recreational gold panning BC

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[goldngemgirl]

Hello there,

I am interested in trying gold panning for fun and do not have a clue where to start.  I'm from Calgary and am looking to find a place close to Alberta, found info on a few places here but thought if I have to drive for a few hours it would be prettier in BC:)  I have been doing some reading here, I did see the post with maps for recreational panning but I will admit that I am totally directionally challenged! lol!  Is there anyone out there who can tell me a simple little place to start, easy to find and hopefully not miles into the woods.  What I'm looking for is something easy like 'drive up this highway for ?km and on the right hand side of the road is a path to the creek....
I'm not sure it's as easy as that, but any help would be very much appreciated.  Thanks!  Rena

Oh, also can you pan in a national park?   

[VikingSniper]

Hi Rena  Welcome to the forum 
How far are you willing to travel? I go to the REC area at the wildhorse..it is about 400 Km one way from Cowtown.
Most of the Rec panning areas in the woods..the ones off the Fraser River are close to the highway and you
have a chance to find Gold and Platinum  .
And a rule of thumb..easy spots to get to have been worked many times before

[goldngemgirl]

Thank you for the welcome, and the reply:)

I was looking to stay in Field, have to find pet friendly accommodations.  Where abouts is the Wildhorse rec area?   

[goilers]

Hi Rena, you have come to the right place for beginners.  There are lots of guys in BC that have tons of good info.  If you just want to try it out and be home the same day you can try the Red Deer river, or in Devon south west of Edmonton by the bridge and you will find gold. Viking is right that easy to reach spots are picked over. 

[VikingSniper]

Do you mean Field BC...there is gold west of field.. north of  Revelstoke,here is a link to the claim maps..
you don't want to go on someones claim without permission.
Mineral Titles Online
Recreational Panning Reserves
There is a recreational panning reserve about 200 km north of Revelstoke..called GoldSteam
BUT if you do go there you will want to take plenty of food and water and
make sure you have lots of gas..its in the middle of noware  
The WildHorse has lots of history,gold rush 1863-1864 and runs beside Fort Steele..The
road can be a TAD bumpy and its about 13 km from fort steele to the panning reserve.
Fort Steele campground is pet friendly..last year they had a dog show

[Seeker]

Where abouts is the Wildhorse rec area?   

I hope this helps

[goldngemgirl]

Wow, thanks for all the info guys!

Yes, I did mean Field BC. 

Thank you for the info in AB goilers, I'll definitely try that another time, but also wanted to take a little trip to BC to see all the fall color and take pics.  It does sound easy to find which is a definite plus!

With regards to the 'pet friendly thing' I"m looking for a hotel not a campground...I have 3 great danes I'm bringing with me and I don't have a tent big enough to camp with them, lol!  I'm not looking to go to the middle of nowhere yet....

Thanks Seeker for the maps too....but I'm the first to admit that unless I have exact directions (go this far and turn right kinda directions) that I get impossibly lost!  Maps don't seem to mean anything to me, lol! 

So for this first try I do want to stay near Field, somewhere easy to get to where I won't trespass on anyone's claim.

Don't you guys have a little treasure map with the big X on it that you can share???    Rena

[VikingSniper]

3 great danes    WOW big dogs...I don't think you will have any problems with bears 
Gold is where you find it  meaning gold is where others have found it.

[goldngemgirl]

Yes they are!  We were going to leave them at home but heard all sorts of stories about the bears so decided it would be a good idea to bring them:)

[mochan234]

i think ive got a claim you could work if you wanted to try it,its about 75 k from williams lake,i can give you the coordinates if you are intrested.i bought the mineral titles in may this year ,i think there is a need for it to be worked every twelve months to keep the tenure legal,so if you or anyone else is intrested ,send me a message.its about 450 metres by 250 metres square.so loads of digging to be done.the place is called prosperity,in the chilcotin forest district.