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Corps of Engineers Column
 Know
the gold panning rules at Allatoona Lake
By Linda
Hartsfield, Park Ranger
Back in the day, North Georgia was the site of a
major gold rush. Although mostly found in Northeast Georgia and
centered around Dahlonega, there were people who found gold in other
locations of the state. The area where Allatoona Lake now is located
was one of those.
Today, recreational gold panning is allowed at
Allatoona Lake, but there are restrictions.
Prospecting is not allowed, only recreational
panning.
Tools permitted are restricted to pan and shovel
only.
Metal detectors, sluice boxes, rockers or suction
dredges are not allowed.
Gold panners cannot use any kinds of chemicals,
such as mercury or arsenic, to assist in panning.
Panning is confined to creek beds only from the
government property line to the normal summer shoreline, which is
840 NGVD.
No digging is allowed in the sides of creek beds.
With these guidelines, you will probably have to walk
into most areas. Its your responsibility to obtain permission from
any private land owners to cross their property if you need to in
order to reach government land.
Gold panning is permitted on all tributary creeks,
except those in areas leased to various organizations or in areas
where access is prohibited.
Some people like the adventure of panning for gold,
but please be aware of the guidelines when doing so on public lands.
If you have questions, please all the Allatoona
Project Management office at 678-721-6700.
This column is provided by
the US Army Corps of Engineers at the Allatoona Lake project.
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