Fairplay Colorado
The town of Fairplay Colorado is a historic gold town with a gold panning area along the middle fork of the South Platte River. For $10.oo/day or $100.00/year, you can get a permit to pan and sluice the creek and tailings which are practically everywhere. Read the regulations carefully, unfortunately they are very specific regarding equipment that you can use. Restroom are located close to the prospecting and fishing pond.
I was quite surprised to find some nice flakes in my pan and could see how a typical sluice box could bring quite a good amount. There are camping spots available which also require a permit. http://fairplayco.us/docsforms/2017_Gold_Panning_permit_application.pdf
Between Fairplay and Alma Colorado rests the Snowstorm dredge. It is not easy to see and is located on private property. The plan is to move the dredge closer to the hi-way and turn it into a tourist attraction. This was one of several bucket line dredges that worked the Platte River.
Don Finley has been in contact with the land owner to donate the Snowstorm to Fairplay and then, raise the money to restore it. To witness this dredge is quite an impressive site and we have quite a few pictures that will be posted on this site in the near future. We went to a meeting where an old timer talked about how the lights in town would dim when they turned it on.