Journeys›Photograph

Gold Panning and Rock Scrambling in Holcomb Valley

·San Bernardino County, California·#hiking#summer#family trip#mountains#rock-scrambling#gold-panning
Several children and adults pan for gold in a shallow outdoor water trough on a sunny day.

Drove up to Holcomb Valley on Big Bear's north side to try the gold panning at the Gold Fever Interpretive Site. It's a self-guided trail through the area's mining history — Holcomb struck gold here in 1860 and the strike built the boomtown of Belleville, which is a lot of drama for what is now a dirt road and some pines. A couple of men in suspenders and cowboy hats ran the panning trough and showed the girls how to swirl the grit around the pan without dumping the whole thing back in the water. The two older ones took it seriously, heads down over their pans for a long stretch. I couldn't tell you if anyone found actual gold.

After that the boulders took over. The girls scrambled up a big granite pile and sat on top waving, the littlest in her boots working her way up behind them, the dog circling at the bottom trying to figure out a route. They found a gap between two rocks and posted up there for a while, one dead tree behind them and nothing but blue past that. Getting them back down took longer than getting them up.

Two children and an adult gold panning at a sandy water trough outdoors.Three children sit on large rocks, posing for the camera, with a forest and blue sky in the background, and a dog below.Two children are on large rocks, with a black and white dog in the foreground, under a bright blue sky and trees.Two children climb and sit on large sunlit rocks, with a dog looking up, against a clear blue sky.A child in a pink top and denim shorts kneels on a rock, observing another large rock outdoors under a blue sky.A smiling child stands on high rugged rocks against a clear blue sky and trees.Two children sit on large rocks under a clear blue sky with a dead tree in the background.Two children sit on large gray rocks under a clear blue sky, with a dead tree in the background.

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