We have lots of recreational gold mining opportunities, as well as some commercial mining nearby where I spend the summer on the Yellowstone River in MT. In the past I have taken a gold pan with me when I'm fishing, however now I rarely mix the 2 since both are available literally right out my back door.

My son, grandson and I went exploring far up Emigrant Gulch one day last summer which is just across the Yellowstone River from me. Gold was discovered there in about 1862, and until WWII there was lots of mining going on there, including the largest open pit gold mine dredging in the state of Montana. With the recent high gold price, a couple small scale mines had begun in the last year or two, exactly like those on the popular TV series, Gold Rush. We watched one of them digging away part of the mountain side as we passed by, and we did some panning ourselves farther up the gulch. We may have found a small flake or two, but that's all. My grandson had fun though, and he took home a couple sizable rocks that he believed were gold and silver!