Best place to pan for gold ???

My family and I will be on the Statendam NB Alaskan cruise May 24th -May 31st followed by a 1 week RV trip into the interior of Alaska. On the cruise we stop in Ketichan, Juneau, Skagway and Seward. The land portion includes Denali, Fairbanks, Glennalen and Anchorage.

My sons (11 and 9 yrs old) would love to go panning for gold.

My questions is.....

Where is the best place to go for the experience ???? :confused:

Any help would be much appreciated.

My 7 YO did not want to have anything to do with the 'staged' gold panning experiences. So, I think your kids might be a little bored...He wanted to pan for 'real' gold in a 'real' setting. Not only are they staged, but they are pricey.

Given that fact that you are going to be doing a land based tour, I think that portion is your best bet.

Let me dig out my vacation planning materials and I can find were I made the notes about gold panning...In the meantime maybe someone else can provide some useful information. There are several spots where you can legally pan and have an awesome experience!

I'll get back to you!

I think I've been to every gold panning operation in Alaska and the Yukon. The best on your route is the Eldorado Gold Mine at Fairbanks ( http://www.eldoradogoldmine.com/ ), followed by the Klondike Gold Dredge at Skagway ( http://www.klondikegolddredge.com/ ).

Here you go. When we lived in Anchorage I took my kids down to Crow Creek 4 or 5 times each summer.

http://www.crowcreekmine.com/index.htm/Guided_Tours_and_Weekend_Mining_Excurions.html

Good suggestion, bearbait - I'd forgotten about Crow Creek for some reason. It's a wonderful spot for a stop on an RV tour.

Thank you Yukon and bearbait for the information on where to pan for gold. The crowcreek mine does not seem to be as "touristy" so I think we will look into booking through them.

Do ya'll have any other "must see or do" suggestions for the land portion of our trip? It is nice to be flexible and have the option of changing our schedule as we see fit. The only thing set in stone is out visit to Denali and the TWT excursion.

Thanks again for any input.

Thank you Yukon and bearbait for the information on where to pan for gold. The crowcreek mine does not seem to be as "touristy" so I think we will look into booking through them.

No need to "book" Crow Creek - just stop in on the way by, after your visit to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center ( http://awcc.org/home.html ).

I know of a really nice, remote prospecting place. It's past the Forks Roadhouse on the Petersville Rd. That's right by Trapper Creek. Best though to call the roadhouse and ask about the road conditions. If it's been raining part of the road can be a soupy mess.

http://www.forksroadhouse.com/

http://www.akmining.com/mine/peters.htm

How about in Juneau? I heard Gold Creek is publicly open for gold panning? Are there specific areas?