San Gabriel River...?

[Sean Au.]

Anyone prospect San Gabriel River outside LA. I stumbled upon a YouTube blackhole of videos where people were finding pretty decent gold there. Actually looked like Mother lode quality at times. I was curious if anyone can vouch for this. I live in SD and thought I had to go to way North to find anything more than a spec. I know being so close to LA I will have to hike pretty far back to get away from the trash, meth and blah.... but man It would be cool to have something that produces so close. Any info would be fantastic.

Thanks all and happy 2023 ! Lets get some heavy pans y'all!!

 

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[Hamfist]

I would say go there for the experience and not for the riches. There’s a lot of history there and the scenery is amazing, but the easily accessible areas (read: first 5-6 miles) have been hit hard for 100+ years. There is surely better gold closer to you, in SD, but you should make the pilgrimage at least once if you are curious about it.

My buddy and I used to go there a lot in our early days until we found better places. Now we get test pans that are comparable to an hour+ of sluicing at EF, but there is no more scenic and historic place in SoCal to wash rocks. Sometimes people do get lucky there, though 👍🏼

 

[Sean Au.]

I would say go there for the experience and not for the riches. There’s a lot of history there and the scenery is amazing, but the easily accessible areas (read: first 5-6 miles) have been hit hard for 100+ years. There is surely better gold closer to you, in SD, but you should make the pilgrimage at least once if you are curious about it.

My buddy and I used to go there a lot in our early days until we found better places. Now we get test pans that are comparable to an hour+ of sluicing at EF, but there is no more scenic and historic place in SoCal to wash rocks. Sometimes people do get lucky there, though 👍🏼

Thanks for the reply. I agree its all about the experience but the gold sure does motivate...lol. Just curious , when you mention better gold closer to me. I have not had too much luck when researching other than Julian and a few GPAA claims that from what I read are pretty "mined out". Where "roughly" are you talking about.

 

[Hamfist]

Thanks for the reply. I agree its all about the experience but the gold sure does motivate...lol. Just curious , when you mention better gold closer to me. I have not had too much luck when researching other than Julian and a few GPAA claims that from what I read are pretty "mined out". Where "roughly" are you talking about.

No problem!
I am not very familiar with the San Diego area, honestly, so I wouldn't know exactly where to find good gold. I'm closer to the San Gabriels and Mojave desert. But I do know that I the amount of gold I would typically pull out of EF, if I just hike for a short time and pick a semi-random spot to dig, is similar to what I would find in a random wash in an area with some history of mining in the area. Instinct would have me looking in desert areas close to you, but of course that could require equipment that you may not yet own. If you haven't checked out My Land Matters , I would start there and look at areas where gold has been found in the past. http://www.mylandmatters.org/Maps/
I also like an app called Diggers Map.

GPAA claims I've visited tended to be harder hit that other club claims, in my experience. I was a member for a few years but let it lapse because I'm a member of two other clubs and the smaller local club claims have been more productive for me, in general.

Don't be dissuaded from heading up to EF if you have the time. You won't regret the adventure. It's just a long drive for no guarantee of good gold and you might be able to spend that drive time shoveling dirt closer to home if maximum gold is your priority.