North Carolina was the site of the first gold rush in the United States and remained the most significant producer until the California gold rush. In 1799, the son of farmer John Reed found a 17-pound gold nugget in Cabarrus County. Panning produced the majority of gold until the middle of the next century. Although huge strikes are unlikely, panning continues as a pastime for North Carolinians and visitors suffering from gold fever.
Camp and Pan
Camp-and-pan operations allow gold panners to set up a campsite and search for as much gold as they can find in creeks or flumes filled with running water. Thermal City Gold Mine (huntforgold.com) near Marion in western North Carolina offers riverside full-hookup and primitive campsites and air-conditioned cabins. An on-site store sells books, gold pans and sluice boxes. Cotton Patch Gold Mine & Campground (cottonpatchgoldmine.com) near Goldsboro in central North Carolina offers panning in flumes and highbanking, a process that uses a motor to move water through a creek side sluice. Cotton Patch has a campground with full-hookup and boondocking sites for RVs, primitive tent sites and rustic cabins. The Lucky Strike Gold and Gem Mine (luckystrikegoldandgem.com) offers a covered sluice and a highbanking operation on the Second Broad River near Marion. The riverside, family friendly campground has hookups and modern bathhouses.
Panning on Public Lands
The Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests cover thousands of acres in western North Carolina, and the Forest Service allows gold panning on public lands with a few restrictions. Panners must only remove a small amount of gold for personal, not commercial, use. Panning is forbidden in designated wilderness areas and along designated wild and scenic rivers. Prospectors must use small hand tools and gold pans in creek beds. Mechanized equipment, picks, shovels and sluices are forbidden. Panners should take care not to disturb archaeological or historical artifacts and, to the extent possible, avoid areas where the mineral rights are already spoken for.
Hourly Panning Sites
Tourist attractions where panners purchase a bucket of dirt seeded with gold or gems appeal to children. It's the easiest way to pan, and every bucket provides an opportunity to strike gold. Gold City Gem Mine (goldcityamusement.com) in far western North Carolina has an outdoor covered sluice and an indoor sluice for use on cold days. An on-site store sells panning kits and books, and a jeweler makes appraisals. Emerald Village (emeraldvillage.com), near Spruce Pine in western North Carolina, offers covered panning areas and shady picnic sites. The adjacent North Carolina Mining Museum includes a visitor center with a gift shop and mining displays and a tour of the Bon Ami Mine.
Historic Sites and Panning Events
The Reed Gold Mine (nchistoricsites.org) east of Charlotte in Midland is the site of the discovery of gold in North Carolina. The historic area offers guided tours of the mine's tunnels, displays of mining equipment and tours of a stamp mill. Trails wind through the area, and tables provide shady spots for a picnic lunch. The NC Gold Festival (ncgold.org) held annually on the grounds of the Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort, a tiny town east of Asheville, features gold exhibits, treasure hunts, panning and demonstrations on gold-mining techniques. Food and crafts vendors set up tents around the museum, and musicians perform mountain music.
- Thermal City Gold Mine
- Thermal City Gold Mine: Camping Info
- Cotton Patch Gold Mine & Campground
- Cotton Patch Gold Mine & Campground: Prospecting
- The Lucky Strike Gold and Gem Mine: Gold Prospecting
- The Lucky Strike Gold and Gem Mine: Campground
- USDA Forest Service: National Forests in North Carolina: Gold Panning
- Gold City Gem Mine
- Gold City Gem Mine: Gold Panning
- Emerald Village: Gold Panning
- Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images