New To Hobby From Valencia, Ca

[Defense]

Hello all. Jerry from Southern Kaliforniastan. Never been out before but I am excited to start. Been reading forums, researching awhile and thought I would take the plunge. I'm waiting for my Nokta Legend to arrive in the mail /w (6" coil / extra battery / Nokta pinpointer) . I have a friend that just purchased the Gold Bug 2 and another looking to purchase a used Gold Monster 1000. I live in the high desert, 30 minutes north of Los Angeles (91387 zip code) with LOTS of iron in the ground. Tons of dried up river beds and thousands of canyons/ravines. Mainly interested in hiking, looking for gold nuggets (if they exist here)

Any suggestions where I can find maps/areas with known gold locations? 

 

Thanks, 

Jerry 

[Valens Legacy]

Welcome to the forum and as for maps you can search the forum for them to learn what to look for while hiking.

Sadly there are no maps that will tell you where the gold is or there would be a waiting line to pick it up.

There are many people on the forum near you that can help you out and teach you a few things.

Good luck and good hunting.

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard Jerry !

 

[IronDigger]

Welcome Jerry,

Use to live in Ventura county, moved to Valencia for a bit and done some prospecting in the are. San Francisquito Canyon is an area of interest, did some panning near the old dam that failed back in 1928. Check out the dry gulches do some testing and look for old workings, Piru creek is another area, but even in those days when I was living there Piru has signs of no prospecting allowed, I dont see why metal detecting would be prohibitive, check with the rangers , maybe ask some questions if you can detect or pan. The fun part of getting into this hobby is the research, dig deep into the history. You are not far from Mojave Randsburg district and the surrounding areas have plenty of gold to keep you busy adventuring. You can always go south and visit the East Fork of the San Gabriel's , found my first 100 gold nuggets down there up in the dry gulches and ravines. But the best bet on the East Fork would be panning and sluicing you will always find gold using this method, nuggethunting up in the old hydraulic workings is a bit hairy and difficult do to the steep terrain. I would recommend joining some clubs, the Orange County 49ers has some great claims 1-2 hours away from you, one in the Kern District, Lake Isabella area and up in the mountains of Keyes district is loaded with placer gold..good luck with your adventure, research,  network and you will be in with 2 feet very soon. 

[Steve Herschbach]

https://www.detectorprospector.com/magazine/steves-guides/where-to-prospect-for-gold-nuggets-r121/

https://www.detectorprospector.com/magazine/steves-guides/metal-detecting-and-prospecting-library/ (see prospecting section lower in page)