Gold panning in Wyoming
Where to pan for gold in Wyoming, the official public panning areas, and the rules for each kind of land. Our map of Wyoming draws on 7,584 gold records: old mines, prospects, placer claims and lab-tested stream samples.
Official public panning areas in Wyoming
These places are set aside or managed for recreational panning, from the managing agency's own pages. Rules change: check the source before you go.
Buffalo Fork (Bridger-Teton NF)
What's allowed: Recreational panning on forest land open to mineral entry (not wilderness or WSAs, not on claims without permission); motorized sluicing needs a Notice of Intent.
Gros Ventre River (Bridger-Teton NF)
What's allowed: Recreational panning on forest land open to mineral entry (not wilderness or WSAs, not on claims without permission); motorized sluicing needs a Notice of Intent.
Pacific Creek (Bridger-Teton NF)
What's allowed: Recreational panning on forest land open to mineral entry (not wilderness or WSAs, not on claims without permission); motorized sluicing needs a Notice of Intent.
Gold areas in Wyoming
PlacerPro covers Wyoming's known gold country:
- Laramie, Platte and Converse counties
- Sheridan County
- South Pass and Medicine Bow (Atlantic City, Encampment, Centennial)
- Sublette County
- Teton and Park counties
Try the Wyoming map free for 7 days
Gold panning rules in Wyoming
- National Forest and BLM land: recreational panning with hand tools is generally allowed unless the ground is claimed, withdrawn or posted.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. Wyoming DEQ warns that very few panning spots are not already claimed. 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. Wyoming state trust land: Wyoming DEQ says any prospecting there, even recreational, needs a mining lease from the Office of State Lands and Investments.
- Wyoming DEQ: recreational prospecting (minor, infrequent disturbance: hand panning, small sluices, and suction dredges with an intake of 3 inches or less and a motor of 10 hp or less) needs no DEQ license; anything bigger needs a License to Explore (DEQ Guideline 19). Only hand panning is allowed in Class 1 waters.
Common questions
Where can I pan for gold in Wyoming for free?
Wyoming has 3 official public panning areas listed below, from agency sources. Beyond those, 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 Wyoming?
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 Wyoming are below.
How do I find gold-bearing creeks in Wyoming?
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 Wyoming'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 New Mexico
- 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