The essentials
- Gold pan. Separates gold from sand and gravel. Look for: 10 to 14 inches across, plastic, with riffles on one side; dark green, black or blue makes small flakes easier to see.
- Classifier. Screens out rocks before they go in the pan. Look for: a sieve that sits on your pan or bucket, with half-inch or quarter-inch holes.
- Snuffer bottle. Sucks up flakes and fine black sand from the pan. Look for: a soft squeeze bottle with a narrow tube.
- Vial. Keeps what you find. Look for: small, with a screw cap. Fill it with water so flakes sink and stay visible.
- Small shovel or trowel. Digs material from gravel bars and bedrock cracks. Look for: short handle and a strong blade.
- Bucket. Carries material to the water and holds the classifier. Look for: a 5-gallon bucket, the usual size.
Useful additions
- Finishing pan: A smaller pan for working black sand down at the end.
- Tweezers and a magnifier: For picking out the smallest flakes.
- Crevice tool: A thin pick or bent spoon for cleaning bedrock cracks, where gold collects.
- Magnet: Pulls magnetite out of black sand. Gold is not magnetic, so what stays behind is easier to check.
- Waterproof boots and gloves: Mountain creeks are cold even in summer.
- Sluice box: Lets you run more gravel than a pan. Hand-fed, non-motorized sluicing is treated differently from motorized equipment, so check the rules for the place first.
What to leave at home
Motorized pumps, highbankers and suction dredges are where the rules get strict. BLM's casual-use definition excludes mechanized earth-moving equipment, and although it lists small portable suction dredges, states can require permits: California requires one for any suction dredge. Bring motorized gear only where the managing agency and the state have said yes in writing. Metal detectors are listed as casual use on BLM land, but national parks and many state parks ban collecting altogether. The panning rules guide has the sources.
Ready-made kits and pay dirt
Kits sold online and at tour mines usually bundle a pan, a classifier, a snuffer bottle and vials, and some add a bag of pay dirt: gravel with gold mixed in, for practice at home. Check that a kit's pan has riffles and that the classifier fits the pan or bucket you have. Many tour mines also sell buckets of pay dirt on site, which is the easiest way to see what gold looks like in a pan before you try a creek.
Where to use it
How to pan for gold and where placer gold was recorded, gold panning and mine tours near you, and state pages for Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada.