How to Find Gold in Your Backyard: Metal Detect & Pan for Nuggets

If you’re looking to find out how to find gold in your backyard, you might have to get a bit more ambitious with your outdoor treasure-hunting plans.  Sure, I guess it’s possible to find gold right in your own back yard, and I’m sure that someone has found a nugget or two within a stone’s throw of their back door during the last few hundred years.  But if you’re really serious about prospecting for gold and finding a nugget or flakes that are actually worth something, then you’ll probably need to expand your definition of “backyard” by a few miles.

Gold can be found in almost all fifty states in the USA, but it’s a lot more common in some than it is in others . . . and the best way to find that gold varies considerably, depending upon where you live.  In some areas, gold flakes, particles and dust can be found in creeks, streams and rivers by panning.  In other locations, it’s better to use a metal detector to find gold nuggets that might lay undiscovered under the ground.

You’re not likely to be able to use either panning or metal detecting right in your own back yard, but you might be able to do so within a few miles of your house.  It’s pretty easy to do some limited research to find out quickly if anyone has ever successfully prospected for gold in your town or county.  And regardless of where you live, there’s a good possibility that you can find a local gold prospecting and panning group or organization to join for advice on where to find gold.

Although you probably won’t ever find enough raw gold to become rich, the great thing about amateur gold prospecting is that it’s easy and inexpensive to learn.  A gold panning starter’s kit costs less than fifty bucks and includes all of the equipment and tools that you need to start looking for gold in local creeks and streams.  Metal detectors that are made to detect gold nuggets underground are more expensive, of course, and you’ll want to make sure that there are opportunities in your area to use one before you make the investment.

So, can you really find gold in your own backyard?  Anything’s possible.  Unless you have an established gold mine in your back yard, though, it’s more likely that you’re going to have better luck expanding the map a bit before you go hunting for gold.  By keeping realistic expectations, doing some limited research, getting the right equipment and learning from experienced prospectors, you’ll have a better chance of striking it rich.