Boy Scouts can participate and earn the Mining in Society merit badge at Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site.

Boy Scouts can participate and earn the Mining in Society merit badge at Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site.

Boy Scouts can participate and earn the Mining in Society merit badge at Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site.

Boy Scouts can participate and earn the Mining in Society merit badge at Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site.

Boy Scouts can participate and earn the Mining in Society merit badge at Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site.

Boy Scouts can participate and earn the Mining in Society merit badge at Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site.

Homeschool children can learn and experience historic gold mining practices through tours and interpretive stations around the Reed property.

The Reed gold panning season opens April 1. Visitors 8 and older can purchase up to 2 pans each to try their luck to "strike it rich" along the panning troughs. Tickets are $3.21 per person for all 8 and older.

Reed will highlight the 1850s-mining era with living history demonstrations of surface and underground mining, hands-on mining activities and other demonstrations. Costumed interpreters will show cradle and log rockers used to sort through dirt and find large nuggets on the surface. Others will show how blasting holes were drilled and gold bearing quartz rock was removed from the mine. The California-type 10-stamp mill will show how rock was mixed with mercury to extract gold.

Reed Gold Mine is excited to kick off the holiday season with you at our annual “Golden Christmas” event on Saturday, December 4th from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.