Gold Panning Self-Guided Tour in Anchorage booking from $79.00

Gold Panning Self-Guided Tour

Overview

Get out of the city of Anchorage and take the Turnagain Arm Shuttle to Indian Valley Gold mine. This self-guided Goldpanning adventure is an opportunity to visit a real mine that helped shape the area. The Goldpanning Tour is truly ideal for the independent traveler who enjoys breathtaking views of Turnagain Arm.This self-guided tour allows you freedom to break away from the tour groups and try your luck at Goldpanning on your own and return at select times. Your journey to Indian Valley Goldmine begins with a custom tour of Turnagain Arm and is a treat you won’t want to miss. On the way to the Indian Valley you will be traveling down Alaska’s most scenic stretch of highway known as Turnagain Arm. Your adventure includes a Turnagain Arm Tour with highlights listed below.When you are ready to continue on simply board the shuttle at the time you chose and with a confirmed seat back to Anchorage. We will be making a stop at Potter Marsh on the return journey back to Anchorage.

City: Anchorage

Mon 23 Dec

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $79.00

Make a reservation

Mon 23 Dec

Starting at $79.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Local guide at Indian Valley Mine

Customers pay their own admission and pay dirt buckets

Additional Info

Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Turnagain Arm Shuttle is a hop on hop shuttle. Please be aware that seats are guaranteed on the outbound and hop on hop off on the return.

What To Expect

Alaska's Finest Tours & Cruises - Tours

Take a drive down the Seward Highway on the Turnagain Arm Shuttle to Gold Pan

Seward Highway

Take a drive down the Seward Highway on the Turnagain Arm Shuttle to Gold Pan

Turnagain Arm Drive

On the way down to the Indian Valley Mine you will be traveling down Alaska’s most scenic highway known as Turnagain Arm. You will make a stop at Beluga Point, Turnagain Gallery and then on to the Indian Valley Mine where you can try your luck for Gold.

Beluga Point

Photo spot

Turnagain Gallery

Indian Valley Mine, National Historic Site

You may want to take some of the scenic walks found around Indian Valley Mine. When you are ready to continue on simply board the hourly shuttle from the Indian Valley Mine back to Anchorage. The return journey back to Anchorage is simple allow us to arrange your shuttle back to Anchorage. It’s that easy.

Show 3 more stops

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Reviews (6)

Sharon_C

Aug 2022

This tour never happened. It is only transportation to the site. You ride the van with another tour with another destination. We were told we would only have an hour at the site, in order to get a ride back to Anchorage. It was a lot of money for transportation only and very little time was allowed to enjoy the area. Plus, this tour did not include the admission fee which was not clarified until it was too late to cancel and get a full refund. Because of the cost for transportation, we decided to stay with the other tour. Full disclosure was lacking with this tour.

Response from Host

Aug 2022

The night before the tour you were sent the overview which is the same that you read when you bought the tickets. Plus you were called to let you know what to expect. We do not add the cost of the pay dirt bucket as the price would go up substantially if it was included as a commission is paid to your travel agent. You save by purchasing admission fees. The next day when getting on the shuttle you asked to join the Wildlife Tour and so it was you who decided not to go goldpanning.

Annette_P

Aug 2021

The shuttle was really nice! Shuttle was clean and we learned a lot. As we had extra time, we even stopped at places not on the list like a waterfall and Potter Marsh. Gold panning was an awesome experience. The owners were fun and informative and we all left with some gold! Not much gold, but we can now say we panned for our own gold. Without the worries of driving, this mom had a great day!!!

