British Columbia

To say Spruce Creek Recreational Panning Reserve is not easy to get to is the epitome of understatement. Of the 14 official BC panning reserves, this is by far the most remote. Tucked up in the northwest corner of the province to the east of Atlin, the reserve is near the Yukon and Alaska borders. … Read more

Just to the east of Creston, off the Crowsnest Highway, you’ll find the Erickson Recreational Panning Reserve. The reserve is a tidy 500 m by 1 km rectangle of land spanning the Goat River in a forested, semi-developed area on the edge of town. Most of the land within the reserve is privately held, so … Read more

The Cariboo is rich with gold history so it’s not surprising that the Quesnel Fraser Junction Recreational Panning Reserve is located right in the heart of Quesnel, BC. As the name suggests, the Quesnel Fraser Junction Recreational Panning Reserve if focused on the confluence of the Quesnel and Fraser Rivers in the city’s downtown. This … Read more

Yale Town Recreational Panning Reserve encompasses approximatley 600 m of the town’s riverfront along the Fraser River. The panning reserve technically includes much of the town itself, you’re unlikely to find any of the residents of this quaint historic town willing to let you dig up their yards. The panning reserve is easy to get … Read more

Wildhorse River Recreational Panning Reserve is located on the eastern flank of Fort Steele, a heritage town north of Cranbrook, British Columbia. It is about 1 km in width and straddles the Wildhorse River for a touch more than 3 km in length until it enters the Kootenay River. The Wardner-Fort Steele Road splits the … Read more

Cayoosh Creek Recreational Panning Reserve covers approximately 500 m of land where Cayoosh Creek meets the Fraser River in the town of Lillooet, British Columbia, Canada. The panning reserve is mostly confined to the tributary mouth bar on the northwest bank of Cayoosh Creek though it does stretch to include a small portion of the … Read more

The Lytton Recreational Panning Reserve Site 1 is located 6 km north of the village of Lytton, British Columbia. The panning reserve spans roughly 0.625 kilometers of the east bank of the Fraser River. The shore of the river is 1 km from highway 12. The panning reserve itself is on a rectangular piece of … Read more

The Princeton Recreational Panning Reserve underlies the entire town and large parts of the surrounding land. I’m not sure if that is good or bad, but it sure piques the curiosity. I suppose if you’re a charming person you might be able to convince someone to let you dig up their backyard to pan for … Read more

The Lytton Recreational Panning Reserve Site 2 is located in the village of Lytton, British Columbia. The panning reserve spans roughly two kilometers of the Fraser River at the confluence of the Thompson River. For reference, Lytton Site 1 is approximately six kilometers further upstream on the Fraser. Lytton was devastated by wildfire in 2021. … Read more