Gold Daughters — Local services in Alaska

I wish I could leave more than 5 stars.

First of all: I think everyone should know we went with a big group of 12 (and no wait, super cool) and we had some SKEPTICS in the group. Giving me grief about having this gold panning dream in my head. I convinced everyone to drive out and I got a whole apology from all of the skeptics, "exceeded expectations".

We got a couple different bag sizes, $20, $60, $100. EVERYONE was happy with their treasure.

The processes takes a little finesse and thankfully we had expect guides! Our introduction to Gold Daughters by Shanelle was immediately warm and friendly and that feeling continued to the finish.

We grabbed our bag of dirt and headed to the panning area. Super shady and big enough for our whole large group.

Dorothy walked us through how to do the panning and deserves the gold medal (hehehe get it?!). She was so patient with us and so incredibly helpful. We had her go through the tutorial more than a few times and she was just as excited every time. We love love love Dorothy.

Also on the podium with the gold medal is Maxine! She was so excited as we kept finding little flecks and big flakes! She helped me with my $60 bag to make sure I didn’t miss a thing! Maxine was so so fun and so helpful. Such an incredible panning partner.

Shanelle helped us pick out a cute little locket to make our gold a keepsake. Super reasonable prices and really really cute! The little shop inside has all kinds of goodies. She even offered to take a picture!

Everyone who works here clearly loves it and loves their jobs. No question because the owner makes everyone feel welcome! And has the cutest dog I’ve ever seen, Nugget, the worlds cutest mascot.

If you’re looking for a tourist trap or money grab… go somewhere else.

If you’re looking for something fun to do with family and friends and want to get your hands a little dirty… this is the place.

5 stars, 10/10, gold medal,...

This was our very first planned stop upon arriving in Fairbanks, based on the consistently high reviews and praise. Our group of 5 was made up of (2) 74 year old grandparents, (2) 48 year old parents, and (1) 13 year old son - so pretty broad age range. None of us had panned for gold before, and only 2 of our group really were excited to actually pan for gold; but everyone agreed it would be good for the grandson. Well, 15 minutes in to the experience all 5 were just LOVING this place. We were greeted by the wonderful Veronica; then received choice training by knowledgeable, personable and fun Cassi and Lisa. Within 30 minutes everyone in the group had found gold flakes from the 'free' piles of tailings on the property; and later we all found much more in our individual bags of dirt and rock we received upon entry. We spent a few hours and ended up having friendly chats with all the bright young ladies, making the experience all the better. At the end we got to meet Jordan Reeves, one of the two sisters who founded this place, and she personally separated / cleaned / dried our gold, putting the flakes into a gold pendant keychain keepsake that our son will love forever. Without question this will be a highlight of our trip; and we all said we would want to do it again the very next time we are lucky enough to travel to Fairbanks. Thank you,...

We had such a great time in day 1 that we went back for a second day! The set up was perfect with plenty of room to sit or stand while you pan for gold. You can just pan the bag they give you with your entry fee or you can grab more dirt from the gift shop or the mound they have outside. C spent most of the time scouring through pay dirt looking for any trace of gold while A spent it looking for pretty rocks. Those rocks happened to include some Alaskan garnets! We had the amazing pleasure of getting to see mammoth tusks that hadn’t even been rinsed off yet! That was probably a once in a lifetime experience. The true treasures of this happen to be in the employees at Gold Daughters. They are literally all amazing!!! Every single person we met there was exceptional. They went out of their way to be helpful and kind. They made the experience 10xs better! I’m sure management knows that they have excellent staff but I just want to reaffirm that! We have told everyone from locals to quite literally anyone who will listen that this is a must do for Fairbanks/North Pole. I want to send a special shoutout to Saleena, Luke, Maren and Shania- you all are awesome! And someone please get Luke a Taters...