From Fremont you'll have to go about 2 hours to get to a good area. Get a panning kit, because it has all the little stuff you'll need with out trying to figure it out yourself. Also, watch a couple of videos on panning on utube just to get the general idea of the techniques. The info on that link about the gold on the beach in SF is pretty intresting. I'm from Walnut Creek and I've never heard about that. It's something you shopuld keep in mind to check after some storm or high tide.