The El Dorado Gold Mine in Fairbanks, Alaska provides a tour that is both fun and educational for the entire family.
After our family cruise from Vancouver to Alaska we embarked on a 5 day land tour that finished in Fairbanks where we went on a full-day excursion that included a cruise on the Riverboat Discovery (a stern-wheel river boat) as well as a visit to El Dorado Gold Mine.
El Dorado Gold Mine is a family-run business that is designed to teach visitors about the history of gold mining in Alaska. The two hour tour commences with a narrated ride aboard a replica of an engine from the Tanana Valley Railroad. The original Tanana Valley Railroad operated in the Alaskan interior in the early 1900s to deliver supplies to the gold camps that were scattered throughout the region. The train journey transports visitors through a permafrost tunnel where a miner explains the history of underground mining and point out the kinds of mineral and rock formations that tend to produce the most gold.
The El Dorado Mine train
At the end of the train ride, guests are treated to a demonstration of sluice-box mining by a husband and wife prospecting team. Following the demonstration, everyone gets a chance to do some panning for gold.
Guests are set up on comfortable benches in front of a trough of warm water and then each person is provided with their own “poke” – a pan filled with dirt from the sluice. The pan is rinsed in water and shaken so that the gold slowly separates from the dirt and the dirt can be washed out. There are several guides on hand to assist anyone who is having difficulty uncovering their gold.
Katie panning for gold
Emma gets some assistance with her pan
Each guest takes the gold that they have uncovered inside to the Cook Shack for it to be weighed. There are a variety of keepsakes available to be purchased to display the gold. The most popular (with the women and girls at least) seem to be necklaces with the tiny bit of gold inside a clear pendant. Coffee and homemade cookies are served while everyone makes their purchases or waits for other members of their party to shop.
Katie and her gold (those tiny flecks in the upper left hand corner of the pan)
The El Dorado Gold Mine tour was definitely a touristy experience, however, it was entertaining for the kids and was actually more informative with respect to the gold rush and the business of gold mining than I had expected it to be. Most importantly, everyone leaves El Dorado happy with the tiny bit of gold that they panned as a keepsake of the day.
My El Dorado gold
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Mary @ The World Is A Book
I love your revisits to past trips because it gives us a chance to see the girls way back then =) Such adorable pictures! We didn’t get to the land tours post cruise during our Alaska trips but this looks so fun. There’s a small mining town near here that my kids love panning for gems.
Jess @UsedYorkCity
Very cool how everyone gets to do their own panning for gold! And I love your El Dorado gold necklace…such a fantastic (and functional!) keepsake!
Steve
A friend of mine has a gold claim out here and he keeps asking me to come and try my luck at panning there, but it looks like too much work for too little return to me. Of course, if my wife ever finds out she can make necklaces out of the gold….
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks, Mary – I like looking back at the old photos too! The land tour in Alaska was great but I think the kids probably preferred the cruise part of the trip. I imagine there are a lot of great mining spots in California too!
Lisa Goodmurphy
It was a lot of fun – the kids are much happier when they are allowed to “do” instead of just listen. And the necklace was definitely a nice bonus! 🙂
Lisa Goodmurphy
You ought to take him up on his offer just to be able to say that you went panning for gold – and it would make for a great status update on Facebook! Shall I try to get a message to Lori about the necklaces?? 🙂