My annual search for camping destinations is both exhilarating and exhausting. There is the thrill of unearthing new, intriguing places to add to our itinerary balanced with the recognition that there are fewer such places to find with each passing year. Occasionally, I’ll find a unicorn. A perfect match of location and activity. Gold Panner Campground was one such unicorn.
I first discovered Gold Panner Campground three summers ago. I was planning our inaugural father-son road trip through BC to hunt gold, cool rocks, and abandoned silver mines, camping as we went. Finding a campground with its own placer claims accessible to campers was a dream come true.
Unfortunately, the day we would be passing through the area, the campground was all booked for a wedding. Disappointing, for sure, but at least encouraging that Gold Panner Campground was not a dump. Even the most at-one-with-nature couple isn’t going to have a wedding at a train wreck of a campground. Regardless, our visit would have to wait.
The wait ended this past summer when we returned to the Slocan Valley to once again seek out old mines. Our route from Kelowna would take us along Highway 6, past Gold Panner Campground. This time traveling midweek rather than on the weekend, no wedding would disrupt our plans. We booked a one-night stay and prepared to recoup the site fee with our pans.
Where is the Gold Panner Campground Located?
Gold Panner Campground is located at the approximate midpoint of the western stretch of Highway 6 between Vernon (62 km to the west) and Upper Arrow lake (73 km to the east). This stretch of the BC Interior, once east of Lumby, is a relatively empty region of forest and small farms through the southern foothills of the Monashee Mountains. I’ve only visited twice and for short durations at that, but it strikes me as a peaceful, pretty place to live.
At this point, Highway 6 runs in a roughly north-south direction with Gold Panner Campground residing on the east side. Immediately next to the highway, and separating the campground office from the remainder of the campground, is a broad powerline right-of-way.
Campground Setting and Layout
Gold Panner markets itself as a wilderness campground. The property covers 186 acres, though the campground proper doesn’t take up the entirety of this land. It is bound to the south by Heckman Creek and to the east by Monashee Creek. The north portion of the property transitions to a personal residence.
Aside from the powerline right-of-way, the entire property is forested. There are some small clearings associated with campsites or cabins within the campground, but by and large it is well sheltered by trees.
As expected, the bulk of the tree cover is coniferous. Cedar, fir, spruce and the like provide full solid or dappled shade, save for those small clearings. The campground understory is grass and dirt with zero shrubs or other vegetative obstructions. Along the trails where the natural understory remains intact, shrubs, plants, and mosses indicated a more varied, moist environment.
Gold Panner Campground is more or less a single loop with a couple crossroads. There are campsites around segments of the perimeter as well as throughout the interior. The entire campground is at road level with the creek valleys forming a natural boundary to the south, east, and north.
Gold Panner Campsite Types
Despite being a relatively small campground with only 37 RV sites and 10 tent sites, Gold Panner Campground has a surprising array of options in campsite types. There are unserviced sites, electrical only sites, electrical and water sites, and even fully serviced sites with sewers. These sites come in back-in and pull-through flavours. Not bad for a wilderness campground.
Finding hookups can be a bit tricky, particularly in the infield area where site boundaries aren’t well defined. Electrical receptacles are dotted throughout with receptacle boxes attached to posts. I wonder if there isn’t confusion on busy weekends as to which plugin belongs to whom. Thankfully, hookups for back-in and pull-through sites are more obvious.
Pull-through Campsites
Gold Panner Campground has six pull-through campsites at the west end of the campground. They’re good and long so they should be able to accommodate almost any size of RV. They’re reasonably wide, though not enough to feel fully separated from your neighbours. I’d describe these sites as partially treed. Each has shade but also parts with sun. All six sites come with 30 amp electrical service and water.
Back-in Campsites
The back-in campsites are located in two spots around the outer rim of the campground. The bulk of these are on the south side, east of the playground while another four are on the north side.
Those on the south side back onto a steep drop-off down into the creek valley. This is lovely from a scenic point of view but also worthy of caution should you be enjoying a few wobbly pops.
These 14 back-in campsites are the fully serviced, save for 3 which do not have sewer hookup. While not as deep as the pull-through sites, they are still quite spacious and can hold RVs up to 38’ in length. If I was hauling my trailer on our trip, I think I’d aim to get one of the sites on the south side.
