gold prospecting adventures

I did the 3 hour tour and that past by in a hurry! Very nice way to spend some time at a kreek, very helpfull staff with great teaching skills! Found some gold and a nice piece of pyriet to so my trip was well spend. In very glad i did the panning and have a great experience to take home.

We checked in at their office and was greeted by a kind fellow who looked like he has spent his life prospecting. We headed over to the dry creek bed where our adventure began. Before you go, make sure you have plenty of water and some snacks for energy, as it is very, very hot in the sun. Frank our guide was terrific and showed us exactly what to do. We did the three hour prospecting and it was perfect for us. We found gold, and according to our guide, we did exceptionally well for the time we spent. Fun family experience, just be sure you have plenty to drink.

Spending the day learning gold prospecting and gold mining techniques hands on, in an authentic 1840's mining camp,was an amazing experience. Frank was an excellent guide. He was very knowledgeable and he never ran short on patience while he was teaching us the art of panning. The three hours went by so fast, I wish that I could have stayed longer. If the idea of spending a day outdoors, filled with adventure and immersed in nature and history is your idea of fun, you won't be disappointed.

Mining for gold with Gold Prospecting Adventures was the highlight of our week long trip in California. I highly recommend this experience. Our 10 y.o. son still keeps talking about it. During our initial planning I was a bit skeptical about the experience simply because of the price of this adventure. Our family of three chose the five hours sluice box and panning adventure. Although pricy, this experience worth every penny. Thinking back, I would substitute our day in LEGOLAND for another day at Gold Prospecting Adventures in a heartbeat. The actual mining location is serene. Our guide Dustin was extremely helpful and patient with us. He provided abundance information about gold, geology, and history. I would suggest to make a reservation ahead of time because the place was busy during our visit (we visited in April during spring break). Gold Prospecting Adventures provided us with rubber boots and the necessary equipment. As for conveniences, there is a gas station right up the road to buy water and snacks and there is a porta-potty at the mining location. Make sure you have drinking water and sunscreen and be prepared for a hard but fun labor. And yes, we found gold!:) Thank you Gold Prospecting Adventures for unforgettable experience. P.S. the time stamp on the photos is incorrect.

We just got back from another trip to gold country and as always we had a great time at Gold Prospecting Adventures. This is our 5th time visiting them and every time we have a great time and even find a little gold! There's some coorful characters that work the shop but don't let that throw you off- they're all nice folk!

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 1st 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

We had a perfect experience with our children, ages 8 and 5, which far surpassed our expectations. Our older child kept asking to "find gold." We thought it would be interesting for all of us to learn how it was found. We started looking on the internet and found several options, but chose Gold Prospecting Adventures. We could not have had a better day. The kids learned so much about not only gold panning and sluicing, but also about the gold rush and a bit about California history. Our guide was fantastic and the kids were so excited to get to experience "real" gold prospecting. They also had fun getting wet in the creek! We would highly recommend it to any family with small kids.

I was given information about GOLD PROSPECTING ADVENTURES by my child's first grade teacher. He is now 10 years old and we were finally able to make the trip to Jamestown to see for ourselves. I couldn't be happier that we did, because it was everything and more than our son had dreamed it would be.Brent and Dustin were patient and made learning to pan for gold so enjoyable. They know their stuff when it comes to finding gold, sharing historical information and just making the time spent with them a super fun time for adults as well as the kids.You can absolutely lose yourself in another time and place, while creating fantastic family memories with this activity. If I had more than two thumbs up, I'd give it to them. Don't miss this one !!!!

This experience is an awesome family outing. This is a Legacy trip for me as I was here as a child, I am now bringing my children here to learn about panning and Gold history at the heart of where it happens. The whole group at Gold Prospecting Adventures are great people,and go above and beyond the call of duty, even helping pan in the pouring rain.. memories we will never forget and found Gold to Boot... every time have been here... Highly Recommend ...

Amazing weekend trip! Brent was a great chat and very knowledgeable. Highly recommend Gold Prospecting Adventures over all other claim rentals.

This place is great. You can almost sense the ghosts of gold miners past here, and feel yourself transported back to what is was like during the gold rush. Brent is my kind of guy, too - a straight shooting, straight talking, no BS kind of guy who will tell you everything you'll need, and need to know, to start finding those elusive nugget up in the hills (or just have a great time trying). I especially appreciated his honesty when it came to what books and tools I would need to buy - he could easily have sold me so much more the day that I paid him and his great team a visit, but had the integrity to only furnish me with what I needed to start with, nothing more. I will be going back as soon as I can (and as often as I can). I recommend this place unconditionally for anyone looking for a great gold and gold country adventure, big or small, young or old.

We did the 2 hour Pan and Sluice and had the best time. Dustin is a great young man who helped a lot and shared his knowledge in an age appropriate way for our kids. I can only recommend . And yes, we left we a little bit of gold and 3 VERY happy boys!

Let me tell you a little story how this little stream and the people who run it changed my life! About 7 years ago, my wife and I were looking for a fun activity we could do with our two pre-teen daughters. I found Gold Prospecting Adventures on the web and thought we would try it. It was only about 2.5 hours from the bay area so we hopped in the car and headed to Jamestown. We arrived at a pretty little creek at their claim and after some brief instruction from Dustin, one of their expert staff, we were knee deep in the stream bed going for it. It wasn’t long until I saw my first “color” in my pan, but the look on my daughters’ faces was what really lit up the day. They were ecstatic! Since that time, we have been back over 10 times. Our family has found something that we all love to do together. The kids look for good spots and pan, my wife sits with her feet in the cool river and feeds the sluice. I dig like a madman. When the family gets tired, they mess around in the stream looking for fish or go pick blackberries or my wife takes them a couple blocks to Jamestown to do some window shopping or get a good old fashioned ice cream. Prospecting has brought us closer together as a family and I have become an advocate for prospecting. I Joined the Silicon Valley Gold Prospectors Association where we travel to schools and fairs together teaching kids to look up from their iPods and Xbox's to find true life adventure in Gods wonderful creation.Thanks Brent, Dustin and the entire staff at Gold Prospecting Adventures for passing on something much more valuable than Gold!One final note. Make sure you call before going!

We had a great afternoon with Brent learning how to pan and sluice. We enjoyed hearing about the history of gold prospecting in the area and Brent is a very patient teacher. There is some manual labour involved and the possibility of getting wet (we didn't), however we did find gold which was very satisfying!

What can I say? We had a blast! Initially only Daddy was interested in doing this, but as we learned more, we decided to all try it out, and we're so glad we did! Our 7yo daughter thought it would be too cold and wet, but she ended up a superstar at panning. Most kids get bored with panning after awhile and want to do sluicing, but she was the only one finding gold -- in every pan! She was a natural. Great memories. Great fun. Can't wait to do it again.