Gold Prospecting Adventures

Planned a day trip to Jamestown with the family. We saw the Gold Prospecting Adventures sign across the street from the hotel and decided to check it out. Boy am I glad we did. This family business is in it’s 3^rd generation of ownership. Brent and his daughter are a bundle of knowledge. We bought a family package and panned at the source. Our guide was «49er» Frank. He was great! He was very knowledgeable and great with kids. We will definitely be returning.

The boys (aged 7 & 9) wanted to pan for gold and the sign said free gold panning so we stopped. We got a lot more than we expected.
After a little lesson in the store about what gold is (hint: it’s heavy), we bought a $ 10 bag of sand with guaranteed gold in it and headed outside to begin finding our treasure. After a hands on lesson, we found four gold flakes and a lot of fool’s gold. Then we split the flakes between the 2 boys and refilled their pans with dirt for them to give a hand at doing it themselves. This time around we found 5 flakes! After securing their find, they dug out more sand and kept panning. They each found another flake, bringing us up to 7! Needless to say, they were excited.
If it hadn’t been well past lunch time, we would have stayed and kept panning. But after over an hour, I’d say we got our $ 10 worth. We left with a vial full of pyrite (fool’s gold), some chunks of pyrite that wouldn’t fit in the vial, another vial with the 7 gold flakes and knowledge that can only be learned by getting your hands dirty.
I would definitely consider doing one of the prospecting adventures where the whole family pans for gold straight from the source.

My husband and boys had a great experience here. It was a great opportunity to learn about gold mining as my oldest son is in 4^th grade and just finished up their California Gold Rush Unit.
They bought a $ 10 bag of sand with guaranteed gold to be found. They found lots of fools gold, but found 7 gold flakes in all! The gentlemen there were very friendly, knowledgeable, and we’re good instructors.
Our boys enjoyed every moment of their experience and wanted to go back on our way home! Maybe next time we go back to Twain Harte, we’ll stop back by.

This was an amazing family expierence. Loved every minute of the day. our guide was Frank he was cool full of fun knowledge and charisma. We were on a budget and looking for family fun and man we came to the right place. The family got more than they paid for. Frank even gave us a big bottle of water because we didn’t bring any talk about genuine people acts of kindness make huge impressions from the garzilazo family we give this place 5 stars

Just had the most wonderful gold panning adventure with Gold Prospecting in Jamestown! Went to «Jimtown» Miners Camp and our guide Nick was awesome! He was so patient with our Grandkids (ages 3 – 8) and explaining and showing how to dig for «Pay Dirt», sieve off the big rocks and get down to the heavy stuff! We did this adventure about 25 years ago when there was a running creek/​River so we were a little concerned because of the drought conditions. Useless worry! It was better than ever! We were able to dig for pay dirt from places that have been inaccessible for years. And it paid off! We found more gold in that one two hour session than we have in the last four times going panning on our own! EUREKA! My grandson said it was the best day of his life! My adult daughter couldn’t quit grinning and showing us her nugget! If you want a great family memory I highly recommend this adventure!!!

I wanted my kids (6 & 9) to get a chance to know what a gold rusher felt like since the older one just completed 4^th grade. The shop where you go first is almost like a museum. There are some real artifacts and very interesting things to look at. They had gold pans, sluice boxes, metal detectors, rocks, geodes, bullet keychains, and gold for sale. Once we settled the bill for our 3-​hour trip, we drove our own car to the mining camp. I thought I heard that it was 1-​km away but it was more like just a half a mile. The camp and stream is right off the road so pack whatever you want because you can walk back to your car in a few steps.
At the camp, «Frying Pan» Frank and his 18-​year old dog were very friendly. Frank had a good way with my son, who was so excited that he was barely able to pay attention. We first were taught how to pan. With our severe drought, the creek was completely dried out. So all the panning was done by shoveling dirt from the creek into a bucket and walking it over to the waist-​high box of water next to the creek. Then we used a rock sorting machine by shoveling dirt in. For this part, I recommend gloves (which they provide) and a good broad-​rimmed hat. I got pretty hot and dusty as I’m not used to hard labor. But this method is much more efficient than panning. Frank’s instructions were great and since we were the only ones there (on a Monday), we got full attention. I liked the part about how he explained the different types of gold fever and taught life lessons along with how to pan for gold. Three hours flew by and was just the right amount of time to learn it without getting exhausted or over-​heated.