Infield Sites at Gold Panner Campground
The interior of the campground loop is referred to as the infield and it hosts 16 campsites though you’d be hard-pressed to readily identify where one ends and another begins. Of these sites, 3 have 15 amp power only, another 7 have 30 amp power, and the remaining 6 are unserviced.
The campground map shows two roads cutting across the infield. Those too are a bit tricky to differentiate from the campsites. It’s a very rustic, almost haphazard aura that will be quaint to some and off-putting to others. I personally wouldn’t want to camp in the infield. The seeming disarray of it all just isn’t my vibe. But I recognize there is appeal in this arrangement for some. Groups, in particular.
Tent Sites at Gold Panner Campground
Tent-only sites are found at the far east end of the loop, with 4 on the outer side of the loop overlooking the valley and 5 in the interior. The tent sites are labelled with letters rather than numbers except for a single tent site known as ‘#’. I’d love to have been a fly on the wall when that designation was agreed upon.
The tent sites are well-proportioned with ample shade, although I wouldn’t describe them as private. Felled trees or raised logs provide some semblance of a boundary between campsites, but the complete lack of undergrowth means you can snoop on your neighbours with impunity.
This lack of privacy, while neither rare nor unexpected, irked me during our stay. There were very few campers present during our one-night stay. The infield was completely empty as too were the south back-in sites. A few folks were camping in the pull-through sites and there was a grand total of one other tent camper. A family of four with young kids and a dog.
We were told to set up in site B while the aforementioned family was in site D. With only the relatively small, albeit empty, site C between us it felt like we were essentially camping side by side. For the life of me I don’t understand why we had to be so close to each other considering the dearth of other campers that night. Those 4 outer rim tent sites overlooking the valley sat there, empty, just taunting me. Perhaps I was just grumpy because of the long wait to register, but this really soured me.
Campsite Amenities
Each campsite is presumably adorned with a firepit and a picnic table though I can’t confidently say each site has both. The open nature of the campground leaves plenty of opportunity for campers to kind of mix and match amenities on their individual sites. Not a huge deal during our short visit considering how few campers were present but could become a battle-to-the-death when the campground is full. Okay, maybe just a minor nuisance.
Furthermore, when we got there, many of the firepits were up on their sides resting against trees. I assumed this meant the campground was under a fire ban. I realized I was mistaken when the campground registrar asked if we wanted to purchase firewood. It would seem campers are free to place their firepit wherever they wish on a given campsite. Considering the ground is mostly dirt, who am I to judge such freedom.
A rustic, hand-built lean-to is filled with cut firewood. According to their website, firewood is $15 per bundle. Depending on the size of bundle, which I don’t know since we didn’t buy any, that’s getting on the higher side of cost. I imagine many people simply bring their own wood.
Picnic tables are primarily the familiar wooden style though there are a handful with metal frames. Age and condition of these vary substantially but they’ll suffice for cooking, feeding, cleanup, and game playing.
Cabins and Chalets at Gold Panner Campground
Gold Panner Campground has 7 cabins and chalets available to rent. These range from old school log cabins to modern vacation homes. Of these, 3 are located within the campground area, amongst the campsites, while the remaining 4 can be found on either side of the road leading to the private residence. They’re still within shouting distance of the campground, so if you’re glamping with friends who are camping, you won’t be segregated from them.
The fancier chalets were locked up while we were there, so I am unable to comment as to their contents or value. Judging from their exteriors, I imagine they are quite well appointed with all the comforts of home. Based on the price and descriptions on the official website, I would be correct.
The 2 smaller, log cabins near the tent campsites, however, were open and unoccupied so I took the opportunity to snoop around. These are less expensive to rent but offer a more authentic cabin experience imho. They come with a wood stove, a couple beds, and a few basic appliances including a bar fridge. I found them quaint but imagine they get quite warm when summer temperatures start to rise. In the winter, however, they could be a toasty delight.
I recommend checking the website for details on pricing, what’s included, and what you need to bring.
Shower House/Bathrooms/Flush Toilets
True to its homegrown roots, Gold Panner Campground has a decidedly handyman special shower house with flush toilets. It’s located in the centre-west of the campground within reasonable walking distance of all campsites.
While I’m always grateful for flush toilets, and depending on the duration of our stay, showers, this shower house is a bit on the rundown side. There are separate Men’s and Women’s log cabin-like structures conjoined in their rear by what I presume is the hot water tanks and other operational equipment. There is no door to enter but rather a fenced wall blocks direct view from the outside into the exposed central interior space.
The Men’s version had two sinks with mirrors and accoutrements such as soap and a paper towel dispense. The mint green colour with black trim, white ceiling, and off-white tile flooring is a design choice.
To the right are two flush toilets on an elevated platform. These are oddly configured resulting in toilet paper that requires reaching to access.
To the left is a swinging door accessing a narrow passage that houses the shower. There are a bench and mirror at one end and a fiberglass shower stall at the other. Cost is $1 for 4 minutes, which is neither a bargain nor an outrage. I didn’t take a shower so I can’t comment on the water pressure or showerhead quality.
Everything about this bathroom complex feels a bit … open? Sure, it’s got a roof and all, but the lack of a main entrance door just felt odd to me. It just didn’t come across as appropriately private. Maybe I’m just in a high-maintenance mood right now.
Another disappointment with the shower house was the lack of cleanliness when it comes to insects. Interior lighting stays on all night which inevitably attracts all kinds of flying critters, many of which invade and die within the light fixtures. One fixture in the Men’s bathroom was literally black with dead bugs. Not terribly appealing.
That all being said, at least the flush toilets work, the water is heated, and a shower is available should you need it. It could be worse. And sometimes these homemade facilities add a little charm to a campground.
Pit Toilets
Along with the flush toilets and shower house, there is a pit toilet and clean up station by the tent sites. I suppose if you desperately wanted an authentic wilderness camping experience you could stroll over to the pit toilet from your tent. You would be nuts, but hey, there’s room for a few nuts in this world.
Consisting of a toilet seat affixed to a wide bench, it’s not the fanciest of outhouses like those you find at modernized provincial parks. But on the bright side there’s plenty of space for those of us with wider cabooses. I didn’t use it but briefly stuck my head inside to assess if it was smelly or not. It is.
The cleaning station is helpful to tent campers. It’s a single, stainless steel sink with counter space on either side. I’m just realizing as I write that I didn’t check to see if the sink offers heated water. It might. There are two taps on the sink, but I can’t confirm if one of them is hot. Sorry, again.
Another pit toilet is located next to the gold panning clearing beside Monashee Creek. I wanted nothing to do with looking inside that sucker. I guess it’s convenient if nature calls while you’re panning but I can’t imagine it’s an uplifting experience.
Gold Panner Campground BBQ Shelter
I wouldn’t call it a day use area, but Gold Panner Campground does have a large picnic shelter referred to as a covered BBQ area on the campground map. Let’s call it a communal area.
Another homemade, log style structure, this big picnic shelter has open sides and a fiberglass roof. Inside are couple picnic tables with room to add or remove according to need. There’s a large, also homemade “BBQ” in the middle which I presume can accommodate enough food for larger groups. I’m thinking about that wedding that forbade our first attempt to camp here. This picnic shelter was surely the hub of activity at that event.
Potable Water and Dump Station
As mentioned, some sites at Gold Panner Campground come with water. For those sites without, there are three potable water taps located around the campground. They’re generally just a tap sticking out of the ground with a sign above indicating “water”.
Since we were tent camping, we made use of this water regularly for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. It was fine, cool water with no bad smells or taste.
Considering the relative isolation of Gold Panner Campground and with several campsites having full service, it isn’t surprising that there’s a dump station on site. It’s located at the north end of the campground next to the private residence road.
It isn’t much and honestly doesn’t look like it gets used a lot. It consists of an overgrown gravel path between the road and forest with a single outlet and some water taps for cleaning up. Considering the modesty of this dump station, I have to hope it’s free to use.
Gold Panner Campground Office
Reservations and check-in are both done through text messages. That’s admittedly unique to Gold Panner Campground in my experience. Not that there’s anything wrong with it. Modern times beget modern methods. When I reserved our campsite, it worked splendidly. Communication was prompt and friendly.
