Gold panning, rockhounding and fossil collecting laws in Utah
Most of Utah's open country is public land managed by the BLM, and on BLM land gold panning, sluicing without a motor, hand or battery drywashers, metal detecting and collecting rocks for your own collection are casual use: no permit and no fee. In the national forests the same small-scale prospecting needs no paperwork either. What you always have to check is the mining claims: on a valid claim the minerals belong to the claim holder.
Utah adds its own rules in three places. Anything with a motor in a stream, suction dredges and highbankers included, needs the state's recreational dredging application, and that application covers only a list of named streams. State trust lands need a rockhounding permit that costs 25 dollars, and state parks forbid taking rocks, fossils or artifacts. And in July 2026 the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments were cut to a small part of their old size. This page covers what is specific to Utah; the federal rules that apply everywhere are on our national rules page.
Last checked: October 2026. This page explains the rules in plain English, with the exact words of the law next to each rule; it is not legal advice. Laws change, so check with the agency before you go.
In short
- BLM land: gold panning, non-motorized sluicing, hand or battery drywashers, metal detecting and collecting rocks for personal use are casual use under 43 CFR 3809.5 ↗: no permit, no fee.
- Rocks and minerals on BLM land: reasonable amounts for your own collection, from unclaimed ground. Petrified wood: 25 pounds plus one piece a day, 250 pounds a year (43 CFR 3622.4 ↗).
- Pans and hand tools in the water need nothing from the state: the Division of Water Rights does not regulate non-mechanized equipment (Stream Alteration Program ↗).
- Suction dredges and highbankers in a stream: only on the streams named in the state's recreational dredging application ↗, with a nozzle of 4 inches or less and 12 horsepower or less, up to 45 days a year. A new application every year; the application page lists no fee.
- The Green, Colorado and San Juan Rivers are closed to recreational dredging in all of Utah, to protect endangered fish.
- State trust lands: a rockhounding permit for 25 dollars, hand collection only, up to 25 pounds plus one piece a day and 250 pounds a year, no vertebrate fossils (Trust Lands Administration ↗).
- State parks: no taking rocks, fossils or artifacts without written permission (R651-620-2 ↗); metal detecting only in parks that issue a special use permit for it.
- Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante: since July 2026 most of the old monument land is ordinary public land again, open to new mining claims since September 11, 2026.
- No collecting in national parks, Glen Canyon and the other National Park Service units, on reservations without the tribe's permission, or on military land.
What you can do, land by land
BLM land (most of the state)
- Gold pan: Casual use, no permit
- Hand sluice: Without a motor: casual use, no permit
- Drywasher: Hand or battery: casual use. With an engine: ask the field office
- Highbanker or pump: In a listed stream: state dredging application, and tell the BLM first. Elsewhere: ask the field office
- Suction dredge: Only on the streams in the state application; tell the BLM before you start
- Metal detector: Casual use, no permit
- Rocks and minerals: Reasonable amounts for personal use, never from a claim
- Fossils: Common invertebrates and plants, personal use; no bones or teeth
- Meteorites: Surface finds, hand tools and detectors, 10 lb a year, not for sale
What the law says
“Casual use generally includes the collection of geochemical, rock, soil, or mineral specimens using hand tools; hand panning; or non-motorized sluicing.”
Mining claims (on BLM and Forest Service land)
The minerals on a valid claim belong to the claim holder, so collecting there needs the holder's permission. The state dredging application does not change this: it gives no right to work on someone else's claim. Our maps show in red the spots with a claim on record.
BLM wilderness and wilderness study areas
No motors and no mechanized equipment. The old Grand Staircase-Escalante alone holds more than 800,000 acres of wilderness study areas, and they stay protected after the 2026 cut. Ask the field office before you collect there.
Land cut from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in July 2026
Ordinary BLM or national forest land again, so the BLM and Forest Service rules on this page apply. It has been open to new mining claims since September 11, 2026, so expect new claims, and check before you dig. The official boundary data had not been published when we checked: near the new lines, ask the district office.
