Great place to take the family is less than ten minutes drive east of Jackson on hwy 49. Going down long downhill grade look for Electra road on the left just before the Mokelumne river bridge. There are lots of places to pan and sluice after you pass the private property (about the first 1/4 mile). There is a nice set of restrooms and a little sandy beach toward the end of the road. The road follows along the edge of the river all the way and is mostly all easy access with lots of exposed bedrock high and dry as well as lots of nooks and crannies to sample. The road is about 2 miles long, so there are always areas of seclusion if you don't like company. There used to be a claim about halfway in that was monitored sporadically by dredgers so watch for small claim stakes or ask most anyone panning and they will probably know where the claim is. The people are all friendly that I have met there--even the dredgers as they will tell you to go ahead and pan the rest of the day but don't come back on the claim after that. I live in Soulsbyville just east of Sonora, so I usually get over there a couple times a year. If you have a Ca. fishing license you might want to take your fishing poles & gear along also. I will close by saying be prepared for very cold water.