The owner is very nice and funny, he tells you good stories just makes he’s shop fun. I got a sluicebox their a little over the price of bassproshop but we’ll worth buying it at their shop. He’s friends outside were panning their black sand and we’re very friendly. I felt like we all had been friends. Any ways I went to their camp to use my sluicebox and I got a gold nugget and I haven’t panned all my sand yet

Wanted to take the fam on a «gold propsecting» field trip and this hit the spot. I have two small kids (5 and 7), and signed up for the 3h pan and sluice, it was $ 155. This was the right amount of time, though I could see many kids getting bored/​tired after a couple hours. I just think you probably need 3h so you’re not rushing.
We had a dedicated guide (though there were no other tours or day), Nick, who was very knowledgeable and fun to speak with. We learned a lot from him — first where to dig and «muck it up» in the creek using the pick, shovel, and «scooper» (unsure of proper term), then manual panning, then finally using the water pump and sluice. It was really fun for everyone, the whole family loved it. I will say it’s pretty darn hard work, doing this 12h a day isn’t a joke. We ended up with about $ 50 in gold — not much, but neat keepsakes for the kids. They were just ecstatic to find some.
A few notes/​tips:
* You’re gonna get dirty/​muddy, so wear crappy clothes. They have boots but we came with old shoes and shorts so it was fine. If you don’t like getting muddied up, then this isn’t for you. The creek was pretty dry as well, I imagine you’d get really wet/​muddy when the water is running well.
* If you have a bad back, probably not for you either — you have to dig with a shovel and carry mud/​clay to the bucket, get on your knees to scoop mud with your hands or the garden shovel, or squat to pick at the rock.
* It gets pretty hot, and add in the manual labor, you’ll work up a good sweat. Bring a lot of drinking water or gatorade.
* The prospecting site is really close to the main shop in Jamestown, probably a 2m drive. You park literally next to the river site so no worries about hauling stuff. The shop doesn’t have a restroom but there’s a gas station and minimart on the corner with a restroom.
* There’s a port-​a-​potty at the site with hand sanitizer, but you probably should bring some wipes or water to rinse with later.
* I’d definitely include the sluicing part — manual panning is fun and great learning but slow as heck.
Overall, this was a really really fun little trip, I’d highly recommend for families as each person can do a different little task. Eureka!

AAAAAAAA+++++++++ I highly Recommend!
I booked a day trip with Gold Prospecting Adventures to try panning for my first time with my family. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but was looking forward to our day. I can’t say WOW! loud enough. What a blast we had, and Gold Prospecting Adventures was the key to our success.
From the first moment that I called, to the time we got into our car to leave, we were treated 1^st class all the way. I called to book the trip the Tuesday prior, and spoke to Brent on the phone. He was cheerful, informative, and emailed me a brochure on the packages they sold. I called back the next day and booked the «sluice box and panning» adventure. This is a five hour family adventure that includes everything you need, including a guide for your whole family.
We arrived Saturday at the scheduled time, and we very impressed with the historic look, and friendly environment of the shop. We were greeted by Brent, and he explained to me how things were going to work. My first question was if my dogs were allowed, and I was greeting with a «why not? we love dogs here» Brent even went as far as loaning me a leash, since I had forgotten my labs leash. Over the next 30 minutes he explained what we were looking for, and how to be successful. He gave us very clear directions of how to get to the claim, and who our guide would be.
We hoped in our car, and headed for the claim. When we arrived, we found a beautiful creek site, decorated with tons of old mining things. We were greeted by our guide, shown where to store our stuff, and given all of our equipment. He took us about a tird mile down the creek, and set our location up. He set our sluice, showed us where to dig, and how to run material through the sluice. He then left us on our own to enjoy the stream. From that point on, he checked on us every thirty minutes, and at one point, gave us a very detailed class on how to pan.
Over the next five hours, we dug, sluiced, and enjoyed the sun. It was very exciting to see each nugget show up in the sluice box, and spark the dreams of finding the mother lode. At the end of our time, our guide came down and carefully packed up our sluice, and we headed back to the base camp. Once there, he showed us how to clean out the sluice, and then pan out the gold from our concentrate. After the class, he gave us the choice of doing it ourself, or said he would do it. We chose to have him do it because we didn’t want to lose any.
After our big clean out, we found we had a little vial of gold. Probably only worth $ 25 dollars, but it was also packed with a great experience with my family. After heading back to the shop, Brent again spent a great deal of time with us, and explained the ins and outs of prospecting.
As I said, from beginning to end, Brent and his whole crew were amazing. I would highly recommend going to Gold Prospecting Adventures. Don’t do it because you want to get rich. Do it for the precious time you can spend with your family.
Joe Zumwalt

I wholeheartedly recommend Gold Prospecting Adventures. I recently took my 74-​year-​old dad on a three-​hour guided tour. We had a wonderful time. The setting was natural, rustic, and made you feel like you had stepped back in time. Our guide, Dan, was so friendly, patient, and helpful. He taught us about gold prospecting and Gold Rush history. He shared his expertise with us and encouraged our participation. Dan went above and beyond to make this visit a real treat for my dad.
I am sometimes hesitant to do these types of guided tours because the guides themselves can be bored by the experience already or just not sociable in general. Not the case here. My dad and I had a blast! We were both quite pleased with the entire experience. Thanks!

Had fun looking for gold with my husband this weekend. Our guide was very helpful and nice. Even found some gold flakes. Really nice place to stop by and experience the gold rush days.

