Recommendations For Prospecting In Virginia Or Maryland

[Alejandro]

Hi everyone,

My name is Alejandro, I'm from Argentina, and I've been living in this wonderful country for 2 years. I've always been passionate about nature, and searching for relics and minerals is my favorite hobby. I lived in Spain for the past 22 years, where I found great relics with my Garrett AT Max Pro, including some Roman gold coins, gold jewelry, and many antiques.

Since moving to the USA (I live in Washington D.C.), my detector has been gathering dust in the garage. I also bought a sluice box that has yet to be used. I've read a lot about the places and permits, public and private properties near my area, Maryland, or Virginia near D.C. I've read that the Rappahannock River has fine gold, so my next adventure is to try panning there with my sluice box.

The problem is that I haven't found any map that helps me choose a public area where I can pan peacefully, as I'm afraid of trespassing on private property. I don't want to invade anyone's land, and I also don't know anyone who enjoys this hobby near my area. I'm looking for tips, recommendations, and all the information you can share to help me start my hobby in this country.

I enjoy finding gold, but my main goal is to get out of the house, enjoy nature, and get some exercise panning for gold. I'm sure there are many people here who have panned in the Rappahannock River, Willis River, James River, Shenandoah River, or Rapidan River. These rivers have a history of gold and are near my area. I'd like to start with the Rappahannock because I think I've identified a public area, but I'm open to any suggestions and advice.

I'm not asking about permits for private areas because I've read that it's very difficult. I'd also like to go out with my detector, but since I've never used the sluice box, I'd like to start with that.

Thank you very much in advance to everyone. I look forward to your responses.

Best regards and happy hunting,

Alejandro

[GotAU?]

Hello Alejandro and welcome!

Wow, it sounds like you had quite a time detecting in Greece, all of us would love to have had an opportunity like that!  I am in California, so we have numerous places to prospect on public lands with many gold bearing areas as well. Yours is an interesting question; you are in a historic district living in Washington DC, which I would think provides a lot of opportunities to do relic and coin hunting, but gold is another matter altogether. As you know, there are some places in Virginia that were historically mined for gold, and out of curiosity I found this article online that might be of help:

 https://www.goldfeverprospecting.com/vigoprandpai.html#:~:text=The only known gold producing,and into the State Forest

Places to go on the state forest in the article seem varied, and I would think that you would be most successful trying areas shown on the map. You should also look up some local mining clubs that have their own claims like GPAA, as a member you are allowed to prospect on their claims and will also have the opportunity to meet people that know the local area very well.

Well, good luck out there and keep us posted!

-Anthony