This place was assigned to me as part of a tour package. On my own, I am not sure if I would have chosen to do this activity. I liked the history portion, but the actual panning of gold, I had limited patience. However, staff saw this and were available to lend a hand. read more

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Excellent tour, terrific step pack into history, and wonderful experience! Take the kids! read more

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Summary: One of the most quintessential Alaska experiences is panning for gold. You won't strike it rich but it is one of the most hands on experience that is well worth the fee. My only question is why the gold flakes feel soft when you find them like gold foil, but when you buy the charm that holds it; the material seems to have a lot more volume like pieces of gold nuggets? The other part of the experience is seeing the oil pipeline that travels through this area, train ride to the dredge, and then actually climbing into the ship itself. All of this is super informative! Experience: Unique and priceless experience. Panning for gold is not easy but when you see those gold flakes it is so rewarding Service: friendly staff, very helpful if you are having problems panning for gold Tips (what I wish I knew before): free cookies which are delicious along with coffee, hot chocolate, or water. We ran out of time checking out the store to see the large gold nugget. Make sure to apply misquote spray and sunscreen. read more

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If in Fairbanks, make a worthwhile visit to Gold Dredge 8. History on display, placer gold mining in action. Historical discussion of Fairbanks and its gold mining background is given prior to visiting the dredge and museum. A detail description is also given on the Alaskan Pipeline which runs through the property. A train ride through past dredgings to the current drudge's location with many references to Fairbanks' current mining operations. A demonstration of panning gold is given prior to visitors finding their own gold. Staff will weigh your findings and tell you how many grams found and today's prices. You can have the staff make jewelry and other things out of your poke or just take hit home. Fun and educational for all ages. read more

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The dredge was great. This is a warning for patrons who purchase items, especially gold pendants. I was charged twice for 1 item. Tried to dispute claim with the bank and the merchant but to no resolution. Essentially I was charged twice for the same item because one of the employees decided to run the charge on 2 separate machines. Thanks Gold Dredge 8. You turned a nice experience into a very painful and miserable memory. read more

Step back in time to the days of the Alaskan gold rush on this tour. It started off with a short open train ride to one of the dredging machines. On the way, the guides gave us a demonstration on the finer points of panning for gold. They actually got some in their pans. Our stop was at the dredger. There, we had our chance to be real life prospectors as we panned for gold of our own. This part was actually fun. We were all given a small bag of dirt guaranteed to contain flecks of gold. It wasn't much to make you a millionaire, but it was fun to get and put into a keepsake. And if you've been hit by good fever, they had pans and bags you could buy. After a little bit of time to walk around, it was back on the train to head to the bus. read more

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This was a really great tour for the whole family. I went in thinking it was for my 7 year old but my husband and I loved it. They went over how to properly mine for gold and also walked around to help you. There was time to walk on the dredge and check it out as well. It was informative and appropriately paced. read more

This is our second trip to Gold Dredge 8. Near the turn off from the main road is a Pokemon Go gym. I wanted to get into the gym, but ... the Instinct player had only had it for 2 hours when I got there, so I left it. Sigh. I really wanted to get that gym up to gold on this trip. The tour guide told us that folks in Alaska get a check every year from the pipeline folks. The people on the train ride were entertaining. Thanks for taking our picture with my phone! We sang along to the guitar and fiddle. There is a monitor/speakers at the front of every car so that even folks at the back can see/hear. At the end of the train ride, we panned for gold. We never get much, but it sounds so much better when your entire party combines their gold and you get ... $18 worth. Ah well. Lots of folks did better than we did. We ate the free cookies, drank the free hot chocolate, took selfies in front of the gold dredge, and bought souvenirs. It's interesting to see the difference between the old mining technology from Alaska when compared to the mining technology from our home state of Colorado. Thanks to our Princess tour director for the gold "nugget" chocolates as we returned to the bus! read more