Check-in was a different story. Prior to our arrival we were advised, again by text, that they perform a mobile, in-person check-in at 4:00 pm, 6:00 pm, and 8:00 pm. Wanting to maximize our panning time for our only day there, we made the effort to arrive at 4:00 pm and did so successfully.
After informing the campground of our arrival, we were advised that they would not be able to come check us in until closer to 5:00 pm but to go ahead and set up our gear in the assigned tent site. After setting up, we waited for the hour to pass so we could check-in, pay our panning fee, and get to hunting the mystical metal.
Five o’clock passed with nobody coming. We waited another twenty-five minutes before texting again asking if someone was coming. I expressed my frustration and soon after someone came by in a golf cart and checked us in. Finally.
This experience was very frustrating to say the least. I hope it isn’t commonplace. I suspect weekend campers receive better service. The near empty campground midweek presumably doesn’t draw quite the focus of staff.
What’s also odd is that Gold Panner Campground has a large office right off the highway with a gravel parking lot in front. I’ll bet this is staffed on weekends when the campground fills up (assumption on my part) but despite the open sign next to the door, it was closed tight when we arrived.
I wasn’t able to get inside to see what all is offered within, but the exterior is welcoming with colourful, painted boulders, trimmed shrubs, and hanging pots of summer flowers. The front wall of the office displays two maps, one of the campground and the other showing the trails on the property. I’d recommend taking pictures of these, particularly the trail map, as you’ll want them handy if you go exploring. Just be aware that neither map is oriented properly, or sensibly, with respect to north.
I’m unsure if there is a store inside the main office. I’d like to think there is some semblance of a store inside. Or was at one point, selling ice, treats, and basic necessities. The campground isn’t exactly close to any urban areas that would have grocery, convenience, or liquor stores. Since I cannot confirm, I’d recommend bringing all your own stuff to be safe.
Museum and Playground
A single playground is located along the south side of the campground, towards the entrance. It’s a modest playground, with an old school vibe to it. A typical backyard wooden climbing structure, with slide and swings, is accompanied by a homemade rotating swing apparatus. I’m sure the kids love this thing, but I got dizzy and nauseous just looking at it.
The playground is in one of those clearings I mentioned earlier. With no shelter, it’s bound to be toasty on hot summer days. Thankfully, the slide is not metal. Pea gravel underlies the rotating swing and the play structure is underlain by trodden dirt.
There really isn’t any open space large enough for play such as soccer. You can toss a ball, maybe a frisbee, along the roads but sports aren’t happening with larger groups of people. But that’s fine, you’re unlikely to be at Gold Panner Campground for such activities anyway.
Between the office and the playground there are a couple of small structures that are essentially antique museums. Inside they house old forestry and mining machinery and other such relics. These have open fronts allowing campers to peer inside. Worth a few minutes of your time to assuage your curiosity.
Hiking at Gold Panner Campground
One of the best parts about a stay at Gold Panner Campground is the hiking. With 186 acres of land accessible via 8 km of trail, there’s plenty of wilderness to explore during your stay. Interspersed within that wilderness are several historical sites that offer a glimpse into the area’s gold rush past.
The map provided on the office wall is helpful but also confusing. It’s roughly oriented with west to the top. I suppose there’s some sense to this orientation as it conveniently places the bounding creeks, Heckman and Monashee, to the left and bottom of the map. However, the neighbouring campground map is roughly oriented with south at the top. And the GPS unit in our vehicle has north at the top all of which left us more than a little confused as to where we were on the trail.
Further confusion arises when you realize that the map indicates two trails head off into unknown territory away from the campground. Named Monashee Creek Trail and Canyon Trail, the arrows that point off the map don’t seem to connect to anything. I have no idea where they go or if there really is a trail heading off in either of these indicated directions. It’s all a bit puzzling or I’m a bit dumb. Yes, a lot dumb is also a possibility. Regardless, there is hiking at Gold Panner Campground and it’s good.
There are two primary trailheads within the campground. One is by the playground and the other near the pit toilet/cleaning station. A third pseudo-trailhead is shown coming off the road to the private residence.
The trail starting at the playground takes you down into the Heckman Creek valley. This is the best trail for seeing most of the historical sites and relics on the property. It’s a very pretty trail, especially when you get down to the creek itself.
