Permitted Pursuits

Gold Panning in Oregon

2 verified locations for gold panning in Oregon. Each page includes exact permit requirements, restrictions, and what to know before you go.

2 Allowed

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Allowed

Applegate River (Applegate Lake Area)

Oregon, Jackson·Gold panning

Hand-panning the upper Applegate River near Applegate Lake is free and unpermitted National Forest land, not BLM ground like the Little Applegate and Tunnel Ridge sites 18 miles downstream. One tributary, Joe Creek, carries acid mine drainage from a Superfund cleanup site and should be avoided entirely.

  • The Applegate River corridor around Applegate Lake sits on Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest land managed by the Siskiyou Mountains Ranger District (Star Ranger Station, Ruch) — this is Forest Service ground, not the BLM Medford District parcels that cover the Little Applegate and Tunnel Ridge sites about 18 miles downstream
  • Hand-panning and simple non-motorized sluicing need no Forest Service permit under 36 CFR § 228.4a(1)(iv), as long as the activity causes no significant surface disturbance
Allowed

Rogue River (BLM Medford District)

Oregon, Josephine·Gold panning

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