Gold Prospecting Adventures - Jamestown, California

Arielle Coston

My husband and I recently visited here, and it exceeded all our expectations! Upon arrival, we were surprised to see that it didn't quite match the images on their website anymore. However, don't let that deter you from embarking on your own gold prospecting adventure! The fact that it wasn’t so commercialized only added to the authenticity and personalized charm of the experience.

What makes this place so special is the owner. His wealth of knowledge and exceptional teaching skills made our adventure truly unforgettable. Despite my struggles with a particular step in the process, he exhibited remarkable patience and took the time to celebrate with me when I finally got the hang of it and found some gold!!

An added bonus is that they provide all the necessary equipment. Just remember to bring waterproof boots and if you have them, waders and rubber gloves are highly recommended… when we visited, the water was quite cold!

If you’re looking for a unique, family friendly activity, this gold panning adventure is a hidden treasure you don’t want to miss. We can’t recommend it enough!

A special shoutout to the owner for making my birthday surprise incredibly memorable! We can’t wait to come back to visit next year!

Helena Funk

It was awesome! Everyone there was helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. Im bringing the grandkids for a trip next time. I'd recommend it for anyone wanting to pan for gold and learn a little history while doing so. Great find. That is the shop's dog, "NUGGET" in the bottom right of photo.

American Avgeek

In 2018 or 2019, I went gold panning for 2 hours. I had lots of fun with the person who was telling us how to gold pan and learned some skills. I actually found some gold. Although it's probably $20 worth of gold, I still had much fun!

Tess Y

We had a great time today with the whole family. This is our first time gold panning with Gold Prospectors. We brought our own equipments for gold panning and just paid for the self panning day use. Kids had a blast. Found our 2 small gold nuggets from our 3rd bucket sluice box wash. Tom and Ian were very helpful so thank you. We highly recommend this place for a family fun day.

Jim Slusher

My husband and I went on a 2 hour panning "adventure" with John about 10 years ago on his claim in Jamestown.
We did a 2 hour digging. It was fun but, realized not only did we hand him $150 cash to pan, we did all the work shoveling dirt in the high banker. We only left with flakes in a tiny vile. I remember him picking gold out of the high banker ,but had no idea at the time to check it my myself. It was a win win for John

Greg Dini

My 10 and 9 year old sons have been wanting to pan for gold for awhile now so we planned a trip to Jamestown. We booked a 3 hour guided tour with Brent at the shop and he called Frying pan Frank to take us out. We quickly realized we were in good hands. Frank taught us everything we needed to know about panning for gold. From getting rid of the "chocolate milk" to "shake 1-2-3", we found a lot of gold! The 3 hours flew by and the boys loved it. Frank is really great and we couldn't have asked for a better guy to hang out with all day. Highly recommended!

Chris Richardson

My family and I had the time of our lives. It was a great experience we even found some gold with the help of our guide. I would love to do this again. I want to thank Bryant Shock for the time he spent helping us learn and for the history lesson.

Jesse Padilla

Took the family to Angels Camp for the week to get away from quarantine life. Visited Jamestown for the day. Great old mining town! Took the wife and kids to pan for gold with GPA. Tommy, our guide, was awesome and very friendly. We found gold often during our 2 hours there.. Do yourself and family a favor and do the same.