Part of my Princess Cruise land package. I enjoyed seeing the Alaska pipeline on our way to the Gold Dredge. As with most things the pipeline was just a bit more complicated than I would have ever thought. It was interesting to see the wildlife around the pipeline kind of opposite of what many are lead to believe about it's destruction of the wildlife. The Gold Dredge was a fun tour with a lot of interesting tidbits of history and of course why we don't mine for gold anymore. After arriving we took a train ride to pan for gold. They hand you a bag of dirt and teach you how to pan. I looked at the panning and thought god I don't have the patience to do this but I did take my bag of dirt. Mrs. K. was able to turn our bags of dirt into $30 worth of gold. Cool huh? I always new she was a gold digger. :). For a touristy place owned by the same people who own the riverboat cruise I want to end with this. If they were out to take your last tourist dime they had many opportunities to do it. But they did not. Example can of coke. On many tours I have payed from $1.00 to $5.00 depending on greed. Gold dredge charged me .50 cents. I went over to get ice a cream cone. Surely they will charge the heck out of a cone. Nope double scoop for $2.00. read more

Gold Dredge 8 - Tours Near Me - Fairbanks, Alaska

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Another tour that was our land tour package with Princess Cruises and again, we enjoyed ourselves and had fun panning for gold! After we did the Riverboat Discovery tour, our shuttle bus took us to Gold Dredge No. 8 that is located in Fox, Alaska (about a 20 minute drive outside of Fairbanks). Highlights of the Tour: -Learning about the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and view the inside of the pipe and the inside mechanics) -Short train ride to the dredging station, which along the way, a commentator will give a history of gold mining in Fairbanks. There will also be different historical characters along the route reenacting of panning for gold. At the dredging site, one of the former employees will share about the boat and the process -At the panning station, you'll be given your own bag and pan to pan for gold (Plus: The water is heated, so you won't freeze your fingers) -Free hot chocolate or coffee and freshly baked cookies -Browse and view historic artifacts that is located in the huge gift shop -Friendly, knowledgeable staff Recommend: Absolutely-it's very family friendly and it's for all ages read more

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So I used to be a tour guide here in the early 1990s and I have to say that the new ownership has really developed a fabulous experience learning about gold mining in the Fairbanks area. Great tour guides. Great help with the gold panning. Even the gift store was a nice surprise (including weighing your gold so you know how much $$ you found in your gold pan). As a bonus the Alyssa pipeline runs thru the property and you get to learn quite a lot about that! I highly recommend this tour if you're in/visiting Fairbanks. read more

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We had a great time at the Gold Dredge. This was very informative and fun. We loved the music before the trip and the narration provided during the show. You get an Aleyeska Pipeline presentation, short train ride, learn about the gold mining in Fairbanks, pan for gold and visit a cool gift shop. Loved it. Would do it again. read more

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Hey It was better than I expected! Enjoyed learning about the pipeline, and the dredge was a blast from the past, that you wouldn't normally ever imaging. What a piece of historic machinery! Yes its touristy, but the wife and I enjoyed it! Doesn't take a lot of time! read more

Gold Dredge 8 - Tours Near Me - Fairbanks, Alaska

The people are exceptionally nice and friendly. The site is set up to handle large groups well, even those with movement difficulties, and everyone who wants it can get personal help while doing the gold panning activity. It was pretty interesting from start to finish. There is a big gift store at the end. You ride to and from the event in a narrow guage train, and learn about both the Alaska pipeline and the history of gold mining, and particularly the gold mining dredge, in this activity. There is a mini museum alongside the gist shop of you'd rather learn more than shop. The gift shop prices were responsible considering you're in Alaska... read more

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George was amazing, and we learned a ton! Kids loved panning for gold and were engaged the whole tour. Had souvenirs but focus was the mining experience. read more

Great experience! Well organized, courteous staff. Learned a lot. Even found gold during the gold panning part of trip.

Educational, interesting , and fun. This was part of our tour so we didn't really choose this option, but we did enjoy ourselves. Everything was we well organized. The little train was enjoyable while we heard the history of gold mining in the ara. We had a chance to pan for gold. If you follow the instruction provided you will find gold. If you don't follow instruction they help you anyway-LOL! They have a great gift shop and a very friedly & informative staff. Just as an aside- this is located along the Alaska Pipeline and provides a great opportunity for some up close photos. read more

Gold Dredge 8 - Hoping to pay for the trip to Alaska -LOL! - Tours Near Me - Fairbanks, Alaska

