You can pan for gold legally on a lot of public land, but the rules change at every boundary. A few places are set aside for recreational panning, such as Nome Creek in Alaska and Lynx Creek in Arizona. Beyond those, much of the land run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service is open to hand panning if you stay off mining claims, private land and closed areas. What changes is which tools you may bring.

This page is desk research from BLM, Forest Service and state agency sources, quoted and linked below. Some brochures are several years old, so confirm with the local office before you go.

Three checks before you pan

  1. Who manages the land. On BLM land, 43 CFR 3809.5 says casual use “generally includes” hand panning. On national forests, 36 CFR 228.4 lists “gold panning, metal detecting, non-motorized hand sluicing” among activities that need no notice of intent. National parks are different: 36 CFR 2.1 prohibits “removing, digging, or disturbing from its natural state” a “mineral resource,” except as otherwise provided in those rules.
  2. Whether the spot is claimed. BLM’s 2026 claims packet for Montana and the Dakotas says gold panning “is allowed on BLM lands without special permits, unless expressly prohibited (i.e., where the mineral rights have been claimed).” The same packet says that to prospect on an existing unpatented claim, “you must have permission from the current claimant.” The mining claims guide explains how to check claim records.
  3. Whether the area is closed. The Prescott National Forest says no collecting is allowed “in designated wilderness areas, other sensitive areas, and areas withdrawn from mineral entry.” Private land inside a forest is “not open for prospecting without permission,” says the Black Hills National Forest.

Public panning areas at a glance

State Place Managed by Tools allowed
Alaska Nome Creek valley; Jack Wade Creek BLM Hand tools, rocker and sluice boxes
Alaska Open stream segments along the Dalton Highway BLM Pick, shovel, rocker, sluice, metal detector (2013 brochure)
Alaska Bertha, Sixmile, Resurrection and Crescent creeks Chugach National Forest Pans and hand-fed sluices (2018 booklet)
Arizona Lynx Creek Gold Pan Day Use Area Prescott National Forest Pans, detectors, hand tools
California Merced River; South Fork American River BLM Panning; check claims first
California PiPi Campground and Cache Rock areas Eldorado National Forest Panning, no permit
California South Yuba River State Park; Auburn State Recreation Area California State Parks Hands and gold pans only
Colorado Cache Creek Placer Area BLM Panning and sluicing in the marked area (2022 map)
Montana Libby Creek Recreational Gold Panning Area Kootenai National Forest Ask the ranger district
New Hampshire Pemigewasset Ranger District White Mountain National Forest Free permit; pan and trowel
Oregon Island Creek Day Use Area; Quartzville Creek BLM Panning; stay off claims
Tennessee Lyons Creek and Wildcat Creek Cherokee National Forest Hand panning only (forest map)

State by state

Alaska

BLM Alaska limits prospecting to “hand tools and light equipment, such as gold pans, rocker boxes, sluice boxes, or picks and shovels.” The Nome Creek valley, at milepost 57 of the Steese Highway, “offers a four-mile area set aside for recreational gold panning.” Jack Wade Creek has a public panning area from a quarter mile above the Walker Fork Campground to the claims near milepost 85. BLM’s Dalton Highway brochure (2013 revision) lists segments “where you can pan without worrying about existing claims,” but the pipeline right-of-way “is closed to recreational mining.” Confirm the current open segments with BLM Alaska before you go.

On the Kenai Peninsula, the 2018 BLM and Forest Service booklet says its four Chugach National Forest panning areas are “withdrawn from mineral entry and have no mining claims,” and that pans and hand-fed sluices are allowed there year-round. Check the current rules with the Chugach National Forest.

Arizona

The Prescott National Forest says the free Lynx Creek site “is primarily used for recreational gold panning.” In the Lynx Creek withdrawal area, “Except for gold pans, metal detectors and hand tools, such as picks and shovels,” motorized or mechanical equipment is prohibited. Digging must stay below the stream’s high-water mark, and holes must be filled before you leave.

California

BLM lists recreational gold panning at the Merced River, “just downstream from Yosemite,” and posts a claims map for it. The South Fork American River, site of the 1848 Sutter’s Mill discovery, also lists panning. The Eldorado National Forest’s 2024 handout says panning needs no permit.

California State Parks allows panning by “the ‘hands and pans’ method” at South Yuba River State Park. Its rules cap collecting at 15 pounds per person per day, and muddy water “must not be visible more than 20 feet from the panning operation.” Auburn State Recreation Area’s 2018 fact sheet limits panning to shorelines, beaches and gravel bars, with hands and gold pans only. Suction dredging is still banned statewide: the California Department of Fish and Wildlife says it “is currently prohibited and unlawful throughout California.”

