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New Here! New to the hobby!, Looking forward to prospecting with my kids!
dantyer
post Oct 16 2017, 12:45 PM
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Thanks for allowing me to be here! My dad took me a few times when I was a lot younger and panning and running a sluice was a great memory of growing up. I now have two kids of my own and we are an avid outdoors family. I just bought a couple pans and a small sluice. I am wanting to teach my kids more about looking for gold and minerals.

I live in northern Colorado in the town of Laporte. I live right by the mouth of the Poudre Canyon and would like to take them up the canyon to start. I have been trying to find information on what areas I am able to pan the river. I want to make sure I understand the laws correctly and am taking my kids to do this legally. What is a good resource to look at to see what sections of river are available to do this with so I am not stepping on somebodies claim. I have tried to call the forest service locally and the parks and wildlife office and both had no idea.

Also what are other good areas to go around northern Colorado with kids?
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Dave S.
post Oct 16 2017, 09:09 PM
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Welcome Dantyer! arms.gif

I don't know good places for panning in your immediate area (yet). But I will look into it, and try to come up with a few suggestions.

If you are willing to drive to Denver, I can show you some recreational areas here in the city. Clear Creek is a good place to begin learning, and it is usually warmer than most other places this time of year. (there are some areas to avoid on this creek).

I might also be inviting club members (pay members, and maybe some non-pay members) for a Barite crystal dig this weekend, that is good for kids. The Barite location is in NorthEast Colorado near the Nebraska border (2 hour drive from Denver, probably about same distance/time for you.)

Let me know if these suggestions sound good for ya. (post here, or message me on this website).

Here are some pictures of the Barite dig area, and some of our finds of Barite, Calcite, Fossil snails, and a lizard that lives there (Horny Toad).

Click on each picture for a better view.

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Thankful member of COLORADO PROSPECTOR CLUB
Level 2 Joined Oct. 19th 2014 (pay member since Apr. 1st 2015)
Referral code: DS531

"Like a fine gemstone, the mind is more beautiful when it is open and free to receive the light
." - (Dave's ramblings 52 : 80 )
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Crusty
post Oct 17 2017, 06:17 AM
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Great snail fossil pic Dave; hadn't seen that one!

Dantyer, welcome! Not familia with that area but hopefully someone who knows it will chime in!


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Morgan
post Nov 25 2017, 11:27 AM
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QUOTE (dantyer @ Oct 16 2017, 11:45 AM) *
I live in northern Colorado in the town of Laporte. I live right by the mouth of the Poudre Canyon and would like to take them up the canyon to start. I have been trying to find information on what areas I am able to pan the river. I want to make sure I understand the laws correctly and am taking my kids to do this legally. What is a good resource to look at to see what sections of river are available to do this with so I am not stepping on somebodies claim. I have tried to call the forest service locally and the parks and wildlife office and both had no idea.

Also what are other good areas to go around northern Colorado with kids?

HI,
I live in Fort Collins and am somewhat new to panning, etc. Here's what I've come up with so far:

I'm pretty sure you can't pan or do any other prospecting in the Poudre River. It's a Wild and Scenic river and is restricted as far as I know. If I'm wrong about that, I'd love to know about it!

Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters Club is a local club that meets monthly on first Wed of the month, near Mulberry/I-20. http://rmpth.com/
I'm not a big club joiner, but I joined and enjoy it very much. Lots of local info from friendly crowd. Mostly detector folks, but some panning folks too.

From chatting with some of the members, I found an area on FS land that you can easily access. Go up Poudre Canyon to Stove Prairie Rd, take a left on Stove Prairie Rd and go a short ways until you see a pull off on the right. (The only pull off on the right, you can't miss it.)
There are signs there that suggest that it is Forest Service land, no camping signs, etc. There is a small stream with water in it. That's all I know for sure about this site. Are there claims on this site? I don't know. I've researched what
APPEARS TO BE the site I'm referring to on LR2000 and it shows numerous claims that are all CLOSED. It doesn't show any active claims here. I haven't followed up on this research and I am very new to LR2000, so don't rely on me for factual info on claim status here, or anywhere else.

Another club member sent me up Seven Mile Creek Road, near Rustic, CO, which was quite an adventure in my high clearance Tacoma.
Youtube videos show what to expect on this road, this one in particular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIGmOkf_stY
The club members have actually found gold in this area, and once again I found no active claims around here. (Same disclaimer as above applies here) Using a topo map I was able to hopefully distinguish between private and FS land.

I didn't prospect either of these areas. The drive on Seven Mile Creek Rd was enough excitement for me.

A good place to take kids and is legal for prospecting, very easy to get to, AND you can find gold there is at Big Bend on the Platte in Thornton. I go there often.
https://findinggoldincolorado.com/hints-for...ng-at-big-bend/
Park at the trailhead, hike down the paved path for a couple hundred yards and you are there. It's really nice there, feels kind of remote for being so close to town.
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MikeS
post Nov 26 2017, 03:36 PM
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Welcome to the forums Dantyer and Morgan! sign0016.gif

Most of the Poudre Canyon is National Forest and it looks like it is open for prospecting. There is several areas with private property along the canyon to stay away from. Some of the areas near the official NF campgrounds may be restricted.

Just north of Rustic is one of the only notable gold occurrences in the county. Sevenmile Creek/Prohibition Mt. has several active gold claims and it is important to do good research to avoid the active claims in that area.

Most of the Poudre River/Canyon is not known for significant gold but I would guess you can find some small flakes in there.

The first 1.8 miles of Stove Prairie Rd is on NF lands and appears to be open for prospecting in that area.


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Colorado Roots
post Dec 28 2017, 05:49 PM
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Nice pics dave-







Welcome and enjoy your sta new member!!
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