge or an overpass. Or perhaps a gravel bar just downstream from a railroad piling. Some of these areas might be good gold collectors that could be worked after the runoff and then left until next year. Any thoughts?
Great question...also what about in culverts under roads or in the bed of a ditch running along in the right of way next to a road?
my guess would be to contact the highway department/county/city to see what is allowed, if it's NF make sure it hasn't been withdrawn from mineral claim, some of the USFS area managers have closed these areas to any type of propecting/panning.
Caution, Red Flag, Warning!
Any digging or disturbing the soil around roads, bridges, pylons, trusses, culverts or roadways is frowned upon by a whole host of people. Corps of Engineers, DOT, BLM, NFS, and Privet land owners is just a few. I understand where they are coming from. Many structures have been damaged due to uncontrolled erosion and the cost to repair these things is enormous. Sometimes the officials will completely shut down an area because someone dug too close to a standing structure. I'm sure that what is being discussed here on this thread is just small scale, but to the officials any material being disturbed is a no-no. There is a bylaw distance a person must be from any structure. If I was going to be close to one I would definitely take the time to make sure I was legal. This has been a big problem in some areas. I'm even going to suggest that the officials would like to make an "example" out of someone for violating this. And they would have a lot of support from many different agencies.
Sorry to sound so negative but in the end a little research before you go will give you a piece of mind and make your outing a lot more enjoyable. Good luck, Woody.
Very good point Woody and I agree that can be a problem in many ways.
Another very important thing to note.....a road "right of way" is an "easement" not ownership. While DOT may have authority over the roadway, bridges etc.....ownership is still that of the original owner concerned with private land.
While many folks think a road right of way means it's open.....in fact it's very much the opposite. Road easemenst are granted by the land owner for the road. Ownership is not given away with that easement.
Good luck out there everyone, and as said above, check and verify the research to make sure your adventure is both fun and successful!
CP
Lots of good cautions here, thanks!
One correction I think: withdrawn from mineral claim means you cannot file a federal mining claim but recreational prospecting ( no intent to claim) is still ok in most cases...right?
Cache Creek is a good example of this!
Right Kevin, generally speaking that's the case on minerally withdrawn land unless (like Cached creek) there are additional rules imposed on a specific area restricting certain activities via the special designation of the area to impose those special rules. In some places (national parks/monuments) all digging is prohibited for the specific area, not even sample collecting off the surface is allowed.
When poking around looking for areas, I found this on the County Clerk's website:
http://map.co.clear-creek.co.us/imf/sites/ClearMap/jsp/launch.jsp?popup_blocked=true
I like it...I like it a lot.
Chris
Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place. - John Bender
Totally cool. I suggest also posting in a forum area related to prospecting and finding land to claim as this will help a lot there!
Yep that disclaimer says it all and is what I was going to point out too.
Well put Swizz.
It looks like the best thing about that map is that it points out the areas to avoid. Some of those areas look like claim stacked on top of claim. Sheesh, who could sort it out?
Change of subject: While working Clear Creek this winter (to keep my hand in) I found some very interesting rocks. Being a rockhound, I always keep an eye out for cuttable stone in the classifing screens. Some that I have found seem to have small veins or wires of gold in them. At first I thought these to be an anomally, but after I realized what to look for, they seem to be pretty common. Has anyone found anything like this? (I will try to post a picture, if I can get one, but I am a computer moron so no promises)
The stone is brown to beige (aren't they all) fine textured and seem to be more dense than most. Some also have included crystals of a lighter color. Porphry (sp?) maybe? My geologist brother said if I could get a pickup load of the stuff it might be worth going for extraction.
Can anyone shed some light? (or should I just keep picking 'em out until I have that pickup load)
Good Info !!!! Thanks a million !!!
