Panning for Gold Along the Dalton Highway

The first prospectors entered the Brooks Range shortly after the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898 pushing to ever more distant regions by canoe, dog team, and snowshoe. A few stayed to build communities in the wilderness. The fortunes of miners and communities have since surged, dwindled and surged again.

Today, you too can try your hand at finding gold! You may use a pick, shovel, rocker box, sluice box or metal detector recreationally. Please read this brochure to find out where you can go and how you can gold pan on public lands along the Dalton Highway without running afoul of claim owners or federal and state regulations.