We are doing the same at the beginning of June this year. My wife son and I are taking a cruise that will be going to Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. We are looking for some areas that we can do some sluicing and metal detecting during the day while we are in port. We would be interested in renting a claim, public area where we can rent a car/4X4 and get to an area where we can spend the day working the dirt. Sorry I don't have an answer for you, but figured I would add to your post, since I was logging on to post a similar topic.

Figured I would follow up on my trip for anyone who is going to Juneau and wanted to do some panning, or sluicing.

The main creek you can pan in is Gold Creek. If you want to do some sluicing you will need to do it below where they collect their water supply for the town. Upstream of that you can pan only, as there are several signs posted. This creek was heavily mined back in the day and you can see remnants of this as well at different places along the creek.

I chose to sluice and parked at the trail head off Cope Park Road. If you walk down the trail just past an old ruin of a bridge or dam or something there is a gravel bar you can get down to. Lots of quartz etc. just what you want to see. I spent about 2 hours working the gravel under rocks and such in the creek and to my amazement did not get any color, but I am sure this area is heavily mined, as it is easy to get to. If you have some waders, you can also get across the creek.

We rented a car, but if you wanted to do some panning just drive up, or walk Basin Road, it follows the creek and there is plenty of nice safe places to pan. I don't think that road is but 2-3 miles long before you get to the dead end where there are trail heads and a gold mining museum.

If I get there again someday think I will take a pan and my metal detector work up stream of the water collection, or if I was to sluice I would work more the side of the bank where there would be fresh material. There is gold in this creek for sure; your not going to get rich, but will have a great day out in field. Note this is a rushing creek, not just a small stream. If you go, let me know what you find, or learn. Cheers!

Jeff, I hope the reast of your trip went well. So...overall I guess you really didn't have enough time then to go somewhere else and pan? Do you know of other people finding gold in the creek where you were at?

I did see some people panning at the top of Basin Road, but I think that might have been part of the gold mining museum , but I know there is gold in there.  Probably not enough make you rich, but I would think with all the signs telling you only panning is alowed upstream from where they collect the water supply there is some to be found.  If I go back again I would make sure to bring my equipment and hit my detecotor walking upstream from the museum looking for nuggets and stop along the way to do some panning.  If you do some internet research on Gold Creek you will see there is some info as well.

The wife and I will be in Kenia the fallowing days August 7,8,9,and 10th to gold mine/ fish if anyone is available and would not mind letting us use their knowledge and equipment to find a little color. Did not think of finding a member until I read the first post I assumed we would find a river charter for salmon and a tourist trap gold panning when we were there. If there is a member or some one recommended for fishing / gold mining we would prefer that route over the luck of the draw commercial charter. We would be willing to pay for all the above. Don't expect anyone to do it for free


Thanks
Chris

We just returned from our Alaskan adventure and had a grand time. We did pan and use a small sluice on a few creeks on the Kenai. There are gpaa claims but are also recreational areas along six mile creek @mile 2-5 on the way to Hope. And also Bertha and Granite creeks. there are campgrounds along the creek in the summer they do fill up but you can day park and hike in. The "creeks" are nothing like ours where we search for enough water to sluice. these are moving. You will need rubber boots - the water is really cold. If you can get up to Crow Creek Mine, in Girdwood on the way to Kenai. Then you can pay to pan and sluice, just ask for a gpaa discount. Didn't find nuggets - but have a bag of black sands back at home now that I am classifing down and going to work for the super fines. As soon as I figure out how best to do it. Blue bowl?, Miller table? Good luck and have fun. It was incredible to up a creek at 1 in the morning playing in the river.

Cathie

I worked in Skagway all last summer driving a tour bus with Holland America.  I don't know of any area where you can pan for gold there.  According to records no gold was ever found in Skagway area.  You are just a short distance from Canada (British Columbia)   That is where the 1890's stampeders went thru on their way to Dawson (over 600 miles away)  Over 100,000 miners went thru there but none found gold in Skagway.  There is a closed mine just south of Carcross in the Yukon territory but it is a hike to get to.. Way up the side of the mountain and the last time it was opened they found a little over 18,000 ounces of gold there.  They found a lot more silver out of the mine than gold.  Not to mention there are a "few" bears to contend with along the way.  Ray