Gold Tour/Panning for Gold

[xene97]

My 8-year old nephew has his heart set on seeing a gold mine and panning for gold - he thinks he'll find enough to become a millionaire :D.

 

Which do you think would be better? The Gold Dredge in Skagway or the Alaska-Gastineau Mill and Gold Mine Tour in Junaeu?

 

Or is there a better one that I don't know about?

[tetleytea]

We did the Juneau one and that was okay. If you have any land tour, there's Independence Mine up north of Anchorage (probably far cheaper). There's also the BC Mining Museum north of Vancouver--that one I know is way cheaper. The latter was awesome--the gold panning wasn't the greatest, but they display these humongous trucks like you would see in a quarry. They could easily play Monster Truck with an 18-wheeler and win.

[Eaglecw]

I think I’d do the Gold Dredge in Skagway or go out to Lairsville at Skagway and pan for Gold there. I’ve done both of them and they are both good.

[WeBCruisin]

We've done the goldpanning in Liarsville in Skagway and loved it. Great for kids as there is built in entertainment factor that they will enjoy. It is set up like a goldrush base camp where the miners would stop and load up on supplies etc before hitting the trail up to the Yukon. All staff are in period costumes and stay in character the entire time. We went 10 years ago with our neices and nephews and are taking our two ds age 5 & 9 in July.

 

You can also add a Salmon bake onto the visit as well.

[linjangg]

Is Liarsville easy to get to in Skagway? We will probably take the Chilkoot charters Yukon Rail and Bus excursion, and I was wondering if there will be time to go to Liarsville after we get back from the excursion...also if there is a easy way to get there...? My 10 y/o son has his heart set on panning for gold while we are there!

[xene97]

linjangg-

 

That's exactly the question I was going to ask!!!

[sherryf]

Is Liarsville easy to get to in Skagway? We will probably take the Chilkoot charters Yukon Rail and Bus excursion, and I was wondering if there will be time to go to Liarsville after we get back from the excursion...also if there is a easy way to get there...? My 10 y/o son has his heart set on panning for gold while we are there!

 

If you are taking the Chilkoot Charters trip that stops at Caribou Crossing, you should be able to pan for gold there:

 

Caribou Crossing - Things to do

 

I haven't been there yet, so I can't tell you if it's any good, but I know they do gold panning there!

[linjangg]

Sherryf, thanks for the great info! I didn't know all of that was at Caribou Crossing. Looks like we will pan for gold! :D

[MercedMike]

We did enjoy the Gold Mine tour in Juneau. Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/sapphire2.html.

 

However, I highly recommend Caribou Crossing for the kids! (and the grownups!)

 

A very popular thing for a family to do is to rent a car and drive yourself. You can stop frequently along the way and travel at your own pace.

 

Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/alaskaZ.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[xene97]

The one thing that interested me about the Gold Mine in Juneau is that you actually get to go into the mine itself, didn't seem that Skagway had that feature.

 

Can you do the Gold Mine in Juneau on your own or do you have to book through the cruise line?

[linjangg]

Great question! I would love to take my kids to the gold mine in Juneau! Can someone give some info about how to get there, and prices, etc.

Thanks!