Surprisingly gold can be found in small quantities in most rivers and creeks in the U.S. if you have the right knowledge, skills, and equipment to recover it. Wisconsin, though not one of the highest gold-bearing States, still offers some excellent gold panning locations.
If you’re wondering where to pan gold in Wisconsin, the six best locations are Black Earth Creek, Lake Superior, Plum Creek, Rock Elm Creek, Poplar River, and Rush River
While all of these sites have moderate gold-bearing potential, there are some factors to consider before undertaking your next prospecting trip. Read on to learn more!
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Gold Prospecting in Wisconsin
Wisconsin is not generally considered one of the richest of states when it comes down to the amount of gold in the grounds. However, it is not to say that there are not enough locations where expert and novice prospectors can pan for gold successfully.
While you might not end up wealthy soon just by panning in the natural areas of Wisconsin, the State’s surroundings are of unique natural beauty and reasonably accessible. Therefore, even if you might not enjoy several gold nuggets at the end of the day, panning in this area is ideal for enjoying hours of recreational fun.
Additionally, as we are going to see in the sections below, the type of gold prospectors can attempt to retrieve gold in Wisconsin comes in the form of fine gold, which does require better prospecting skills. Therefore, you might be needed to invest in additional pieces of equipment to make outings profitable.
Lastly, before venturing on your prospecting trip, it is worth looking at the unique geology of Wisconsin. Indeed, the places where you will find more gold in this State are Douglas and Pierce counties. That is because the gold that formed in Canada’s glacier has found a straight route to this part of the State.
The Six Best Locations to Pan for Gold in Wisconsin
While retrieving gold in Wisconsin is challenging and can result in little profits, some locations can genuinely increase your chances of recovering a more significant amount of valuable sediments.
Here you can find a compilation of the best ones in the country, which are also worth visiting for the outstanding natural beauty of their surroundings.
Black Earth Creek
The Black Earth Creek Fishery Area attracts fishing aficionados from across the State. The creek runs across several local towns, such as Cross Plains in Dane County. Since it is a Class Trout location, the river is often populated by several fishermen and hobbyists that can’t resist the temptation of making theirs one of those beautiful fish.
While fly-sighing in the Black Earth River is one of the most common activities in this area, gold panning can also yield pleasant results when practiced here. Ever since some local prospectors have mentioned that they had been able to recover placer gold from the creek’s streambed, it has become much more accessible for this activity.
Additionally, many fishermen have reported having recovered gold from the water by chance in past years. Since this is a new gold prospecting location in Wisconsin, you might have optimal opportunities to find some placer gold.
Indeed, the area’s resources have not yet been exploited, so even less expert prospector might attempt panning in this location. However, the site is full of other recreational activities that make it worth visiting. The Black Earth Creek Fishery Area is indeed a premium location for trout fishing, and it boasts pleasant walks and trails nearby.
Lake Superior
Lake Superior, with its black sand beaches and beautiful scenery, attracts visitors from across the country every summer. Indeed, here you can take up camping, kayaking, canoeing, and fishing.
However, this lake has recently risen in popularity among the community of prospectors in the State and beyond. Indeed, Lake Superior has revealed itself as one of the most consistent sites where to find placer gold. Large quantities of deposits have been found among the sand of this lake, as well as flour gold.
The gold found on the beaches of this magnificent lake is likely to have originated in Ontario, Canada, where the gold-bearing grounds and rocks have eroded over time. Then forces of nature such as winds have transported the particles for thousands of miles until they were able to reach the rich sands of Lake Superior.
However, since this type of gold derives from glaciers, it has been broken down in the process of transportation. Now it is perceivable in the form of sand-like particles.
If you are attempting to prospect for gold in lake superior, you should be aware of the locations that give you better chances of finding gold deposits. However, the most important thing to understand about this lake is the composition of its beaches.
