Where to find gold in Alaska

Counties with the most gold history

The table ranks Alaska counties by historic gold producers in USGS records and shows how many were placers. A long list usually means an old mining district with many claims, and creeks below those districts are where placer gold was worked.

USGS Mineral Resources Data System, retrieved 2026-10-13. It was last updated around 2011. "Placer" here means a producer whose USGS deposit type or site name says placer, so some placers recorded under other names are missed.

Largest recorded placer sites in Alaska

"Output" is a USGS size class whose meaning changed over the years. Use it to compare sites inside this data, not as tonnage. Most of these sites are on private land or under claim.

Places to pan for gold in Alaska

Tour mines, panning spots and museums from Google Maps listings, most-reviewed first. Check hours and prices with the operator.

All 19 gold mine tours and panning spots in Alaska

Public recreational panning areas in our listings: Caribou Creek Recreational Mining Area. Check each area's current rules with the managing agency.

Panning rules in Alaska

• BLM land: hand panning and non-motorized sluicing are listed as "casual use", activity that ordinarily causes no or negligible disturbance (43 CFR 3809.5). Mechanized earth-moving equipment is not.
• National forests: no notice of intent is needed for prospecting that will not significantly disturb the surface, and the rule names gold panning as an example (36 CFR 228.4).
• National parks: collecting minerals, gold panning included, is generally prohibited.
• Claims and private land: a mining claim or private property means you need the claimant's or owner's permission first.

Alaska: Alaska's list of generally allowed uses of state land (11 AAC 96.020) includes recreational gold panning and prospecting with light portable equipment such as a hand-operated pick, shovel or pan, limits suction dredges to a 6-inch nozzle and 18 horsepower, and does not apply to state parks. On the Dalton Highway, BLM Alaska's panning brochure closes the pipeline right-of-way to recreational mining and lists the stream segments it has checked for claims. (Alaska 11 AAC 96.020)

The panning rules guide has the details and every source. Claim records are public: search BLM's Mineral and Land Records System before you assume ground is open.

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