This past Saturday I experienced Gold Panning for the first time and I had a really great time. The gold panning event took place on the Vermillion River. Fun fact… the Vermillion River was said to have gold scattered throughout the river. In 1901 the government of Ontario created a list with all the rivers in Ontario that had gold scattered around it, and Vermillion river was on that list!
The day started off with a quick lesson about the proper techniques and instruments used for gold panning. After the lesson, our gold panning adventure on the Vermillion river began.
We had the opportunity to see how prospectors lived while on their gold panning adventures which was very interesting to see. Their tents could actually have a wood stove in it (watch the video on the Sudbury Tourism page to see how the prospector’s tent looks like). The tents would usually be situated in between trees to create a barricade from the wind.
It was all very interesting and great seeing how prospectors survived in the past. To this day, the same tactics are used to go gold panning. Hope to see you Gold Panning next year and don’t forget to check out the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum and Heritage Center’s website for more events happening in the future.
Pat
Here's the link to the Gold Panning Video http://www.youtube.com/sudburytourism
