Drivin' to Colorado

[kikinit247]

Hello all,

I live near Seattle and will be driving to Telluride, CO in the beginning of June. I will have my wife, son (5 yrs old), daughter (1 yr old), and the family dog. The real purpose of the trip is to attend my sisters wedding. One of her requests was that she, her fiancé, and I go prospecting. If her wedding was in WA this would be no problem, but I know very little about prospecting in CO. We will take 10-14 days for this trip. 3 days to Telluride. On the way down we will be stopping in: Baker City, OR / Salt Lake City, UT / Telluride, CO

On the return we may detour to Yellowstone, or possibly hang out somewhere in CO.

If anyone would like to chime in about any of the following topics it would be much appreciated.

Prospecting anywhere along the way
Oregon, Idaho, Colorado prospecting regulation resources
Any open prospect areas near Telluride (or along the way) worth sampling in. I might consider pay to play if necessary.

I have the following equipment.

Keene a51
Keene Highbanker Conversion w/3700 gph Bilge pump
30" Sniper Bazooka Gold Trap
Plenty of the essentials like pans, classifiers, snuffer bottles, ect

I am early in the planning stages of this trip, so still a little flexible. Any tips or advice are welcomed. Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

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[KevinInColorado]

Start here for info on a couple public areas http://www.wcgpaa.org/blm-open-area-form/

If you decide to bump around more of CO, check out my website www.findingGOLDinColorado.com for info on more places to dig and other stuff to do. If you do Facebook, You can also join our FB group 'Finding Gold in Colorado'. There are several western CO guys on there who may be able to help more

 

[wildminer]

If you have time when you overnight in Baker City swing over to Sumpter where there is a rich gold history including a complete bucket line dredge, the old restored operational railroad that offers rides and also an outdoor museum of old mining equipment. Also, in Baker the U.S. Bank has a gold collection on display including a famous nugget which if I remember right is a 6 pounder called the Armstrong nugget. Could go on and on about that area, but you wouldn't make it to Colorado! Make sure you look at Kevin's website. Sounds like a great trip with your family!

 

[arizau]

The Dolores River flows near Telluride and here is a google link for you. https://www.google.com/webhp?source...&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=dolores+river+gold&*.

I hate Telluride now that it is developed, overdeveloped and crowded IMO, but it was a great place to visit when it was still a tiny active mining camp with company housing for many employees including some close personal friends of my parents. Most of the outsiders that knew of it then were jeepers (great 4wd roads to explore), hunters or fishermen.

Have fun.

 

[utah mason]

If you have time when you're in SLC there's American fork canyon. There's gold plus some decent fishing hiking and Timpanogos cave which is awesome!!!!! And definitely worth a visit. And dogs are welcome up there and allowed in the water, which there not allowed up some of the other canyons in the area.

 

[kikinit247]

Thank you for the information! I suppose I should bring some fishing rods too. I am much better at fishing than prospecting. Fishing actually got me back into prospecting.

Kevin thank you for those links they will be very helpful. Wildminer I looked at Sumpter on Google Earth and I am convinced I need to go there. Those tailings are impressive. I am looking forward to reading the histories of the locales I am visiting too. Arizau thank you for putting the Dolores on my radar I will indeed look into it. We are hoping to only stay 1 or 2 nights at Telluride and spend the rest of the vacation playing in some capacity or another. Utah Mason that sounds perfect! I have no idea where that is right now, but google and I will soon figure it out.

I am feeling very good about starting planning this early. The regulations in all of the states seem to vary substantially. In Washington it is rarely ok to dig within the wetted perimeter of the river where I prospect. It appears that in Colorado I must do this and stay 2 feet from shore. That seems crazy to me, I will have to rethink how I go about sampling. Is high water beneficial? Allowing access to more gravel? I may post more questions as they come up.

Thank you for all of your help!

 

[Johnnybravo300]

If your prospecting the Dolores don't forget about the San Miguel river in that area. There are claims along both but there are open spots too, just have to check it out.
I'm the same way about telluride after doing asphalt work around there the last few years. Way too many people and cars in that small valley, it's insane. The valley is very pretty but it's mostly all built up now and nothing untouched. I did get to catch the naked bike race when I was there once and it was interesting. The naked girls showed great sportsmanship and attitude but the dudes should have stayed home cuz no one wanted to see them. So ghey.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

There's no rule like that in Colorado for Natl forest or blm. Prospecting isn't about digging within a certain waterline hehe. You can dig anywhere. Just reclaim the holes when your finished mining that spot.
Certain private owned areas may have their own rules of course, but blm and Natl forest here is open to full mineral exploration.

 

[wildminer]

That's nice to know. I'd love to visit Colorado again before I tip over.