Gold panning — Rules, Permits & Legal Sites

Rogue River (BLM Medford District)

BLM Medford District designates four recreational gold panning areas on the Rogue River system — Hellgate, Gold Nugget, Little Applegate, and Tunnel Ridge. No permit for panning, but shovels and sluices are banned everywhere, and suction dredging is prohibited outright on the Hellgate mainstem while allowed seasonally at the other three under two separate state permits.

• No BLM permit required for hand-panning at any of the four designated Medford District sites: Hellgate Recreation Area, Gold Nugget, Little Applegate, and Tunnel Ridge
• Shovels, high bankers, rockers, and sluices are banned at all four sites — pans and hands only for the digging itself