Exploring by metal detecting for gold in Colorado

[Magnix]

I promised my kids to explore some gold in Colorado, do you know a best place to find gold? We will be staying at the cabin in Allenspark, CO. Are there any best place around that city where we can use metal detector (or maybe panning, placers - we'll buy some)? I only know Boulder and Esate Park, but where exactly?

Will we meet some a**holes who will prevent us exploring gold? Are they friendly? We're from Texas.

Thanks!

 

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[jmoller99]

Gold tends to be on the small size in Colorado, so you want a detector that can find rice sized pickers (if you don't have one that is good with highly mineralized soil and still able to find gold, you will be wasting your time detecting). Don't do anything in Boulder County - you are apt to have your gear confiscated. Look into Clear Creek near Golden (It's a ways from Allenspark, but its a known gold area with open access and a resonable drive). Look for YouTube videos of people prospecting Clear Creek as it comes into Denver (you can see the I-70 over passes on many of them).

if you don't have a Gold capable/prospecting detector (ie. if you have a coin hunting detector) odds are against it being of any value for gold.

Panning/sluicing might be more productive for you. If you buy gear from Gold-N-Detectors in Golden, they will tell you where you can go (and they also have detectors that are good for the gold you find in Colorado - It's a small shop, but an interesting place to start at (GOLD-N-DETECTORS Located in Golden Colorado)) to ensure some level of success in the area.

 

[Magnix]

Got it! Thanks! We will probably go to the Clear Creek and gold pan there. It should be fun for my kids!

 

[jmoller99]

I was at Derry Ranch pay to dig site (Google Map: enter -> 39.077392,-106.281804) this weekend and the water level is very low (1/4th of what it was this time last year). This might be good for prospecting since more of the river basin is exposed), but there is a lot less water for clean up; maybe none later in the summer.

I ran my Gold Cube in a recirculating mode (5 gallons of water lasts a long time this way). I have not done a fulll cleanup, but I panned out some of the concentrates and did get gold (its very fine there).

 

[Reg]

Jmoller99,

I never knew one could pay to play at the Derry Placers. I thought these placers were located some distance west of the Arkansas River a couple of miles north of Balltown. Is that were you were at, a distance west of the Arkansas River?

If you were on the Arkansas, are you sure you weren't panning on O'Neil's property which much of it is very close to Balltown? He allows panning and sluicing for pay on some of his property along the Arkansas river.

A prospecting club, the Colorado Gold Camp, now leases some of the area on Lake Creek just above the Arkansas.

Reg

 

[jmoller99]

Derry Ranch is not the same place as Derry Placers (The Derry Placers not open to the public that I am aware of). I was on O'Neils property (which is called Derry Ranch by the people I have gone with over the last 4 years - The Long/Lat I gave will get you exactly to where I was). It was inexpensive to work the site, but as always, Gold prospecting is a lot of work considering the returns. Compared to other people working a more conventional high banker, I picked up more gold with my Gold Cube with substantially less material moved. This area tends to have very fine gold, and if your water is moving too fast, you won't get any - it washes away. There was more than 1 person using a Gold Cube (and a 1200 gph electric pump) out there.