Gold panning guides for Canada
Where it is legal to dip a pan, what gear the rules allow, and how to check for claims — province by province. Positions and links were checked against government sources; none of it is legal advice.
Gold Panning in British Columbia
Fraser Canyon bars, Cariboo creeks, and the most panner-friendly rules in Canada.
Read the BC guide · 9 panning spots →Gold Panning in Yukon
Klondike creeks and free public panning where the rush of ’98 began.
Read the Yukon guide · 3 panning spots →Gold Panning in Ontario
Flour gold, hobby-collecting rules, and the greenstone belts of the north.
Read the Ontario guide · 2 panning spots →Gold Panning in Quebec
The Beauce placers — Canada’s first gold rush — and the Chaudière valley.
Read the Quebec guide · 2 panning spots →Gold Panning in Alberta
Flour gold in prairie rivers — pan the North Saskatchewan right in Edmonton.
Read the Alberta guide · 2 panning spots →Gold Panning in Nova Scotia
Atlantic gold districts, beach panning at The Ovens, and NovaROC.
Read the Nova Scotia guide · 3 panning spots →How to use these guides
Each guide answers the same five questions for its province: is recreational panning legal, where can you go, how do you check claims, what gear is allowed, and how do you get started. The answers differ a lot — B.C. and Alberta let you hand-pan with no licence at all, Ontario runs on a hobby-collecting policy, and Quebec is a genuine grey zone.
Two rules hold everywhere: hand tools only keeps you inside the recreational rules, and check the claim map first. Panning on someone else's claim without permission is an offence in every province that has claims.
When you are ready, the panning spots pages list only publicly documented places — reserves, parks, tourist pans and historic ground — with access notes and the source for each one.
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