Panning for Riches

Everybody who heads for Alaska has probably heard about the Alaska Gold rush, also known as the Trail of '98. Unfortunately, the gold was in Canada, not Alaska. The Klondike River, site of the discovery in 1897, is a Yukon River tributary a few miles from Dawson City, the town that exploded into being with the discovery of gold.

There were later gold rushes in Alaska, Nome and Fairbanks being two of the largest, but also being just two of many. And there were even some gold finds before the Klondike strike--Juneau and Chicken (40-mile River) were two of the larger ones.

Today lots of visitors want to try their luck. Commercial (tourist) gold-panning operations are available near Dawson City and Fairbanks, and if you've never panned for gold before it might be a good idea to visit one of these to learn how its done.

Once confident of your skills, most of Alaska is public land so you're pretty much free to try your luck anywhere there are no existing claims or otherwise-posted private property. Lots of activity still goes on along the 40-Mile River north of Tok and near Hope on the Kenai Peninsula. These destinations are easily accessed by road and there are plenty of camping areas nearby.