This place is great!! It could have turned out to be some cheesy touristy place like other similar businesses look but they put a neat spin on it. We prepaid for the 10:30am but got there by 10:00 and luckily beat the tour buses. Checked in at the ticket counter, and waited but a few minutes for the train to pull up. Sat up front with Earl who entertained us for a few minutes while we waited for the buses to unload and get on the train. He sang with some very cool well known singers from Hawaii like Cecilio and Kapono and then also opened for Johnny Cash several times. Educational train ride was narrated by a history teacher. We stopped in front of gold dredge no 8, a huge ship of a machine that was designed to process pay loads and sift the gold out. Then we got to pan for gold and was so excited for little tiny specs at the bottom of the pan. They weigh it and I made out with $18 worth of little gold specks. Some had 5 specks and didn't want to weigh it, my other friend had $26 worth of gold specks! You can have it put in a locket or charm for safe keeping and wearing. They're pretty smart and treated us to coffee/tea and delicious cookies. The snack held me over while I shopped in their store and toured Gold Dredge No 8 first hand. Then it was time to get back on the train and get a quick lesson about the Alaskan pipeline. Very happy with my $35+ ticket. read more

Great tour! Highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Fairbanks! Very organized and well run, the gold panning was really fun and the gold we panned was put into a keepsake pendant. Train ride was fun as well. The guides were well informed and hi energy to assist and really made our experience great. They Discussed a lot of things about Alaska -the gold mining industry, pipeline etc. etc. very informative and interesting as well as entertaining all at the same time. I'm not a big tourist, but if you're going to be in your fairbanks you really need to go on this tour! read more

Gold Dredge 8 - Dredge#8 - Tours Near Me - Fairbanks, Alaska

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Great family experience. Went there as a group of 8 while on a tour. Had a great time planning for gold and learning about the gold rush days. The panning for gold was the best experience and we all fold gold and loved getting weighed to see who was the winner. The train ride was a lot of fun too. The free cookies and coffee/cocoa also made the experience a bit sweeter. read more

Gold Dredge 8 - Tours Near Me - Fairbanks, Alaska

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Wenr there today on a Princess tour. It was very interesting and well done. If you are touring Fairbanks make this a must stop.

If you are ever in Fairbanks Alaska and want a little taste of Alaskan history, Gold Dredge No. 8 may be just the ticket you are looking for. You get to tour a real gold dredge, learn the history of how they separated placer gold from the earth, gold pan for real gold, and eat some delicious hearty miner stew. Holland America Tours goes out there daily along with full city and riverboat tours. Now back to the stew. There is delicious carrots, corn, potatoes, and big, yummy chunks of beef. The meat is so succulent that it almost melts in your mouth. Hmmm...beef. Oh yeah, there is also blueberry crumb cake and very scrumptious muffins. I am salivating just thinking about it. read more

This place was great. I think the highlight of the trip was the panning for gold part. My whole group plus others at the table were basically exclaiming in excitement when we would see flakes of gold. The train ride was fun and informative and our host was great and personable. The chocolate chip cookies and hot cocoa were good on a cold day. The bathrooms were clean and the gift shop was reasonably priced. read more

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Get ready for a deep dive on the Alaskan pipeline and the way Alaska was dredged for gold back in the day. You will pan for gold and definitely find it and they will explain to you how that works. It's two hours but it seems like more. They have free cookies hot chocolate, coffee, and more waiting for you after the dredge. It's totally organized. I definitely recommend it if you're in Fairbanks. read more

I went to Gold Dredge #8 near Fairbanks, AK (about 10 miles north) on 8/10/14. It was my first time there. I was on a Holland-America Tour. Besides seeing (and walking on board Gold Dredge #8 there are many other things to see and do. Part of the Trans Alaskan Pipeline is on display as well as a replica narrow gauge train ride. The highlight for me was actually the panning for gold assisted by a friendly staff including the helpful Haylee. read more

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Even though it was pouring rain, this tour was amazing! I learned so much about the gold rush and gold mining. Even got to pan for gold! Ended up with only $14 worth of gold dust but it was a unique experience! The staff and facilities were outstanding! The even gave information on the oil pipeline as it runs over your head on entering! read more