What the law says
“location, entry, and patent under the mining laws.”
— Proclamation 11044, Modifying the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (2026) ↗
What is left of the monuments, and the BLM conservation areas (Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Red Cliffs and Beaver Dam Wash NCAs, Jurassic National Monument)
Bears Ears now keeps the Shash Jáa and Indian Creek units, about 121,096 acres; Grand Staircase-Escalante keeps the Canyons of the Escalante and Kaiparowits Horizon units, about 181,541 acres. We found no current published collecting rule for these areas, so treat them as a gray zone and ask before you pick anything up: Canyon Country District for Bears Ears, Paria River District in Kanab for Grand Staircase, Color Country District for Red Cliffs and Beaver Dam Wash, Green River District for Jurassic.
What the law says
“These reserved Federal lands cumulatively encompass approximately 121,096 acres.”
— Proclamation 11043, Modifying the Bears Ears National Monument (2026) ↗
National forests (Ashley, Dixie, Fishlake, Manti-La Sal, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache)
The national Forest Service rules apply; for local closures, ask the ranger district.
- Gold pan: No notice needed
- Hand sluice: Without a motor: no notice needed
- Drywasher: Battery: no notice. With an engine: notice of intent to the district ranger
- Highbanker or pump: Notice of intent to the district ranger, plus the state application in a listed stream
- Suction dredge: Notice of intent to the ranger, plus the state application in a listed stream
- Metal detector: No notice needed
- Rocks and minerals: Hand tools, personal use
What the law says
“gold panning, metal detecting, non-motorized hand sluicing, using battery operated dry washers, and collecting of mineral specimens using hand tools”
— 36 CFR 228.4(a)(1)(ii), operations that need no notice of intent ↗
State trust lands (Trust Lands Administration)
The permit is for personal use only, never for sale, and it does not cover active mining areas. Some state sections along the dredging streams need a mineral lease instead.
- Gold pan: Not covered by the rockhounding permit: ask the Trust Lands office
- Metal detector: Not mentioned in the permit: ask the Trust Lands office
- Rocks and minerals: Rockhounding permit, 25 dollars; hand tools only; 25 lb plus one piece a day, 250 lb a year
- Fossils: With the permit; never vertebrate fossils
What the agency says
“This permit authorizes hand collection only”
— Trust Lands Administration, Rockhounding Permit (Form 2360) ↗
Beds of navigable lakes and rivers (sovereign lands, such as Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake)
Owned by the state and managed by the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands; dredging and filling there needs the division's approval (R652-70-1200 ↗). We found no rule about hand panning on sovereign lands: it is a gray zone, ask the division.
Utah state parks (Escalante Petrified Forest, Goblin Valley, Dead Horse Point, Fremont Indian, Echo and the others)
- Gold pan: Removing natural resources is not allowed
- Metal detector: Only with a special use permit, in parks that issue one (Echo, Hyrum, Jordanelle)
- Rocks and minerals: Not allowed
- Fossils: Not allowed
What the law says
“removal, extraction, use, consumption, possession or destruction of any natural or cultural resource”
— Utah Admin. Code R651-620-2, acts forbidden without written authorization ↗
National Park Service units (Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Zion, Cedar Breaks, Dinosaur, Natural Bridges, Hovenweep, Timpanogos Cave, Golden Spike, Glen Canyon)
No collecting, no panning and no metal detecting.
Reservations (Navajo Nation, Uintah and Ouray, Goshute, Paiute and the others)
Collecting needs the tribe's permission.
Military land (Dugway Proving Ground, Utah Test and Training Range, Hill Air Force Base)
Closed.
Green: allowed. Amber: allowed with a notice or a permit. Red: not allowed. Gray: ask the agency.
