Other Gold Districts Placer County

Lincoln
In the past the district of Lincoln was one of the most productive dragline dredging fields in the Mother Lode. The dredging was done in Auburn Ravine. To get to Lincoln you will need to take Highway 193 west out of Auburn.

Michigan Bluff
The camp of Michigan Bluff used to be called Michigan City until it nearly fell in the river. In 1858 the first site in this area was undermined and started to slip into the river. Due to this it was decided the buildings would be moved further up the mountain slide and was then given the name Michigan Bluff.

Michigan Bluff is a placer mining district and gold was first found in this area in 1850. Hydraulic mining was done in this area as well in 1853 and this is where a great deal of the production came from. This place has two Tertiary channels that are joined and the gravels on the lower part are the ones that contain the most amount of gold. In order to get to the district of Michigan Bluff you will need to take the Foresthill Road eats out of Foresthill for 4 miles. Then take the road that goes south to Michigan Bluff.

Ophir
Ophir and Auburn used to have placers that were very rich in 1848. Some of the miners that mined this area made up to $1,500 a day in this area. Auburn was chosen the county seat in 1850 remains to be so. Almost all of the gold quartz veins can be found around Ophir.

The lodes that were located in Penryn were found later on whereas a great deal of the production was obtained in the 1930’s and the 1940’s. The mines in Ophir were high grade but they were shallow. Ophir can be located in the hills north of Highway 80, and 3 miles west of Auburn. You can get to Gold Hill Road off of Highway 193 close to three miles west of Highway 80.

Rockland
The placers in the district of Rockland can be found two miles east of the actual town of Rockland. The gold in this area can be found in a bed or Tertiary channel gravels. The richest gold can be found in the lower gravels or close to the bedrock. If you are interested in going to Rockland you will need to take the Rockland Road turn off from Highway 80 west of Auburn.

Tahoe
Gold was found in this area in 1861 in some narrow gold quartz veins that were located west of the lake, however just three years later in 1864 the camps no longer existed and became ghost camps.

Westville
Westville is a placer mining district that had its moment of glory the gold in this area can be found in a narrow band of Tertiary channel gravels. A great deal of the production in this area has come from drift mining. To get to the site of Westville you will need to take the Foresthill Road east out of Foresthill. Westville can be found almost a mile west of the Deadwood Road turn off.

Wheatland
The district of Wheatland is a placer mining located on the Bear River, right where Highway 65 crosses it. Dragline dredging was done in the area in the ravines.