May i suggest "Cache Creek" near Leadville. This BLM is dedicated to recreational gold prospecting in Colorado. You can stay there 14 days free of charge. The road is good, you can drive your RV right up to your campsite. The nearest town is about 12 miles away and the restaraunts and other amenities are very good. Cache Creek is remote enough, you'll enjoy the whole camping/outdoor experience complete with wolves howling and chasing elk around the mountainside. Be warned, it is bear country and the bears will eat your ground coffee if you leave a bag next to the campfire (happened to me). The great thing about Cache Creek is the gate host rents all kinds of equipment for a fee of 25% of your daily take. This includes sluice boxes, pumps, hoses and high bankers. So you can try out the bigger equipment without shelling out hundreds of dollars buying the stuff. The gold comes from tailing piles left behing by hydrolic mining operations shut down in the 50's. It's micro gold and very small chunks, but you will see some color in almost every cleanout. There are still some nuggets there (nobody gets it ALL), i saw a young girl uncover a $500 dollar nugget dubbed the "Christmas Tree Nugget" while i was there. Prospectors are freindly and helpful. Some will even let you work with them while they teach you the finer points of running the equipment. I can think of no better place for a beginner to meet experienced prospectors and make contacts. By the way.. If you get even more ambitious, an ole fella there told me there is an unnamed creek on the east face of the mountain with public access where he and his dad were taking a half ounce a weekend out of the creek a weekend using just a sluice and pan. I heard about this creek just two days before i had to leave and didn't have time to locate it. Good Luck.