Where you can actually go in Utah
Open BLM land is where most hobby prospecting and rockhounding happens in Utah, from the West Desert to the canyon country of the south. Our gold map, gem map and fossil map show the open land and, in red, the creek banks and spots with a claim on record.
The BLM also runs collecting areas where rockhounds are welcome, such as Topaz Mountain ↗ in the Fillmore Field Office, and the Utah Geological Survey keeps a statewide guide to collecting sites, the Utah Rockhounder, at geology.utah.gov ↗. The collecting areas, fee digs and clubs are marked on our maps.
Suction dredges, highbankers and pumps in Utah
In Utah, stream work is the job of the Division of Water Rights. Changing the bed or banks of a stream needs the State Engineer's approval under Utah Code 73-3-29 ↗, but hobby prospectors get a simpler route: the recreational dredging application, a short online form you fill in every year.
What the agency says
“Recreational dredging is the operation of one vacuum or suction dredge with an intake diameter of four inches or less”
— Utah Division of Water Rights, Recreational Dredging Application ↗
The application also covers highbanking on the bare sand and gravel bars inside the active channel. The equipment may not go over 12 horsepower, only one machine works at a time, and the work may not last more than 45 days a year.
What the agency says
“upon nonvegetated sand and gravel bars exposed within the active stream channel (this includes highbanking).”
— Utah Division of Water Rights, Recreational Dredging Application ↗
What the agency says
“Activity is not to exceed 45 days annually.”
— Utah Division of Water Rights, Recreational Dredging Application ↗
The catch is that it works only on the streams named in the application, each with its own open season. Before you start, you must also contact the BLM or the Forest Service office for that stream, or the permit is void.
What the agency says
“The Land Management agency (both USFS and BLM) must be contacted prior to any activity or permit will be void.”
— Utah Division of Water Rights, Recreational Dredging Application ↗
The list is the state's own for 2026-2027 and can change: check the application page ↗ before you go. Some streams have parts inside wilderness areas or Fremont Indian State Park where the application does not apply, and several run dry in late summer.
The Green, Colorado and San Juan Rivers are closed to this application in all of Utah, because of threatened and endangered fish; working on them needs a different permit from the Division of Water Rights.
What the agency says
“All Utah portions of the Green, Colorado and San Juan Rivers are closed to activity under this application”
— Utah Division of Water Rights, Recreational Dredging Application ↗
The conditions of the application forbid touching the stream banks, damming the stream and using mercury, and keep power equipment at least 500 feet from developed campgrounds and state parks.
What the agency says
“No power equipment shall be operated within 500 feet of a developed campground or state park.”
— Utah Division of Water Rights, recreational dredging conditions of approval ↗
Any other machine work in a stream, or work outside these conditions, needs a full stream alteration permit: 100 dollars for a non-commercial applicant, according to the Water Rights fee schedule ↗. A pan and hand tools need nothing from the state.
What the agency says
“This office does not regulate non-mechanized equipment.”
— Utah Division of Water Rights, Stream Alteration Program ↗
Away from the water, highbankers and engine drywashers are the gray zone: the federal casual-use rule names only hand panning, non-motorized sluicing and hand or battery drywashers. On BLM land ask the field office; in a national forest file a notice of intent with the district ranger.
When hobby digging becomes mining in Utah
The state's mining agency, the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, steps in when the work starts to change the land. Its rules leave out work that causes no significant disturbance and uses no earth-moving machines, so hand tools, pans and small hobby gear are not mining for the state. Bulldozers and backhoes are: they need a notice of intention to the division ↗ before any work.
What the law says
“activities which will not cause significant surface resource disturbance and do not involve the use of mechanized earth-moving equipment, such as bulldozers or backhoes”
— Utah Admin. Code R647-1-106, what is not a mining operation ↗
Mining claims: the rule that matters most in Utah
On a valid claim the minerals belong to the claim holder, even on public land, so taking gold or stones from someone else's claim is theft. The state dredging application does not change that: it gives no right to work on private land or on a claim. Our maps show in red the places with a claim on record, and the Check claims (BLM) button on each pin opens the BLM's official claim map at that spot. Our national rules page explains how to read a claim on the ground.
Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante after the 2026 cuts
On July 13, 2026, two presidential proclamations cut Bears Ears to about 121,096 acres and Grand Staircase-Escalante to about 181,541 acres, roughly 1.69 million acres less than before for Grand Staircase alone. The land left out is ordinary BLM or national forest land again, with the same rules as the rest of the state, and since 9 a.m. eastern time on September 11, 2026 it has been open to new mining claims.
What the law says
“location, entry, and patent under the mining laws.”
— Proclamation 11043, Modifying the Bears Ears National Monument (2026) ↗
Three things to keep in mind. New claims are being filed in the reopened land, so check the claims before you dig. The wilderness study areas inside the old Grand Staircase stay protected. And the official boundary data had not been published when we checked, so near the new lines ask the district office: Canyon Country District for Bears Ears, Paria River District in Kanab for Grand Staircase.
How much can you take in Utah?
On BLM land the rule is reasonable amounts for your own collection, from unclaimed ground, with no pound limit for ordinary rocks and minerals.
What the agency says
“In general, the rockhounder may collect reasonable amounts of rocks and minerals”
Petrified wood has a federal limit, and the state trust lands use the same numbers for everything you collect with their permit.
What the law says
“The maximum quantity of petrified wood that any one person is allowed to remove without charge per day is 25 pounds in weight plus one piece, provided that the maximum total amount that one person may remove in one calendar year shall not exceed 250 pounds.”
What the agency says
“This permit authorizes collection of up to 25 pounds plus one piece per person per day”
— Trust Lands Administration, Rockhounding Permit (Form 2360) ↗
Nothing collected under these rules may be sold: they are for personal collections only.
Rockhounding on Utah state trust lands
The checkerboard of state trust land sections across Utah is not open like BLM land. Collecting there needs the Trust Lands Administration's rockhounding permit: 25 dollars for a person or a family, 200 dollars for an association, paid at any Trust Lands office. The permit covers hand collection only, up to 25 pounds plus one piece a day and 250 pounds a year, never for sale and never in active mining areas.
What the agency says
“an annual rockhounding permit is required to collect on these lands.”
The permit says nothing about gold panning or metal detecting, so ask the Trust Lands Administration ↗ before you bring a pan or a detector.
Fossils, dinosaur bones and artifacts in Utah
Utah is dinosaur country, and the bones are protected everywhere on public land. On federal land, vertebrate fossils can be collected only with a research permit (see our national page). On land owned by the state, digging for critical fossils needs a permit from the Utah Geological Survey, and on trust lands from the Trust Lands Administration (Utah Code 79-3-501 and 79-3-502 ↗). Common invertebrates and plants are fine for personal use on BLM land and with the trust lands permit.
What the agency says
“Trust Lands rockhounding permits do not authorize collection of vertebrate fossils.”
Arrowheads, pottery and other remains of past peoples are protected too. On state land, surveying or excavating them needs a permit, and breaking the rule is a crime.
What the law says
“Any person violating this section is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.”
If you find a bone, a skull or an artifact, leave it where it lies, take a picture and the location, and tell the land agency.
Permits and costs
Recreational dredging application (Utah Division of Water Rights)
What you need: Suction dredge or highbanker in a listed stream; nozzle 4 inches or less, 12 horsepower or less, up to 45 days a year
Cost: No fee listed on the application page; a new application every year
Stream alteration permit (Utah Division of Water Rights)
What you need: Any other work that changes the bed or banks of a stream
Cost: 100 dollars for a non-commercial applicant
Rockhounding permit (Trust Lands Administration)
What you need: Collecting rocks, minerals and invertebrate fossils on state trust lands
Cost: 25 dollars for a person or family, 200 dollars for an association
Notice of intent (Forest Service)
What you need: Engine drywashers, highbankers, pumps and dredges in a national forest
Cost: No fee
Special use permit for metal detecting (Utah State Parks)
What you need: Metal detecting in the parks that allow it
Cost: Echo State Park: 10 dollars, permit and entry together
Who to ask
Where the rules leave a gray zone, ask the office in charge directly, and get the answer in writing if you can.