The trail starting at the outhouse takes you down into the Monashee Creek valley. There are a couple points of interest on this trail as well, but I found it less attractive than the Heckman trail. That said, this is the trail that most directly gets you to the designated gold panning area.
Both trails venture down into valleys so expect some elevation changes on the way. There are small switchbacks in the trails as you descend from campground to valley floor, a difference of up to 50m in elevation.
The quality of trail varies a fair bit on all trails. Early on the trails are wide and capable of accommodating vehicles or ATVs. These can be either dirt or gravel. In the case of the Heckman Loop trail, it eventually turns into a narrow, foot trodden dirt trail through the forest. This was the portion I enjoyed most, particularly as we crossed over and followed along Heckman Creek. The point where Heckman Creek joins Monashee Creek is a delightful spot to take a moment and ingest the beauty of Mother Nature.
Old, paper signage is found along most of the trail. These postings share either trail directions, campground rules, or information about a particular historical point of interest. Together with the battered relics it made for an interesting hike that I quite enjoyed.
Gold Panning at Gold Panner Campground
At the end of trail down to Monashee Creek there’s a grassy clearing that is the designated gold panning area. With a couple picnic tables, an outhouse, and some faux mining structures it doubles as a cute little picnic area.
A gravel beach of sorts slopes from the clearing to the water allowing for panning and play in Monashee Creek. To the south of the beach is a gravel and boulder bar along the shoreline. To the north, there is some outcropping slate bedrock. The riverbank is cobbly glacial till. All three depositional environments offer intriguing panning potential and evidence of panning is readily evident.
We only had a few evening hours available to us for panning. We successfully found gold flakes, but not a lot of them. To be honest, it was a little underwhelming. I had high hopes for the bedrock exposed in the creek, but results were limited. The bar to the south was pretty much a dud. The riverbank sediments had the odd flake but digging further up the slope as others had obviously done previously proved fruitless.
Perhaps we were just unlucky that day. Or maybe we are too novice to sleuth out the honey holes. Others have found gold at Gold Panner Campground and yes, we did too, if just a little. But at a cost of $15 per person per day, you’re padding the owner’s pocket infinitely more than you’re filling your own with golden treasure.
I personally felt that cost was a bit excessive, especially if you were hoping to have your whole family pan for gold and were staying for multiple days. That would add up fast. Considering our gold haul was less than we’d found at some public panning reserves like Yale and Lytton that cost nothing to enjoy, I’d be reluctant to cough up the cost of panning at Gold Panner for more than a day. I’m cheap like that.
Conclusion and Rating
I must admit our experience at Gold Panner Campground didn’t live up to my expectations. Perhaps I had unfair preconceptions of what it would be like. Paid access to an active placer claim sounded awesome but probably instilled unrealistic expectations as to how much gold we would find. It’s just a claim like any other.
I suppose if it was a remarkably productive claim, it would be a mine or at the very least, not accessible by the public. That’s on me. Still, the cost is a bit rich for my tastes if you’re bringing your family for a weekend of hunting gold.
Our check-in experience definitely soured me. We had a narrow window for our stay and I’d made every effort to maximize our time at the campground for gold panning. Having to wait an hour and a half plus getting stuck beside other campers in a nearly empty campground left a bad taste in my mouth.
And that’s too bad, because Gold Panner Campground is a pretty cool place. It markets itself as a wilderness campground and it very much is that with a nostalgic mom & pop, homemade atmosphere that’s always a joy to experience when camping.
The chaos of the infield camping area isn’t to my liking, but there are some good sites available, particularly around the outer loop overlooking the valley. The facilities are nothing fancy and, in my opinion, could use some attention, but they exist which is more than enough. Flush toilets and showers, clean fresh water, and even power and sewers all in a “wilderness” camping experience is a rare opportunity.
I’ll give Gold Panner Campground 4 Baby Dill Pickles out of 5 despite my documented grievances. It offers a communion with nature in a lovely part of BC, away from the massive summer crowds seen in places like the Okanagan. I enjoyed the hikes and the gold panning, while not productive, was legitimate and pleasing. I’d come back at least once in hopes that the service hiccups were the exception rather than the rule.