Friday, May 11, 2012

Goldstrike Adventures: What we do and what we don't do

As with anything else there is much speculation about what Goldstrike Adventures is, what we do and how we do it.
This is to hopefully clear things up for anyone who might be confused.

We teach recreational gold prospectors the skills required to find gold and collect gold.

We sometimes go to public locations that happen to also be historic, which makes the experience more interesting and informational but is insignificant to learning how to prospect, how to pan and how and get your clean gold into a vial for display. We don't charge for the location, we charge for the learning experience.

We teach new prospectors and experienced prospectors the latest panning methods and tricks, how to setup and run a sluice box two ways, how to hand dredge, how to run a highbanker, Gold Cube, or a suction dredge system... A to Z.
We don't rent equipment or sell secret locations... our locations are listed on this very blog.
We always teach our guests to be responsible gold prospectors with an emphasis on aquatic and riparian benefits by following a few simple guidelines provided by our state of Colorado and National Forest Service aquatics and riparian biologist consultants.
We never dig in the banks, shorelines or under vegetation in sensitive areas nor allow our guest to.
Under the guidance of our consulting riparian biologists, we remove toxic and noxious invasive weeds allowing natural vegetation to thrive.
When digging in high benches or dry gulches, we always fill holes and repair the area before leaving that day.
We teach digging within the streambed itself and staying well away from structures, overpasses and artificial fish habitats.
We do remove trash and debris like glass, mercury, fish hooks, line and lead sinkers from the rivers and creeks we utilize.
We teach proper cleaning of waders, boots and other equipment that might carry invasive species to other streams.
We show new prospectors all the tricks in the book for finding gold and a few that aren't in the book.
We never use gas powered pumps and suction dredges or highbankers at sensitive areas like Arapahoe City, Ralston Creek and other endangered locations, whether it is legal to do so or not. Our belief is that public perception far outweighs being right or wrong in these cases and we should make every effort to preserve our endangered spots.
We have fun on every single adventure we conduct.

We have numerous repeat customers and many of our customers are local prospectors who have been striking out for years, young prospectors and older alike. Local prospectors utilize us to get a chance to learn all about running a dredge or big highbanker for a day or perhaps try out a Gold Cube before buying one.

We have taken out over 100 guests since we opened for business last fall and consider most if not all of of the Goldstrike alumni friends now... and we hope you will become one too.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Gold Unlimited Welcomes Keene Engineering

Keene Engineering is teaming up with Gold Unlimited as a corporate sponsor to help bring the hobby of recreational gold panning to kids across Colorado!

As part of Gold Unlimited's commitment to The Greenway Foundation, we have recruited Jerry Keene himself to help Gold Unlimited provide thousands of gold pans to middle and grade schoolers in Colorado. Our initial goal is to teach every child in Denver to pan for gold.

Keene Engineering is the industry leader in recreational gold prospecting equipment and is committed to supporting the future of our great hobby.

In addition, Keene Engineering will be assisting Gold Unlimited with the upcoming Greenway Foundation S Platte River SWEEP Day on Sept 29th 2012!

Thank you to Keene Engineering and welcome aboard!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Gold Unlimited Teaming Up With The Greenway Foundation!

Gold Unlimited Association of America is very proud to announce that we are adding the Greenway Foundation to our growing list of allies as we push forward with efforts to preserve existing gold panning sites while expanding and developing new locations for recreational gold prospectors along the S Platte River near downtown Denver.


Since 1974, The Greenway Foundation has led efforts to



  • Reclaim the South Platte River and its tributaries from a virtual cesspool to a place of environmental and recreational pride

  • Construct more than 100 miles of hiking and biking trails

  • Create 20+ parks and natural areas

  • Design and build numerous whitewater boat chutes

  • Vastly improve the health of the South Platte River Watershed and its habitats

  • Provide environmental education to more than 60,000 school children

  • Provide free riverside concerts and cultural events to thousands of residents and visitors

  • Employ more than 100 teenagers in youth employment programs

  • Helped create over $100 million of green improvement to the South Platte River and its tributaries, facilitating over 10 billion in residential and commercial development throughout the Denver Metro area.
Gold Unlimited will be assisting with the Greenway Foundation's South Platte River Environmental Education (SPREE) program with our "Pans N Hands" youth panning educational program which encourages "unstructured outdoor activity" for children helping to prevent NDD (Nature Deficit Disorder) and treat ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). According to recent research, one of the best activities a child can engage in is simply going down to the local creek or stream and playing in the rocks and water. Gold Unlimited will be providing a free gold pan to every student that participates in the SPREE gold panning excursion and weekend gold adventure excursions.
CALLING ALL GOLDIGGERS- Gold Unlimited will also be calling on all Colorado gold prospectors, miners, panners and other goldiggers to come out on September 29th to participate in the Greenway Foundation S Platte River SWEEP cleanup day if possible.

We will encourage legal, safe and existing approved methods to assist in the cleanup of the S Platte river within the existing framework of the SWEEP program, Urban drainage and other agencies involved to ensure a positive experience for everyone involved.

We will not be promoting the use of suction dredges this year in the cleanup due to concerns over their use in this section of river.
Stay tuned and help us get the word out on this fantastic opportunity to show Colorado what a valuable resourse we have in our gold prospecting community.
UPDATE TO POST BELOW REGARDING GFP - Montana City gold panning to remain open to recreational gold prospectors! According to the RISO master plan, future development includes recreational gold panning at Grant Frontier Park (Montana City) and we are working to assure gold panners that Grant Frontier Park will remain open to gold panning and prospecting just as it has for over 150 years.

In addition, Gold Unlimited will be working with the Greenway Foundation to ensure that other traditional historic gold panning locations including Montana City (Grant Frontier Park), Auraria and others remain or are developed as a place for recreational gold prospectors to visit for generations to come.

UPDATE: 6/20/2012- Gas powered motorized equipment of any kind is NOT allowed in Denver City parks, open space nor by Denver Urban Drainage. Please be aware that suction dredging is NOT allowed at Grant Frontier Park.