Moving out of Florida!

[Nugget Noob]

New guy here looking for advice.
Possibly looking at North West NC to settle in.
So the wife and I are catching the bug, but Florida doesn't offer the experience we are looking for.
What I'm trying to figure out is how people go about prospecting without getting on to private property or other people's claims.
I really value the idea that other people work hard and don't want to step on their efforts.

Are there any tips you might have on scouting public land where I can camp and pan?

Sincerely,

Don't want to be "That Guy"

 

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[austin]

Come to Texas. Cheap, plenty of work, low taxes, no state income tax, plenty of treasure legends and places to hunt. We have beaches, mountains, deserts, fishing, hunting, camping, gold panning, everything you could want. Rents are low and we'll throw another steak on the barbie.'

 

[enamel7]

No claims in NC. There are public lands but necessary to find out rules and regs.

 

[Nugget Noob]

Thanks Austin... I was stationed at Ft. Sam Houston.
Texas isn't where my heart is....

 

[Nugget Noob]

Enamel7 I appreciate the reply... It's hard to figure out the list of things one has to do to get started.
BLM, USGS, local ordinances... Unless you're savvy?
Thanks for the heads up!

 

[kevin1]

Of course, you'll have to check with DNR about regs, but the easiest way to locate public land is topo maps. They reveal all public parcels, including those tiny hidden gems that others don't know about. You can find plenty of sites selling topo maps online, but there are free sources too. Terraserver is one of them, the maps are often old, but still serviceable. A word of caution, get the GPS coordinates for the places you intend to prospect to avoid straying on to private land. Tiny parcels have the added hazard of being mistaken for private by adjoining landowners who may not realize that the public parcel exists. I used topos to locate small publics for hunting some years ago, and have more than once had an irate landowner try to run me off of "his land". In those cases having a Game Warden verify that the land is in fact public solves the problem, but that landowner will never allow you to work his actual property from that point on. I usually showed the landowner my map and asserted that it was public, but if they persisted I normally just apologized for disturbing him, and moved on. Sometimes this lead to getting hunting access later on, but mostly it kept him from spoiling my chances with other landowners.

 

[425jesse]

Go to Washington...great place, good gold.

 

[Nugget Noob]

Thanks Jesse... Trying to stay on this side though. The family won't come visit if I go west at all...lol

Kevin! Outstanding response!
This is exactly the kind of advice I'm looking for!
I really appreciate the input and will start looking for some of the free stuff and buy more current as we get ready to move.
Thank you....

 

[Nugget Noob]

The topo's should really come in handy.
I'm also a pilot and will be flying over potential sites that I plan to prospect!