On my way back from Denver for work, I managed to finally stop by Cache Creek. Interesting area. Did a bit of sampling and found a spot with color so filled a few buckets with dirt to run at home. But I have a question about the place. I noticed in some spots you get down to layers of basically a white/grey dirt. Is there gold in that layer? Or below it? Not familiar with that area so I figured I'd ask those that have been there before.
i have been looking for somewhere around the twin lakes area to sluice/pan. I have been looking in the forums and I have not found anything in this area. Does anybody know of an area around the twin lakes area to run a sluice? I would figure the higher the elevation of the creek, stream the better it would be for color
An update concerning the "Free Panning and Sluicing Areas".........
We do not include any city parks or open space east (downstream) of Jefferson county's open space for the "Free Panning and Sluicing areas" intentionally. That's from Golden's western city limit and on downstream.
I know alot of folks like to use the city parks along Clear creek as well as the South Platte but those are not what we view here as the typical areas we should list for folks to go prospect. Those metro area parks have absolutely nothing to do with anyones "right to prospect" in the field which is what we educate about here.
Jefferson county's open space is listed even though it's a privately held "park", it is a much larger expanse with allowed free activities anyways.......more ground, better gold and not far from any of the metro. Nothing east (downstream) of tunnel #1 on Clear creek was included
This thread also does not/should not include any pay to dig sites for the general publics references to find "free panning and sluicing".
As far as those city parks go along Clear creek or the South Platte river, there is also a warning that folks should see as well.....
http://www.coloradoprospector.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3827
Have fun out there folks, know where you stand and you'll be successful!!
I know that this thread is a little out of date so I will add something to it.
In late June of 2013 I stayed at the Hand Hotel in Fairplay. It is directly above the river/pond area where you go panning. When I was there they were about to close off the beach area for a major remodel of the parking area. I have not been able to find any pictures of how it looks today, but I believe that the images you can see on Google/Google Earth are before it was remodeled. I remember that there was talk of doing some dredging in the pond so it's possible that they have dug up and redeposited some of the previously submerged tailings from the 1800's.
There were people there that were working on the old tailings piles. In fact there were some large holes in the piles. That tells me that either someone was trying to make a grave, or they were finding gold in that spot.
Maybe someone else has some more current information on that area.
The permit was still only $5.
Actually, that has changed yet again.
Fairplay is now $5 per week or $35 per year. The fee schedule can be found at http://www.fairplayco.us/docsforms/FeeSchedule08042014.pdf
Application can be found at http://www.fairplayco.us/docsforms/GoldPanningPermit2014.pdf
Word of mouth has it this will again change in 2015.
Man, all these changes in the permits, it's almost like they think there's gold in them gravels....
I used to go there quite often about 15/20 years ago. Found some good stuff. If it is as good as it was back then, I'd highly recommend it, especially for a
beginner.
Just a little ways up the creek from that spot, there used to be a Gravel-pit mining operation. They had a process set-up that would capture the gold as they
washed the gravel. At the time it was ran by a feller named George. I talked with George from time to time. He used to let me pan down by the creek. I gave
him an Arrowhead I made from obsidian as a token of thanks. Last time I talked with him ol' George he was doing pretty rough. I heard his sister took over the
operation and things went sour between them. George was a tuff 'ol boot. A reminder of prospectors from days gone by.
Thanks George, wherever you may be, Woody.
Josh and I spent time time this week at Clear Creek, in the Jeff Co Open Space area... had a great time and found some golden goodness! Will definitely be hitting it again soon!
THis dredge sucks!
100
You guys rock!
Exciting! I'm so itchy for minerals. Bleh!
Josh and I are headed back up Sun/Mon if anyone wants to hook up!
I loaded up the Jeepy and will try to be there around mid morning tomorrow. I'm just gonna run the mini long tom.
Great! Believe it or not I still have not fully shaken this crud I've had for the last 3 1/2 weeks but I think I'm better than 90%.
and, and, and...... it'll be awesome to see you guys again!
You guys gonna kidnap Jessie for the day?
Hi y'all, just joined. Glad to be here!
My brother and I are just getting into prospecting. If anyone would like some labor and be willing to deal w/ us noobs, we'd be happy to apprentice. We're available on Sundays. Cheers!
Hi Rita, thanks for the update on the Fairplay town beach panning price. I've edited the beginning post to show that increase as well.
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