Went on this experience with a large group. It was supposed to be one of the highlights of my Alaska trip, but turned out the biggest disappointment. Starting with the rude boy passing out umbrellas at the entrance, who snapped at an elderly lady who reached into a bin to grab an umbrella. Then onto a little train ride, where the TV(they were supposed to show a slide show) was not working, just static, and the train is sooooooo long that if you sit in the last car, you don't see some of the presentations because the trees are in your way. Finally let's talk about the gold panning. You get one little bag of dirt that is dumped on a pan and you have 5 mins to try to shake it back and worth. This experience is outside, so a bit cold even in August. If they see it's taking you too long, they grab the pan out of your hands and do it for you. You're left with a few specs of gold (pin head size). With that, you're ushered into a giant gift store, inside of course so it's more comfortable to spend more moneys. There they "weigh" (never given a weight) the specs of gold and tell you a number that it's "worth" so you feel good about your 5 minutes of playing with dirt. Expect to hear a "value" of $3-$4 per spec of gold. Now they try to sell you more stuff to put your new found riches in. You're forced to be in the gift shop for 45 mins because you can't leave until they bring the train back. You can try your luck panning for more gold, but that's an extra $10 for each little bag of dirt. Two stars because they do give you stale cookies and coffee/tea. Seriously, the cookies looked baked, but were super hard. Also a lot of people working there looked miserable. The entertainer for was good and some of the kids were faking a smile. The owner lady was the weakest of all. She's covered in gold nugget jewelry and she "loves the stuff!" She said that repeatedly, and she acts like it too. Bra cause she sees each one of her first as a little spec of gold that she needs to process as quickly as possible and get every possible dollar out of. read more

Gold Dredge No. 8 is located about 10 miles outside of town, and it attracts a lot of people on cruise ship excursions. The Trans Alaska Pipeline runs right outside of the entrance. We took a replica narrow-gauge train up to the old Dredge No. 8 with a man who sang old-timey songs and another man who talked about the history of the region. After we passed the dredge and disembarked, we were given instructions on panning, handed a bag full of sediment, and told to sit next to a troth and pan away. My boyfriend took to panning faster than I did, but we both had gold flakes in our pan when all was said and done (everyone wins at this place!). We pooled our flakes, and the guy at the gift shop weighed them and said they were worth $30 - he didn't offer cash, but he did offer to sell us a locket in which to store our flakes. This place is a brilliant money-making machine. There were free cookies and hot chocolate in the gigantic gift shop, and everyone had about 30 minutes to kill before the return train... There was a lot of shopping going on. There were also A LOT of really rude, pushy old people. It was very strange. The children we came across were all well-behaved and polite - go figure. Oh well. In sum, going to the Gold Dredge No. 8 was a fun way to spend the morning, but watch out for the line-cutting seniors! read more

We did the Gold Dredge 8 tour in conjunction with the Discovery Riverboat tour. We did the riverboat in the morning and then drove to the gold dredge for the afternoon tour. You start the tour at what looks like a gravel pit, you get to walk under the Alaska pipeline and learn info about the pipeline itself. Dexter was our guide and was very informative and had interesting stories about helping build the pipeline as well as mining for gold. You then take an open air train to where the gold dredge is, they give you instructions on how to properly pan for gold and then drop you off at the gold panning area/gift shop. The younger workers were super helpful during the gold panning, and would come around and help you if needed. You can then take your gold into the gift shop and get it turned into a piece of jewelry, my husband and I ended up with $34 worth of gold which was thought was pretty neat. Overall it was a very nice experience. read more

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It wS just okay. I really liked the history and the train ride of the pipeline. The fiddler was probably my favorite part as was panning for gold. The people who work here are helpful and I bought a beautiful necklace.I am not sure if it is because I am a fan of the Sierra club and I know how hard they fought against the pipeline. The pipeline was very big and I liked the fact that they tried to make it authentic. It wS so do. So so.thr cookies were nice at the end. read more

So much fun! We got there early so we could beat the tour bus rush as another yelper mentioned, cause there are quite a few! We were the 1st ones there and got the sit in the very front and be entertained by Earl who lived in our hometown of Hawaii for 19 years. Aloha! And Jack our narrator was also great & informative! My gf booked this for me & my daughter so I wasn't quite sure what to expect but it was really fun. We got a total of $51 worth of flakes! not bad I think :) Fun touristy thing do do if you're a tourist :) and we also loved the hot cocoa & cookies!! read more

Excellent tour. You get a presentation on the pipe line, a class on gold panning a train ride and demos of gold mining techniques. All well done. You can tour the Dredge and pan for gold yourself. All in all a fun couple of hours. They also have an extensive souvenir shop with very reasonable prices. Recommend for anyone visiting Fairbanks read more

