Yuba River Hands and Pans info please.

[dsrtdwg1]

Fishing for info......

I plan on taking my grandsons panning on the Yuba. The hands and Pans area is where I plan to go. I am wanting to know what the most (easiest) accessable area is within this park. Ease of parking , short hike down to the river, things like that. Can you reach the area from the west or do you have to go to 49?

Thanks

 

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[infotraker]

Take 49 past Nevada city. Go until you see the 1st bridge over the s. Yuba. Park at the bridge and take the path over on the other side of the bridge. The hands and pans goes up river for at least. Mile until you see the blm sigh then you can use equipment like shovels etc.

 

[Aufisher]

Go a few hundred feet upstream on the right hand side underneath that large rock. Thats were I found my first gold.

 

[Aufisher]

Dont forget to use your pan as a tool. You can rake and shovel with it. A good wooden stick makes a fine crevicing tool. A cobble makes a fine sledgehammer and broken rocks can make nice scrapers for clay. Welcome to stone age mining, it works!

 

[dsrtdwg1]

Thanks for the reply. Picked up steel Estwings for everybody that is going, 10 inch pans for the boys as I am sure after they are done using them as a shovel and panning with them they will be tossed around like a frisbee. I was amazed how inexpensive the Estwings still are, guess there is not a big demand for them

 

[Aufisher]

They make nice stuff and great rock hammer picks for sure!

 

[SchoolOfHardRocks]

Anyone know how sniping is on the south yuba recreation area? Looks good from all of the bedrock..any chunky monkeys?

 

[dsrtdwg1]

Is Bridgeport worth pursuing? I will be leaving from Lincoln..looks like an easy drive, 20 to pleasent valley, north to bridgeport....opinions?

 

[NorCalPilot]

Bridgeport is an easy spot for beginners and those who aren't as nimble. I've prospected there once and found a little color. It is definitely one of the more "recreational" spots I've been.

 

[dsrtdwg1]

Bridgeport is an easy spot for beginners and those who aren't as nimble. I've prospected there once and found a little color. It is definitely one of the more "recreational" spots I've been.

Went 2 weeks ago with the grandsons, daughters, son in laws and wife. Chose Bridgeport because of easy access and the bridge,museum ,etc. Grandsons, son in laws and 1 daughter loved it....we stayed about 4 hours.

It has been 20+ years since the last time I went panning. The kids were 11 or 12, took them to the mill at Coloma for a day out while we were visiting. I grew up in Sacramento and panned on the American as a kid with my Dad.

The answer....yes we got color. The son in laws saved theirs,dry finger into a half full small jar does the trick. I tossed mine back, not interested in any thing I can't pick up. One of the Son in laws got out into the middle of the stream(river) and panned for an hour or so and did get one flake about the size of a small kernel of rice and very flat. I believe the choice of steel pans was the right one, the pans I bought for the kids (estwing 10 steel) worked the best because they could be used as a trowel. Anyway... this was a success, enjoyed by almost all, and we will go back!

 

[mytimetoshine]

Nice. I went last year and checked out the Coloma site. It was cool but I was a little bummed out to learn that the mill wasn't original and not really on the original site. The original site was down river a little bit. Awesome that you all got some color!

 

[The Gilded Lens]

Bridgeport has nice color. But you will find it all upstream up Buttermilk Trail. Which is also where the hippy crowd lounge about displaying their...erm...nuggets. So keep in mind if you bring the younglings.
It's not hard to hike out of park bounds and into army corps land but I haven't had any luck discerning what their rules are.
There is a lot of black sands in the area with mircro fines in them. You won't find anything in the middle of the river in the sandbars downstream. Look around all those beautiful boulders and bedrock.

 

[dsrtdwg1]

The next time we go it won't be the whole crew. Probably myself,son in laws and oldest grandson. They all liked it and are wanting to do it again. When we do I will most likely get a Bazooka and we will go to the open American area and shovel a bit. Bridgeport was great, perfect for a day on the river. I fear after 33+ years, I may have the fever again!