Mission Creek is ranks right up there with Tranquille River as a popular public gold panning spot in British Columbia, Canada. While not an official gold panning reserve, there is a significant stretch of the creek open to the public. And it’s located right in the heart of Kelowna on the eastern shore of Okanagan … Read more
The Tranquille River is the most famed public panning reserve in British Columbia, Canada. Its notoriety is richly deserved as there absolutely is gold here. Lots of it. And not just flour gold or tiny flakes. With a bit of luck, you’ll unearth pickers and even small nuggets. Located 18 km west of downtown Kamloops, … Read more
The Kettle River Recreational Panning Reserve is located roughly halfway between Veron and Fauquier along Highway 6 in the Monashee Mountains of British Columbia. The closest pseudo-town is likely Cherryville, home of the Gold Panner Campground which is known to have gold on their claim. The Kettle River does have a gold rush history, albeit … Read more
Barnes Creek Recreational Panning Reserve is located north of Highway 6 just a few kilometres east of the Needles – Fauquier ferry across Upper Arrow Lake. The area is not heavily developed but there are some recreational properties around and a nearby retreat. The land is mostly forested though plenty of forestry is occuring in … Read more
The Kennedy River Recreational Panning Reserve is located an hour’s drive west of Port Alberni on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island. It’s the only panning reserve located on the island. The panning reserve covers a swath of land roughly 2 km by 1 km straddling the Kennedry River along Highway 4 (Pacific Rim Highway). This is … Read more
The Hope Recreational Panning Reserve covers approximately 1.5 km of riverbank on the south side of the Fraser River. The panning reserve extends southwestard from the confluence with the Coquihalla River thought the broadest bar to work is right at the confluence. This panning reserve borders a residential area. Based on that alone, I suspect … Read more
Goldstream River Recreational Panning Reserve is somewhat remote, hiding away in the wilderness between Revelstoke and Mica Dam. Getting there requires a 100 km drive northward on Highway 23 along the east side of Lake Revelstoke and Columbia River. A further 5 km drive inland on a forestry road along the north side of Goldstream … Read more
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