Gold panning in New Mexico
Where to pan for gold in New Mexico, the official public panning areas, and the rules for each kind of land. Our map of New Mexico draws on 11,930 gold records: old mines, prospects, placer claims and lab-tested stream samples.
Gold areas in New Mexico
PlacerPro covers New Mexico's known gold country:
- Bernalillo and Cibola counties
- Doña Ana, Luna and Otero counties
- Lincoln and Socorro (White Oaks, Nogal, Jicarilla, Magdalena)
- North (Elizabethtown, Red River, Hopewell, Ortiz and San Pedro placers)
- San Juan County
- San Miguel County
- Southwest (Pinos Altos, Hillsboro, Mogollon, Steeple Rock)
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Gold panning rules in New Mexico
- National Forest and BLM land: recreational panning with hand tools is generally allowed unless the ground is claimed, withdrawn or posted. Check with the ranger district or BLM field office.
- Active mining claims belong to the claimant: don't prospect on them without permission. BLM maps claims to survey sections, so outlines are approximate; check claim posts on the ground.
- Wilderness: closed to new claims and to motorized or mechanized equipment.
- New Mexico State Trust Land needs a recreational access permit from the State Land Office just to enter, and that permit does not allow mineral exploration, mining or collecting valuable rocks or minerals. Ask the State Land Office before you prospect there.
- New Mexico Mining Act: panners and rock collectors who move very little dirt (2 cubic yards a year or less, no motorized sluices or dredges) don't need a state mining permit. A dredge, motorized sluice or bigger digging needs a permit from the Mining and Minerals Division, and work in a stream may also need New Mexico Environment Department and Army Corps approval: ask first.
Common questions
Where can I pan for gold in New Mexico for free?
We haven't found an officially designated public panning area in New Mexico yet. Panning is usually allowed on open public land (national forest and BLM) that isn't covered by a mining claim, and on private land with the owner's permission.
Do I need a permit to pan for gold in New Mexico?
Hand panning usually needs no permit on open public land, but the rules depend on who manages the land and what tools you use. Sluices, highbankers and dredges often need permits. The rules for New Mexico are below.
How do I find gold-bearing creeks in New Mexico?
Gold washes downstream from where it eroded out of the rock, so the best creeks drain old mining districts and gold-bearing rock. PlacerPro rates every creek in New Mexico's gold country from old mine records, USGS lab samples and geologic maps, and shows public land and active claims.
Other states
- Gold panning in Alabama
- Gold panning in Alaska
- Gold panning in Arizona
- Gold panning in California
- Gold panning in Colorado
- Gold panning in Georgia
- Gold panning in Idaho
- Gold panning in Maine
- Gold panning in Montana
- Gold panning in Nevada
- Gold panning in New Hampshire
- Gold panning in North Carolina
- Gold panning in Oregon
- Gold panning in South Carolina
- Gold panning in South Dakota
- Gold panning in Tennessee
- Gold panning in Utah
- Gold panning in Vermont
- Gold panning in Virginia
- Gold panning in Washington
- Gold panning in Wyoming