Gold Prospecting Prescott AZ WHAT HAPPEN

[Frghtshkr]

I have been currently looking in the Prescott AZ area to buy a home to beat the heat of the summer months. I liked a housing track area called Stoneridge. There were a couple bridges you crossed that you could park and do some panning etc. I hadnt been up there in a few months and now there are signs saying no tespassing. Does anyone know if it is still OK to go down in that area and prospect
Thank you in advance

 

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[smokeythecat]

Well, if that area says no trespassing, apparently not. Here in Maryland, if you trespass (go without permission) the first time they just run you off with a warning. Unless you kill a bush, grass, shrubbery, etc. They're really icky here. If it's posted, you can actually go to jail. You might check out your state laws on the matter.

 

[Mad Machinist]

If there are no trespassing signs, then it's off limits.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Private property, with active claims.

 

[brianc053]

I think what Frghtshkr is looking for is someone with local knowledge of that area and maybe a specific explanation of what happened with that specific housing development.

Frghtshkr I’m assuming you can’t find any details by researching the developers behind Stoneridge on the internet? Maybe by contacting those developers you could learn what happened and maybe even meet someone who could grant you permission.

 

[Frghtshkr]

Yes I spoke to a local realtor about it and I guess people were paryting down there and also some prospecting clubs were bringing van loads of people there. I was hoping someone locally knew what happened. I was told a few years ago that the family that actually sold the land kept this stretch opened for the gold prospectors.

 

[BoydBros]

Youtube videos of these locations explain that the family shut it down (No Trespassing) after party goers and prospectors TRASHED these locations.

 

[DanB]

The two creeks he is referring to is rose creek and lynx creek.....entering the stoneridge neighborhood off of 69....is rose creek...there are 3 evesments that over lap there....city....county...and (faine) family trust land....south east of bridge to the pipeline is public rec....the west side is closed....the second bridge is lynx creek....closed both sides....hope that helps....db

 

[Clay Diggins]

The entire area where Rose and Lynx creeks join is part of a 1957 placer patent encompassing more than 1,800 acres. The patent was granted to Harold A. Savage and Robert M. Fitzmaurice. You can see a copy of that huge placer patent HERE. The bulk of the claims the patent was based on were named Myrtle. I'm guessing someone liked Myrtle?

Virtually that entire area is owned today by the Fain Family trusts. The one exception is Fain Park which was sold to the city of Prescott Valley in 1997 for the grand sum of $10.

Interestingly the Fain Family still owns the center of the park where 4th and 5th streets meet. That's where the chapel on the hill above the dam is located. The park is an odd shape that mostly covers the waterway up Lynx creek to Stoneridge road and a little beyond. It includes the dammed area and the area just to the north of the dam. None of Rose creek was included in the sale to Prescott Valley, it is all still owned by the Fain groups.

Here the park parcel is outlined in red:


I don't see any sign of County or State lands nearby. There are no mining claims since it's not public land. The Fain Land and Cattle Company has been around a long time. The Fains have been nice to allow casual prospecting on their land. I suspect pressure from the city and civic groups convinced the Fain Trust to withdraw that permission. It was a good place to get a little gold where even a newbie was likely to walk away with a little color after a pleasant day on the creek. Now it's definitely off limits to uninvited visitors.

Heavy Pans

 

[Hillbilly Prince]

Here's a line from a Woody Guthrie song:
"As I went walking I saw a sign there,
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing.
That side was made for you and me."

Maybe not the best advice now

 

[Seden]

I'm planning on moving to Prescott next summer when I retire and was really counting on going to Rose Creek as well as Lynx for my gold prospecting. Is there anywhere along the length of Lynx that can be gotten to by the public or do I have to make the long drive to San Domingo everytime I want to prospect?

 

[Clay Diggins]

There is a public panning area on Lynx creek just north of Lynx Lake Randy. That's only about a mile from Hwy 69 on Walker road and about 3 miles upstream from Fain park.

No need to go to San Domingo. The Bradshaw mountains have many rich gold producing areas within a few miles of Prescott. Any creek within the city of Prescott has gold as well. You would be leaving behind the most productive placer areas in Arizona if you travel to San Domingo. Along the way to San Domingo you would pass through many known and productive placer areas.

Go to the Land Matters Library and download Maureen Johnson's Placer Gold Deposits of Arizona. In that book she gives the specifics of 87 placer districts in Arizona. Look around the Library and you will find a lot more leads for productive Arizona gold locations.

Arizona has a lot of gold. Rose creek was a nice place to spend an afternoon but there are better areas nearby to Prescott to find good gold. Go get U sum!

Heavy Pans

 

[BoydBros]

Actually, all the previous info is FALSE.

The family leased this land out to Discovery Channel and a douchebag named Dave Turin. He (Dave) also cut a deal with the city, all this aired on television the last episode "Lost Mine".