Goldfield Ghost Town and Mine Tours Inc.
Ghost town · Arizona
★ 4.6 (15,445 reviews)
4650 N Mammoth Mine Rd, Apache Junction, AZ 85119
Hours on Google: Daily 10 AM to 5 PM
Gold mines by state
Counts come from MSHA records. Pick a state for its map, counties and mines.
- Alabama0 open or idle mines · 3 abandoned · 185 USGS historic
- Alaska55 open or idle mines · 325 abandoned · 3,133 USGS historic
- Arizona8 open or idle mines · 261 abandoned · 3,467 USGS historic
- Arkansas1 USGS historic
- California11 open or idle mines · 428 abandoned · 10,337 USGS historic
- Colorado16 open or idle mines · 301 abandoned · 4,490 USGS historic
- Connecticut5 USGS historic
- Georgia1 open or idle mine · 0 abandoned · 298 USGS historic
- Idaho10 open or idle mines · 249 abandoned · 2,057 USGS historic
- Illinois1 USGS historic
- Maine49 USGS historic
- Maryland30 USGS historic
- Massachusetts9 USGS historic
- Michigan0 open or idle mines · 3 abandoned · 7 USGS historic
- Minnesota1 USGS historic
- Missouri5 USGS historic
- Montana7 open or idle mines · 358 abandoned · 2,521 USGS historic
- Nebraska1 USGS historic
- Nevada57 open or idle mines · 512 abandoned · 4,446 USGS historic
- New Hampshire14 USGS historic
- New Mexico2 open or idle mines · 82 abandoned · 749 USGS historic
- New York4 USGS historic
- North Carolina0 open or idle mines · 12 abandoned · 467 USGS historic
- Oklahoma3 USGS historic
- Oregon7 open or idle mines · 146 abandoned · 1,884 USGS historic
- Pennsylvania0 open or idle mines · 1 abandoned · 5 USGS historic
- Puerto Rico2 USGS historic
- Rhode Island0 open or idle mines · 1 abandoned · 2 USGS historic
- South Carolina1 open or idle mine · 7 abandoned · 139 USGS historic
- South Dakota1 open or idle mine · 24 abandoned · 427 USGS historic
- Tennessee0 open or idle mines · 1 abandoned · 42 USGS historic
- Texas0 open or idle mines · 3 abandoned · 19 USGS historic
- Utah4 open or idle mines · 78 abandoned · 1,061 USGS historic
- Vermont20 USGS historic
- Virginia0 open or idle mines · 1 abandoned · 299 USGS historic
- Washington1 open or idle mine · 72 abandoned · 775 USGS historic
- Wisconsin3 USGS historic
- Wyoming1 open or idle mine · 9 abandoned · 126 USGS historic
Visit a gold mine
Working mines are closed to the public. These are the best-reviewed places where you can tour a historic mine or pan for gold, from Google Maps listings.
Queen Mine Tour
Tourist attraction · Arizona
★ 4.8 (4,200 reviews)
478 N Dart Rd, Bisbee, AZ 85603
Hours on Google: Daily 8:30 AM to 5 PM
Eldorado Canyon Mine Tours
Tour agency · Nevada
★ 4.7 (3,918 reviews)
16880 NV-165, COTTONWOOD CV, NV 89046
Hours on Google: Daily 8 AM to 4 PM
Quincy Mine
Historical landmark · Michigan
★ 4.8 (2,425 reviews)
49750 US-41, Hancock, MI 49930
Hours on Google: Daily 8:30 AM to 5 PM
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
Tourist attraction · California
★ 4.7 (2,151 reviews)
310 Back St, Coloma, CA 95613
Hours on Google: Daily 8 AM to 8 PM
Empire Mine State Historic Park
Tourist attraction · California
★ 4.8 (2,131 reviews)
10791 E Empire St, Grass Valley, CA 95945
Hours on Google: Daily 10 AM to 5 PM
Largest active gold mines by employees
| Mine | County | Type | MSHA status | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Area | Eureka County | surface | Active | 1,200 |
| Cortez District | Lander County | surface | Active | 974 |
| Haile Gold Mine | Lancaster County | underground | Active | 926 |
| Bingham Canyon Mine | Salt Lake County | surface | Active | 876 |
| Pogo Mine | Southeast Fairbanks | underground | Active | 749 |
| Smoky Valley Common Operations | Nye County | surface | Active | 698 |
| Fort Knox Mine | Fairbanks North Star | surface | Active | 665 |
| Robinson Operation | White Pine County | surface | Active | 612 |
Employee counts are what each mine reports to MSHA. Open the mine page for operator, location and nearby mines.
Guides from the data
Short answers to common questions, calculated from the same records as the map.
- Largest gold mines in the US by employeesThe 25 biggest gold mines MSHA does not list as abandoned, ranked by reported headcount.
- Which states have the most gold mines?MSHA and USGS counts for every state, and what each source can and cannot tell you.
- Who owns the land under abandoned gold mines?Federal, state or private: BLM land status for every mapped gold mine, by state.
- Counties with the most historic gold minesThe 30 counties with the most USGS-recorded gold producers, with output classes.
- Largest historic gold mines in USGS recordsEvery site USGS puts in its large output class, by state.
- Surface vs underground gold mines in the USHow many working gold mines are open pit or placer and how many go underground, and who employs more people.
Common questions
How many gold mines are there in the United States?
MSHA's public records list 3,059 gold mines in 38 states. 182 of them are not marked abandoned (75 active, 67 intermittent, 20 non-producing, 19 temporarily idled, 1 new mine). The list only covers mines that report to MSHA, so small placer claims and recreational sites are missing.
Which state has the most gold mines?
By MSHA records, Nevada has the most mines that are not abandoned (57), and Nevada has the most records overall (569, mostly abandoned).
Can I visit a gold mine?
Working mines are closed to the public, and abandoned mines are dangerous and usually on private or claimed land. Tour mines and panning sites are a different thing and are not part of the MSHA data. Never enter old workings.