What is the easiest state to find gold in?

California's Mother Lode and northern rivers, Alaska's Fairbanks and Kenai Peninsula creeks, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, South Dakota's Black Hills and the gold belt of Georgia and North Carolina all have recreational opportunities.

Outside the US, Victoria and Western Australia, New Zealand's Otago and West Coast, and Canada's Yukon are among the most accessible gold country for amateurs.

Sources: Bureau of Land Management recreational mining information; US Forest Service recreational gold panning areas.

Where can I pan for gold for free? In the United States you can pan free in designated recreational areas such as the American River at Auburn State Recreation Area (California), Cache Creek (Colorado), the Chugach National Forest creeks (Alaska) and Lynx Creek (Arizona), and on much BLM and national forest land outside active mining claims. Other countries have similar public areas, such as New Zealand's gold fossicking areas and the public claim on Bonanza Creek in Canada's Yukon.

Where is gold most likely to be found? Gold is most likely to be found where it has been found before: in and downstream of historic gold mining districts. In streams it collects where water slows, such as inside bends, behind boulders and in bedrock cracks (placer gold). In rock it sits mostly in quartz veins along faults (lode gold).

Can you keep gold you find on public land? In the United States, yes in most places that allow casual prospecting: gold you pan or detect on open BLM or national forest land, outside active mining claims, is generally yours to keep. You cannot keep gold from someone else's active claim, from National Parks, or from areas closed to mineral collection.