Traci_B

Jul 2021

The tour bus/van company moved our start time from 11:00am to 1:45pm the evening before our tour. So we rearranged our plans for that day to accommodate the bus tour company. They promised to take our group to The Alaska Wildberry Products company to see the worlds largest chocolate waterfall, due to the inconvenience. Then the day of the tour they texted at 1:18pm stating they’d arrive at 2:00pm now. My family and another family were already there waiting on them. Make note that once you get to the address they provide to be picked up, there are other companies and services that pick up and drop off at the exact same location but there is no signage or instructions as to exactly where to go to wait, which causes confusion. And on top of the fact that the bus/van was even later than 2:00pm to get there made everyone concerned we had been scammed. But, the bus/van did finally arrive at approximately 2:30pm. When you finally arrive at the gold panning location, panning for the gold was fun. Since the driver did not stop at the Alaska Widberry Product company on the way to the gold panning, we all thought we’d be stopping there on the way back. It did not appear the driver Ben was planning on stopping anywhere, so I asked when we would be there. He replied, he didn’t have time to take us there now because he was running behind. Even though he and the tour bus/van company are the ones who promised us and the other passengers to take us there for them inconveniencing us. Through the website I booked this tour I requested a refund. Within minutes of submitting my request, Ben the driver calls me to say he could offer to take us on a tour the next day, but he would not be giving me a refund. I explained to Ben that we already had made prior plans and just would like a refund due to them lying and moving times at the last minute and being late on top of that. He began to argue with me and refused to issue a refund. My family understands unexpected things come up to cause times to change or maybe even people to be late. But to promise paying customers something and then lying and not taking us where they promised to after they said they would is just flat out lying, rude and disrespectful. They inconvenienced all of us but they couldn’t go out of their way to do what they said they would do. Then to call the paying customer and argue with them on the phone. Unprofessional and disappointing to say the least. Definitely not worth the $287 I paid for a ride to go gold panning, for four people. Could of saved the money and drove there ourselves.

Response from Host

Jul 2021

Yes you paid for a ride to and from Gold Panning. You did not pay for a "TOUR". Because you were here during the fourth of July “A Busy HOLIDAY” we did experience many delays and moved your departure time for which you readily agreed. We also informed you that traffic delays were to be expected as the Turnagain Arm is busy with local going down to Homer and Seward. We did say we would up our game and took you to Ship Creek to see wall to wall people fishing at Ship Creek and you were then able to walk into the ULU Factory. Time was set aside to go to Alaska Wildberry Products which usually would have taken 20 minutes. However your group decide to take an extra 30 minutes at Gold Panning even though the driver gave you 15 minutes extra time and even came up to you to say we have others on the shuttle waiting. So instead of leaving at the appointed time we left Gold Panning 30 minutes later which ate away at the other people’s time to visit Alaska Wildberry Products. Nobody but your group made a fuss about bypassing this stop because they already knew you were the cause of not being able to stop. We did up our "Game" by giving you a stop at the ULU Factory and Ship Creek. But you chose to lose time by dragging your feet at Gold Panning. I am so sorry for the loss of not going to Wildberry Products but it was not the fault of the driver. He scheduled you in but your own party left him no option but to bypass that stop as we are a shuttle company and have to get back on schedule. So sorry that your group of four took that extra 25 minutes and we could not accommodate the other six who really wanted that extra stop. Even though you knew you were the delay you tried to rally the entire van against the driver. The owner called you personally and offered a FREE city tour because of your cry to rally others. Yet you turned a $49.00 per person tour down which included Wildberry Products. Keep in mind we are only a ground transportation company and not a tour. Our name clearly states this and the websites say: The Turnagain Arm Shuttle is a comprehensive Tour Company providing an assortment of self-guided tours and mainline transport to breathtaking sights along the Turnagain Arm. We have prepared this site to act as a quick reference and resource guide to help you plan the life changing experiences you want to enjoy on your Alaskan adventure. You bought ground transportation and we provided ground transportation. YOU demanded a REFUND for something we provided. You even tried to get a refund even after you did your self-guided tour. We gave you more than a ride we gave you two stops extra the Ship Creek and the Ulu Factory. It was your group that took away the availability to stop at Wildberry Products by your own admission. You thought it was more important to take an extra 20 minutes Gold Panning and make six others wait for your party. Not to mention the two who came from Girdwood on the Shuttle sitting on the van for that extra 20 minutes. They felt so sorry for the driver that they gave an extra $20.00 tip because of your behavior. Those two in the van gave a $20.00 tip because they knew what you were trying to do in the van was to garner a refund and rally anyone who would side with you. Yet you were the cause of everyone not going to Wildberry Products because the van was scheduled for a pick up in Girdwood it was “YOUR” fault that others did not get to experience that stop. Yes keep in mind we are a “SHUTTLE” almost like a taxi. Because of YOUR group the Girdwood pick up was 20 minutes late.

Gold Panning Self-Guided Tour

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