Indeed, while all beaches of the lakes boast a specific potential for possessing gold, you should look for the ones that boast concentrations of black sand[1]. Black sand is indeed much heavier than the surrounding elements, so it will give you an indication of where the heavy materials such as gold have deposited over the years.
Plum Creek
Similarly to lake Superior, this creek has shown its gold-bearing potential to a few prospectors so far. Indeed, it is one of the primary producers of placer gold in the State.
Interestingly, this creek is located in the county where the first discoveries of gold placer in the State happened, Pierce County. However, prospectors should also note that, while Plum Creek has been incredibly fruitful during the 1880s and 1890s, such significant discoveries have not happened in the State since then.
Additionally, most of the discoveries happened when a prospector decided to use a sluice box rather than a simple gold pan. That could be because the fine gold particles might be too small to be captured through a pan. Therefore, when considering prospecting in this area of Wisconsin, you should consider investing in a sluice box to increase the chances of recovering precious fine gold.
Rock Elm Creek
Another creek located in the fruitful Pierce County is Rock Elm Creek. This short river has been incredibly productive in releasing placer golds while prospectors found deposits in Plum Creek.
Even in this case, you should consider investing in a micro sluice box, or in a sluice box that allows you to regulate the water velocity. Indeed, the fine placer gold and flour gold that can be occasionally found in this river will require refined panning skills or adequate equipment.
Ultimately, this river is geographically near Plum Creek, so if you had not been able to find gold in one of the options, you could try to prospect the other one. In any case, these are the locations more likely to yield satisfying results when prospecting in Wisconsin.
Poplar River
Poplar River represents your best chances of finding gold in Douglas County. While local gold hunters have often prospected the shoe county, the results have not been consistently satisfactory or profitable.
However, if you find yourself in this location, you should attempt to find gold in this river through panning. While not all explorations might be fruitful, this location is an optimal choice in the Douglas County of Wisconsin.
Rush River
Rush River is a 50 miles (80km) long tributary of the Mississippi River. While well known to be one of the best locations for fly-fishing in the whole of Wisconsin, this river has also been found to boast some deposit of placer gold.
However, the real treasure hidden by this river is its location within the rich Pierce County. Indeed, just like Plum Creek and Rock Elm Creek, this river has been scouted for gold by local prospectors for decades. In this case, the gold is often located among the rocks and stones that constitute the stream’s banks.
The Type of Gold Found in Wisconsin
If you have ever been prospecting in California or Alaska, you might have been able to recover a satisfying amount of gold, sometimes in the form of nuggets.
However, when panning for gold in Wisconsin, you should be aware of what to expect. Indeed, most of the gold particles found in this State derive from Canada. The glaciers near Alberta might have contained gold, but they tend to reduce it to sand-like particles during the migration process.
Therefore, when panning for gold recreationally in Wisconsin, you might aim at recovering fine gold or flour, but nuggets are incredibly rare. However, even in this case, gold hunters should not renounce undertaking the prospecting trip they had in mind. Indeed, you might not be able to turn this hobby into a full time, profitable occupation, but fine gold is present in most Wisconsin counties.
Once you have made your peace that gold nuggets might not be on the horizon during this prospecting trip, you should take into consideration the skills you need to recover fine gold. Indeed, while nuggets might be clearly visible when using a pan, prospecting for fine gold might require you to have refined prospecting abilities and better equipment.
Getting Ready to Pan Gold in Wisconsin: Recovering Fine Gold
As we have seen, recovering fine gold[2] can represent a challenge even for the most experienced prospectors. Indeed, while nuggets might be easy to keep on the pan during the panning process, fine gold is easily lost if you are not careful with your movements.
Additionally, if you are not an expert in gold panning, you might not be able to reduce the concentrates just to the gold particles. In turn, if there is still black sand on your pan, picking fine gold with tweezers of magnets might not be the most efficient way of recovering it.