This was the perfect way to learn about the gold rush. Our instructure (Dustin or Justin?) was super knowledgable and very helpful. Found a lot of gold flakes, no nuggets… next time.

oh man, if i were to go back up to columbia, i would definitely do this again! this place is awesome! it seriously brought me hundreds of years back! my bf and i came here for my birthday and celebrated for a few days, and i came here mainly for gold panning.
its a great relaxing and chill place to come to get away from the city, we found $ 40 worth of gold which was not bad since it was our first time trying this out.
this was seriously the best birthday ever! they people inthe shop were so nice, the guys at the creek were friendly too, and the best part, theres a guy named tumbleweed that taught us to pan for gold and told us great stories and got us super hyped for going up to the creek.- if you guys ever go up there, say hi to tumbleweed!
i miss this place. cant wait to go back!

Ok to be fair, there is gold in the river, and you will more than likely find some. Also they are very knowledgeable and you will learn good techniques for using the equipment.
My wife and I took the bonanza package… looking back at the brochure they sent us, it was $ 180 per individual, and $ 295 for a family package, but for some reason, we were charged as 2 individuals, so that was an extra $ 65.
We showed up at our prearranged time of 9 am, but they thought we were starting at 10 am… not too much of a problem, we just walked around town.
With the bonanza package, we were using a concentrator that ran off a small gas operated pump. I do NOT recommend using this inefficient piece of equipment. It merely added an extra step in the process, which severely cut down on the amount of material we were able to process. I though the purpose of the concentrator was so that we could shovel material directly into the machine, but this was not the case. I had to use a classifier to screen material to a certain size just as you do for the sluice box, and then dump that material into the concentrator. We then collected all of the material from the concentrator, and ran it through the sluice box. It seems that the classified material could have just been run through the sluice box in the first place.
When we first arrived, we were taught how to pan… After about 3 pans we had a little bit of gold in each pan. We collected it in a bottle, and then started with the concentrator. We processed about 11 buckets of material through the concentrator, which produced about 1 bucket of sand. After running the sand through the sluice box, i put the gold we retrieved into a second bottle. I was shocked at how little there was (about 10 times the gold we found in the first 3 pans).
In conclusion, you should not use the concentrator, but just stick to the sluice and pan package. Also, make sure you remember the prices for the different packages.

We did the 5 hour pan and sluice package and had a great day. We found some gold, although not nearly as much as I would have expected for the amount of effort. (DADS, this is a lot of work if you have young kids) We started at 9 and brought a picnic lunch. The kids had a blast (as much playing in the water as looking for the gold) There was only one guide to help with 3 families that were there, so i might suggest asking for a time when they aren’t so busy.

I highly recommend Gold Prospecting Adventures for school field trips! I took my fourth graders here two years in a row. This family owned business has a friendly, knowledgeable staff who really want the kids to learn the history of the Gold Rush as well as proper panning techniques. They have a beautiful, picturesque, authentic looking location complete with a full-​size operational Long Tom! If you are a teacher, PLEASE take your students here for a genuine, hands-​on learning experience they will NEVER forget!
P. S. They also have options for overnight trips, which I highly recommend as well!

Worth every penny the kids had a blast. my son found a pea size gold nugget

We arrived in town on a Sunday around noon, and wanted to try panning for gold! We went into this place and inquired about how it works and how much it costs. We have a 4 and 6 year old and they said both may be bored (I thought it was nice they said that up front!). We decided to go anyway just for an hour, in-​case the kids were in fact bored. We arrived at the spot to pan, and were greeted by an instructor that was VERY nice, who showed us how to pan, and what to do. The kids played in the water more than anything, and watched us try to find gold. AN HOUR FLEW BY! They are right that you really need more time that an hour, but in our case it was perfect with the little ones. We found a few flakes of gold and learned a lot! Was a neat thing to do, and I really liked our instructor, as he was very nice and helpful. Would recommend going with kids that are at least second grade and up, if your looking to do this. If you don’t have little ones, plan to spend a bit more time than we did, as it took a while to get the hang of panning. I was just happy I found a real gold flake!!!

We orignially went to call Jamestown Gold Panning, but couldn’t find it, and when we called, they said they were closed, even though on their website they said they were open all year long.
So we went on the iphone and found Gold prospecting adventures, since we were already in Jamestown, and went in the shop off of main street.
We signed up for a 3 hour session @ noon for our family of 5.
Not a bad price to pay to get REAL training on how to pan for gold.
So we arrive @ the location and it’s a real authentic looking place, with old tents and carriage, having you get a feel of what it would’ve been like in 1849.
The prospectors main focus is to show the parents on how to pan, thus us teaching our children and it can be something we can do together as a family, although he worked awesome with the kids.
We ended up enjoying our time so much out there. The kids had fun even when taking a break from panning just being in the water and playing with rocks, and we even got some gold out of it. Which was a real treat for the kids!
I would definitely go back again, and i would reccomend this place to anyone who wants to go have a great time w/​their family for a day and learn something neat should go there! Great family owned business.