Gold mine & panning excursion

[tarheelmjfan]

We wanted to book this tour through Celebrity, but the time conflicts with our heli/dog sled tour, which begins at 2pm & lasts 3 hrs. & 15 min. This was a 3 hr. tour of the historic gold mine, then panning for gold. DH really wants to take this tour. Any suggestions for taking this tour in the morning. We dock at 8am. If not, is there an equivalent tour at one of the other ports? TIA :)

[Yukon]

I had mixed feelings about this Juneau excursion (Cathy & I took it last year). The bus driver was very good, the guy who does the underground part of the tour was fabulous (I worked underground in a mine many years ago, so know what's correct and what's b.s.), the two girls who do the above-ground talks were awful (typical Princess Parrots). The panning was embarrassing - you get a gold-pan the size of a medium-sized soup bowl (and nobody seemed to mind that the mine was hardrock gold, which you can't pan).

 

Would I recommend it? Nope, although it's the only underground tour I know of, except for one at Brittania Beach, north of Vancouver.

 

Murray

[tarheelmjfan]

We're not able to fit the Celebrity time slot into our plans. Is there someone else we can book the underground tour through? Thanks :)

[Mike2131]

I had mixed feelings about this Juneau excursion (Cathy & I took it last year). The bus driver was very good, the guy who does the underground part of the tour was fabulous (I worked underground in a mine many years ago, so know what's correct and what's b.s.), the two girls who do the above-ground talks were awful (typical Princess Parrots). The panning was embarrassing - you get a gold-pan the size of a medium-sized soup bowl (and nobody seemed to mind that the mine was hardrock gold, which you can't pan).

 

Would I recommend it? Nope, although it's the only underground tour I know of, except for one at Brittania Beach, north of Vancouver.

 

Murray

 

Hi!

The only experience we had was in Fairbanks as part of a tour. The mine was typical of Alaska - a sluice mine (pretty interesting). I imagine most of the gold mining in Alaska was this type vs. hard rock. A tour of a hard rock mine is indeed interesting (lived in Colorado), but Skagway will offer the chance to pan if your husband is determined to do it.

 

Murray is right about it being a pretty tourist experience. After the on-site demo of the mine/panning technique and lecture, everyone sits at long troughs under cover and you get a little sack of paydirt. The guides walk around and show you how to do it. They will even "finish up" your pan if you like. You take it inside and they dry it, weigh it, and put it in a little container like a 35mm film canister as a souvenir.

 

I think panning is probably offered as part of the White Pass RR/Coach tour where a stop is made at a replica gold camp on the way back to Skagway.

 

Have a great cruise!