Are you interested in learning how to gold pan? I’ve put together some basic information on gold panning for the beginners out there. There is a lot of great information online for gold panning, so you can conduct additional research after reading this page.
How to Get Started!
If this is your first time gold panning, I would recommend watching some videos on how to gold pan to see how it’s done. There is a great video from Dan Hurd Prospecting that you can find here. Understanding the techniques behind gold panning will help you, and there is no better way to learn than watching a professional! Next, you’ll need to gather your supplies. We have provided a list below.
Essentials
- Gold pan (click here for the one used in the video)
- Classifier (click here for the one used in the video)
- Snifter bottle (click here for the one used in the video)
- Shovel
- Glass vial (to collect gold)
Optional
- Lawn chair
- Water shoes/waterproof shoes
- Prospector’s scoop, edge digger shovel
To view all the gold panning products on our website you can click here. We also carry more products in our store. Send us a message if you don’t see what you’re looking for.
Once you have all your supplies, you will need to find a place to gold pan! Creeks and rivers are a great place to start, but please keep in mind that you cannot pan everywhere. You cannot pan on personal property or on a placer or mineral claim unless you have permission from the owner. A person has no right to explore for minerals or placer minerals on federal land, treaty settlement lands, Indian reservations, parks, conservancies, ecological reserves or protected areas. The government of British Columbia has set up recreational panning reserves around the province, and these are places you can pan! You can find a list and map here. There are a couple of places that are not listed as a recreation panning reserve, but you are allowed to pan on them, like Mission Creek Park right here in Kelowna.
Gold Panning at Mission Creek Park
Every year the 1120 Rock Club hosts a field trip to Mission Creek Park (Kelowna, BC) for the “Learn to Pan” excursion. No experience required! This field trip is usually in early August. This year we had a large group (over 60 people) and great weather. Lots of people were finding gold and garnets in the creek. August is a great time to go gold panning as the creek is nice and low. If you’re interested in joining in on this field trip or any of the other field trips, consider joining the 1120 Rock Club!
You don’t have to be a member of the rock club to gold pan on Mission Creek. You can go gold panning all on your own, as long as you follow some rules. There are certain times of the year you cannot gold pan (fish spawn, runoff season) and certain areas you cannot gold pan. The rock club goes to a specific spot (map below) off of Springfield Road on the corner of Hollywood Road and Peck Road. There is a parking lot across from a power station. There is a parking lot on the corner of Hollywood and Peck (marked with red X) that you can park in. From here, go towards the gravel path – you can go up or down the path to find a spot to pan. The creek is down below, you will have to go off the path and go down the embankment to get to the creek.
Mission Creek Park is a great option for beginners – relatively easy to access, it’s a beautiful park, and there is gold to be found! Here are some photos from the latest trip with the rock club.
Sometimes, you don’t find much gold, but at least you should be able to find some of the pretty garnet gems. Gold panning requires some patience, so be sure to take breaks and enjoy the scenery too. While I didn’t find a lot of gold on this trip, another member of the rock club had much more luck. They found all this in just one morning! Garnets on the left, gold on the right.