That is why many prospectors resort to the second piece of equipment, in this case, a micro sluice box, such as the Fine Gold Recovery Mini Sluice Box. These pieces of equipment are ideal for recovering fine gold from black sand for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, you will be able to control the velocity of the water. This factor is essential when attempting the recovery of fine gold. Too high water velocity – such as the one entering a pan during the panning process, or a stream – can apply too much pressure on the riffles of the sluice box, causing the sediments to escape the device.
Therefore, implementing your existing panning kit with a small sluice box can increase the chances of recovering the fine gold from the concentrates. Just remember to save the concentrates and black sand for when you get home and can use the sluice box.
Legalities and Equipment
Even if you have not managed to acquire as much gold as you were expecting, prospecting in the State of Wisconsin will have provided you with hours of outdoor fun for you and your family.
However, there are some regulations imposed on the territories of the states that prospectors should keep in mind when prospecting in an area.
Firstly, it is essential to consider that recreational gold panning is not directly included in the general mining laws and regulations of the State. Indeed, these mainly focus on larger-scale operations, such as mining companies and corporations. Therefore, recreational gold panning has always been considered an unregulated exploration activity by the Department of Natural Resources.
Following this consideration, prospectors should be aware that:
- You won’t need to obtain a mining permit to perform recreational panning activities in the territory. However, as a prospector, you will not be able to use any mechanized pieces of equipment such as dredges.
- The term “recreational collection” refers to the search of a prospector for gold or other minerals that are not to be used for commercial purposes.
- If you are looking for gold to sell, this activity is considered commercial, and you will need to obtain a mining permit.
- Intensive collection activities that might involve other motorized devices will require you to obtain a permit.
Equipment Allowed
Following the regulations that we have just seen above, any prospector is allowed to carry a full prospecting kit that does not include any motorized tool, such as dredges. However, you will be able to make the most out of your pan, shover, screens, and pry tools.
Sluice boxes are also included in the list of allowed items, but they need to be small, portable, and manual. Therefore, not working through electricity, batteries, or other engines.
Water Regulations
There are laws regarding the prospecting activity performed on river courses and streams as well as the current mining regulations. Generally, collecting gold from these areas can be subjected to the local law that states that prospectors cannot remove more than two cubic yards (1530 liters) from the waterway per year. However, exceeding this limit is something that prospectors performing a recreational activity should not worry about.
Property Rights
While recreational panning activities are not strictly regulated in Wisconsin, you should be aware of individual property rights that can impact on what kind of location you will be able to pan for gold.
Private Land
Private land refers to any territory, stream, or flowage that runs through the owner’s property. The property rights in Wisconsin allow the owners of certain locations to claim rights on the banks of the river. However, they can also claim them on the body of water until the middle of the watercourse.
This regulation makes clear that you have to obtain the written permission of the owner to pan for gold on the privately-owned banks of a river. Moreover, the owner also has all the rights on the gold or any other material you retrieve from the section of streambed in their possession.
These two characteristics make it extremely important for you to let the owner know of any prospecting or mining activity you are performing on their grounds.
Public Land
Similar to waterways or streams, the rights of a property owner extend to public lands. These territories are often owned by the governmental bodies in the State, so you will have to let the authorities know about your prospecting activities.
Therefore, prospectors looking at simply panning in one of these lands or rivers will need to obtain an official collector’s permit. You can do so by getting in touch with the local DNR’s (Department of Natural Resources) manager.
The properties that usually fall under this category include:
- State trails
- State parks
- State recreational areas
- State natural areas
- Scenic and wild rivers (designed by the State)
Conclusion
Panning for gold in Wisconsin can be an excellent recreational activity that can offer hours of outdoor fun for both expert prospectors and amateurs. However, it is essential to notice that the gold found in this State usually comes in the form of floor or extremely fine particles.
Therefore, while you might be comfortable in using a pan to recover gold, you might need to consider adding other equipment to your kit, such as a sluice box for fine gold. Ultimately, understanding the local regulations regarding private and public land offer you an indication regarding what permits you will need.