Colorado

BLM’s 2022 map of the Cache Creek Placer Area marks one zone, “Recreational digging allowed in this area only,” and says digging is prohibited in all other areas. BLM’s page for the map says traces of gold may be found “within the area open to recreational gold panning and sluicing activity,” and that motorized access is limited to Memorial Day weekend through November 30. Rules can change after a map is printed, so check current terms with BLM’s Royal Gorge Field Office before you go.

Georgia

The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest says “recreational panning for gold in most stream beds is allowed,” with no permit, “when only a small hand shovel or trowel and a pan are used.” In-stream sluices and suction dredges are not allowed.

Idaho

The Idaho Department of Water Resources says you “may pan on public lands (federal, state, or local government-owned lands) without a permit,” though the land manager may require permission. Pans, rockers and non-powered sluices need an IDWR permit only above set limits, such as more than a quarter cubic yard of streambed material an hour. Small scale mining is banned outright on the Middle Fork Clearwater, Middle Fork Salmon and St. Joe rivers.

Montana

The Forest Service’s Northern Region says gold panning needs no permit, though “Some Restrictions may apply,” and that “many national forests do not have designated mineral collecting areas.” Kootenai National Forest records name a Libby Creek Recreational Gold Panning Area about 23 miles south of Libby.

Nevada

BLM Nevada’s undated Collecting on Public Lands brochure says gold “may be prospected for with hand tools including pans and metal detectors,” but “sluicing, dredging and commercial mining require permits.” Unlike the Prescott and North Carolina forests, the brochure allows recreational panning without mechanical equipment in wilderness and wilderness study areas when there is no surface disturbance. Because the brochure carries no date, confirm these rules with the BLM Nevada office for the area.

New Hampshire

On the White Mountain National Forest, “A free permit is required for gold panning,” from any district office. Panning centers on the Pemigewasset Ranger District. The forest allows a small trowel and a gold pan and prohibits sluice boxes, rocker boxes and dredges.

North Carolina

The national forests in North Carolina allow panning only “in the bed of a stream,” with “a standard, traditional sized gold pan” and a small trowel. Shovels, picks and sluice boxes are prohibited, and so is collecting in wilderness and wild and scenic river corridors.

Oregon

BLM says the Island Creek Day Use Area on the Cow Creek Back Country Byway is a place to “pan for gold,” and asks visitors to stay off “private mining claims marked along the creek.” Quartzville Creek, reached from Sweet Home, “is popular for gold panning.” Oregon DEQ’s general permit says hand panning “is exempt from permitting requirements.”

South Dakota and Wyoming

The Black Hills National Forest says “Hand tools and non-motorized panning usually allowed without a permit or bond.” The Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests’ 2022 handout sets the mechanized season at July 1 to September 10, says “Hand panning is allowed outside of those dates,” and says “Only hand panning is allowed in any Class I water.” Confirm the current season with the forest.

Tennessee

The Cherokee National Forest’s FAQ says “Only two locations on the Cherokee National Forest are available for gold collecting.” Its map of them marks Lyons Creek and Wildcat Creek in the Tellico Ranger District as “Designated Recreational Prospecting” and “Hand Panning Only.” Ask the Tellico Ranger District about any other conditions before you go.

Washington

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) says its Gold and Fish pamphlet serves as the Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA) for the activities it describes. The 2021 pamphlet allows year-round prospecting, under set limits, in all fresh waters except lakes, with pans and non-motorized sluices whose riffle areas total 3 square feet or less. The state geology division’s older panning sheet (revised 2010) puts it differently: it says no formal HPA is needed for a gold pan, mini-rocker box or “non-motorized, small sluice box,” but “You must have a formal HPA for sluicing and dredging.” The sheet does not say how small a sluice must be, so ask WDFW, which administers HPAs, before you bring one. The geology division’s sheet also lists historic placer areas but warns that “many, if not most, of these areas are closed to the public.”

Finding a spot that is not on a list

Outside designated areas, ask the land manager’s office first. The Black Hills National Forest advises checking county records and looking for claim markers before you prospect. The Northern Region also suggests local prospecting clubs. To pick a stream, see where to find gold in the US , then follow how to pan for gold step by step . Before moving up to a sluice or dredge, check the tool rules above and the state permits in gold dredging for beginners .

FAQ

Can I pan for gold on BLM land without a permit?

Usually. Federal rules treat hand panning as casual use on BLM land, and BLM says gold panning needs no special permit unless expressly prohibited, such as where the mineral rights have been claimed.

Can I pan for gold in a national park?

Generally no. National Park Service rules at 36 CFR 2.1 prohibit removing, digging or disturbing a mineral resource from its natural state, except as otherwise provided in those regulations. National forests and BLM land are where most public panning happens.

Can I use a sluice box at public panning areas?

It depends on the agency. BLM Alaska allows sluice boxes, and a 2018 BLM and Forest Service booklet allows hand-fed sluices in four Chugach National Forest panning areas. The White Mountain National Forest, the Chattahoochee-Oconee, the national forests in North Carolina and California State Parks allow only pans and small hand tools.

Sources