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 Oregon Parks and Recreation
Rangers, Park Hosts, and Volunteers down at the Sumpter Gold Dredge would like to give you the opportunity of gold panning! You won't even need your own gold pan! Borrow ours! Our staff will give you Gold Panning Lessons FREE! If you find a Gold Nugget or Flake....take it home for a real small fee! You can have fun and learn something new all at the same time! Call us for details...... {541} 894-2472 or send us an email: info@friendsofthedredge.com Sumpter Gold Dredge Story to share with us..........? We love to hear from folks who have personal stories about the Sumpter Gold Dredge! So we would like to invite you to join discussions in our Sumpter Forum Visit these local websites for good information about our historic town! Find lodging, food and other points of interest in Sumpter! www.sumpter.org www.historicsumpter.com www.sumptermuseum.org www.java-net.biz  |
Gold Panning
At the Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge!
It's been a long, long time since gold was first discovered in the Sumpter Mountains back in 1862!
Yet, the old techniques of hunting for nuggets with agold pan haven't changed at all! Its called Placer Mining or is more commonly referred to as Gold Panning. New technology has brought us some new fangled machines to make some of the work a little easier these days, but when it comes right down to it.............. a good old-fashioned gold pan is still the most exciting way to get your hands wet and discover gold! So.....you want to do a little gold panning like the old forty-niners from days of old? Well then, why not come on up to the Historic Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge in Sumpter, Oregon! We've got plenty of spare Gold Pans that we'll lend you for free! In fact............the nice folks inside The Friends of The Dredge Giftstore will lend you a gold pan for free and the Oregon Parks and Recreation Rangers will even show you how its done to make sure you have the best chance of grabbing some of that gold stuff! Then, you are free to head over to one of the Park Dredge ponds or try your luck in the river like a real placer miner! What you find you get to keep! Beware of that pesky fools gold! If you have a tough time knowing the real gold from the fools gold, don't worry, the friendly folks in the Visitors Center and the Park Rangers will help you figure out which is which! Once you have some flakes and nuggets in your pan, you'll want to take them home and the friendly folks inside the store have vials for sale so your new treasure will be safe! Inside the Interpretive Store you will also find plenty of helpful information and books on Gold Panning and how to hunt for gold. You can even purchase a map showing all the historic mines and mining districts in the Sumpter area and even the local ghost towns which are fun to explore in the Summer! Enjoy some of our favorite gold panning photos below!   
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