Lots of fun and not expensive. This could have been some cheesy tourist trap, but I was pleasantly surprised. Several of the tour guides were actual prospectors with a lot of knowledge of the area. You pan from actual gold mine tailings, so there's no telling what you might find (they told if if you find nothing, they'll give you another bag, but I don't think that happened to anyone when we were there). There's also a tour of the old dredge, a train ride, historical artifacts, and a lecture on the pipeline, as well as a train ride with a guitar player. Great family fun. read more

Buyer Beware!!! We booked and arrived early to beat the rush. Tour was to start @ 1:45 and last two hours. We had plans after the tour back in Fairbanks, but wouldn't be a problem as it is a short ride. At 2 pm we were concerned that the tour hadn't started yet. I went to the ticket booth and explained I was on a tight timeline, would have to forego the tour would like a refund ($79:90 for two adults). The young lady working the booth said they did not give refunds, though that is not posted anywhere. They would offer a voucher good for another day. That doesn't work well when you are on the next mornings flight. She assured us that though the tour was starting late, they would make up the time and have us back by 3:45. I was already skeptical with the "no refund" explanation. They had happily taken my money one hour earlier. When a final bus arrived they stated the tour approximately 25 minutes late. As suspected, we didn't get back to the parking lot until after 4 pm. I had to alter my later plans. Be sure you have the time and the interest to take this tour before giving them a dime! The tour itself. I'm probably a bit jaded as the entire process left a bad taste in my mouth. If you know nothing of the pipeline, AK history or gold mining and have time to kill, this is the tour for you. If you have been around Alaska, you'll find much of the tour redundant. I believe many participants did enjoy it. I just question their business practices. read more

We went here as part of the Holland America tour. The stew lunch was delicious and the atmosphere festive. The ice tea in particular was very tasty. Outside the "mess hall" there is outside seating and an ice cream vendor. Pick up a cup before heading off to tour the dredger! There are several stops inside the giant vehicle with a docent in each part. read more

Spent the morning at this event. Very informative and well done. Enjoyed train trip, gold panning and dredge tour. This is a must visit if you go to Fairbanks. read more

The Gold Dredge 8 tour was a really cool experience. Prior to taking off on the train we got to hear Earl Hughes play and sing... amazing, while in transit to the camp we were taught everything Fairbanks and gold from a few experts. Lots of fun, really glad we went! read more

The experience of sifting for gold is fun and yet cheesy. The train ride is also cute but don't arrive too early if you are not into country music like me. There was a guy who "entertained" the early comers with annotates of his experience as a country singer. Very annoying! I rather listen to nature and look around than listen to him. Then there is the guide (high school teacher) who rides with you to the digging site. All I could think about as I was listening to him was how sorry I felt for his students. He lectures and never relates to the audience. Boring! read more

I was impressed!!!!!!!!! My wife and I were part of a 80 person tour group. We were handled as if we were by ourselves. The person giving the information was very knowledgable about gold dredging and the history of everything associated with it. The gold dredge itself is sitting as if it stopped running yesterday, it is in its original condition, not polished, but its original condition. You are allowed to walk through the dredge. It is an awesome blast from the past, before OSHA and lawsuits got hold of everything. The narrow gauge train ride to the dredge is, more of a vehicle to take you through the history of gold mining. Great information and plenty of history. Yes we paned for gold and enjoyed the experience so much we purchased to more bags of "pay dirt" just so we could do it again. They made themselves available to help or advise us on how to pan, we were never rushed or pushed through the planning. I guess they saw how much we were enjoying the experience. 4 $10 bags, $75 gold. We recommend stopping by if you are interested in the history of the area and gold dredging. As a bonus, the Alyaska pipe line passes through the property and we can now.say we have seen and touched the pipe line, and were given history about the line. Yes we are glad we did it, and recommend it.. read more

We came here as a part of an excursion that was a part of our land tour package with Princess. You start off at the oil pipeline where your tour guide tells your some of the history & mechanics of the pipeline. Then you get on a slow moving train that has a few sites where your tour guide tells you about the history of the what was going on in Fairbanks during the gold rush and the different pieces of machinery they had to use. Then you get to the gold dredge, a huge piece of machinery that was used to find flakes of gold. They tell you a bit about the dredge and demonstrate how to pan for gold. You get off the train, have you hand at panning some gold & weigh the gold, and then some free time to do some more gold panning if desired, explore the gift shops & the dredge, and enjoy some cookies & warm beverage. The train then takes you back to the place where you started. My favorite part of the whole thing was the gentleman who was playing guitar & fiddle while we were waiting on the train. read more