Where to Find Gold in New England

Did you know that New England is home to gold-panning hotspots?

Gold-panning is the act of finding gold among other rocks. Gold is about seven times heavier than other rocks of a similar size. Using a screen and a bucket, you can shuffle around a pile of small rocks in the river bed, and be left with little gold pieces to keep or turn into real cash.

A lot of western states are known for being gold-panning hot spots, like Nevada, California, Colorado, etc.

But there are also gold-panning hot spots right here in New England.

Where to Find Gold in Maine:  

The Swift River is a great place to start looking for gold.

According to a Gold Prospects article, one of the best areas to look for gold is in Byron, Maine. The town has a "great track record since 1849, causing some to believe that the river runs through a yet-to-be-discovered gold vein." Coos Canyon is another popular area, near Byron.

Various companies do paid gold-panning tours in Maine, such as Maine Mineral Adventures in Bryant Pond, Maine, Poland Mining Camps in Poland, Maine, and The Sluice at Bethel Outdoor Adventures and Campground.

Where to Find Gold in New Hampshire:

New Hampshire is also home to rivers and streams that are known to hold small gold nuggets.

According to a New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services article, gold has been found in Benton (Tunnel Brook), Lincoln (Notch Brook), Lisbon (Salmon Hold Brook and Ammonoosuc River), and across the Northern Coos County (Indian Stream, Perry Stream, and Swift Diamond River).

Where to Find Gold in Massachusetts:

A decent area to gold pan in Massachusetts is in the Keets Brook, in Bernardston, Massachusetts.

Where to Find Gold in Vermont:    

"Plymouth, Vermont, was the theater of a real gold fever in the mid-1850s and, although professional mining eventually ceased, gold can still be found in several rivers, including the West River, where the largest nugget (6.5 ounces) in New England was uncovered, the Buffalo Brook and the Gold Brook," according to Gold Prospects.