Adventure Awaits in Alaska’s Wild Gold Country
Boat, pan, dredge, and mine your way through real Alaskan wilderness with the state’s most colorful prospector and storyteller.
Boat, pan, dredge, and mine your way through real Alaskan wilderness with the state’s most colorful prospector and storyteller.
Step into the wild world of real Alaska prospecting. From roadside panning to lake expeditions, you’ll experience how gold was – and still is – found.
Grab a shovel, swirl your pan, and feel the weight of gold settle in your hands. It’s not make-believe. It’s the real thing, and you keep what you find.
Every flake of gold carries a tale. Hear John’s wild adventures from the Kenai to British Columbia, and see how history comes alive right where you stand.
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John isn’t an actor playing a part. He’s lived the life, mined the gold, and starred in well-loved cable TV shows that told his story to the world. You’re learning from the genuine article.
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With exclusive permits to remote Chugach National Forest streams, you’ll stand where only a handful of people are allowed to pan for gold each year.
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From the laughter on the lake to the glint in your pan, every trip is packed with moments that stay with you long after you’ve gone home.
Ride across turquoise Kenai Lake, surrounded by towering peaks, all the way to the legendary Devil’s Canyon Mining Camp. Hear the rush of a hidden waterfall and pan for real Alaskan gold beside it. It’s a mix of beauty, history, and discovery. You keep what you find!
Climb aboard for a true mining experience. Journey by boat to our wild claim, fire up the dredge, and work the stream like the old-timers did. Raw, gritty, and wildly rewarding. You’ll earn your gold and your story to tell back home.
Only have an hour to spare? Make it golden! Just steps from our gift shop, shovel up raw gold ore, sluice it through Prospector John’s hand-built high bankers, and pan your paydirt for real Alaskan gold. This is a comprehensive mining experience that teaches you the high banking and gold panning skills you need to mine in the backcountry. Perfect for families, friends, groups, and first-timers. Keep all the gold you find!
Search for treasures in Prospector John’s mix of gems and fossils – up to 58 kinds sparkling in the sun. Families, travelers, and curious souls all love uncovering real treasures. No reservations needed. Drop in anytime and see what’s waiting in the dirt.
Step through the log cabin doors and into one of the most delightfully unpredictable stores in Alaska. Walls of art, shelves of gemstones, trays of handmade jewelry, fossils, knives, and a delicious variety of beef and wild game jerky converge in a treasure hunt of local craftsmanship and frontier spirit. Customers call it the most unique and varied shop in the State of Alaska, and we don’t argue. Every item tells a story, every shelf hides a surprise, and every visit feels like striking gold. If you’re lucky, you’ll meet Prospector John himself or his better half, “Shopper Shaun.” He brought the grit, she brought the sparkle, and together they turned a miner’s cabin into a museum of wonder. Come curious, leave laughing (and maybe a little richer).
Prospector John came to Alaska chasing a boyhood dream: to live off the land and test whether he had the grit to survive. He found both survival and gold, and somewhere along the way, a lifetime of stories worth telling.
For nearly three decades he’s explored Alaska by horse, boat, plane, and on foot, turning his passion for prospecting into a way of life. He’s shared it on Animal Planet’s “Wild West Alaska,” Discovery Channel’s “Devil’s Canyon,” and, most importantly, with thousands of visitors who’ve joined him in the field to strike gold of their own.
These days, John and his wife Shaun run their beloved log cabin store together. Her eye for beauty and his love for adventure make the perfect team – one that keeps Alaska’s spirit alive in every story, every tour, and every gleam of gold pulled from the stream.