Utah Division of Water Rights, Stream Alteration Program
Ask about: Recreational dredging application, stream alteration permits, the Green, Colorado and San Juan Rivers
Phone: 801-538-7414
Trust Lands Administration
Ask about: Rockhounding permit, panning and metal detecting on state trust lands
Phone: 801-538-5100
Address: 102 South 200 East, Suite 600, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
BLM Utah State Office
Ask about: Collecting on BLM land, highbankers and engine drywashers, new monument boundaries
Phone: 801-539-4001
Email: blm_ut_so_public_room@blm.gov
Address: 440 West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
BLM Canyon Country District (Moab)
Ask about: Bears Ears and the land cut from it
Phone: 435-259-2100
Email: blm_ut_mb_mail@blm.gov
Address: 82 East Dogwood, Moab, UT 84532
BLM Paria River District (Kanab)
Ask about: Grand Staircase-Escalante and the land cut from it
Phone: 385-599-8701
Email: BLM_UT_ES_Interagency@blm.gov
Address: 669 S. Highway 89A, Kanab, UT 84741
BLM Color Country District (Cedar City)
Ask about: Red Cliffs and Beaver Dam Wash conservation areas, southwestern Utah
Phone: 435-865-3000
Email: BLM_UT_Cedar_City@blm.gov
Address: 176 East D.L. Sargent Drive, Cedar City, UT 84721
BLM Green River District (Vernal)
Ask about: Jurassic National Monument, northeastern Utah
Phone: 435-781-4400
Email: utvnmail@blm.gov
Address: 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078
BLM West Desert District (Salt Lake City)
Ask about: West Desert, Topaz Mountain and the Fillmore Field Office
Phone: 801-320-8300
Email: BLM_UT_SL_Mail@blm.gov
Address: 491 North John Glenn Road, Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Forest Service, Intermountain Region
Ask about: National forests in Utah, notices of intent, local closures
Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands
Ask about: Sovereign lands: beds of navigable lakes and rivers
Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining
Ask about: When digging becomes mining: earth-moving equipment, notices of intention
Utah Geological Survey
Ask about: Collecting sites (Utah Rockhounder) and fossil permits on state land
Questions and answers
Do I need a permit to pan for gold in Utah?
Not on BLM land or in the national forests: panning and sluicing without a motor are casual use, and the state does not regulate pans and hand tools in streams. You still can't pan on someone else's mining claim, in state parks or in national parks, and on state trust lands you should ask first.
Can I use a suction dredge in Utah?
Yes, but only on the streams named in the Division of Water Rights' recreational dredging application, during each stream's open season, with a nozzle of 4 inches or less and 12 horsepower or less, up to 45 days a year. You fill in the application every year and contact the BLM or Forest Service office first. The Green, Colorado and San Juan Rivers are closed to it.
Can I run a highbanker in Utah?
On the bare gravel bars of a listed stream, yes: the recreational dredging application includes highbanking. Away from those streams it is a gray zone on BLM land, so ask the field office; in a national forest you need a notice of intent to the district ranger.
Can I rockhound on Utah state trust land?
Yes, with the Trust Lands Administration's rockhounding permit: 25 dollars for a person or family, hand collection only, up to 25 pounds plus one piece a day and 250 pounds a year, for personal use. Vertebrate fossils are never allowed.
Can I collect in Bears Ears or Grand Staircase-Escalante now?
Most of the old monument land was cut out in July 2026 and is ordinary BLM or national forest land again, with the usual rules, but it has been open to new mining claims since September 11, 2026, so check the claims. Inside the units that remain, and in the wilderness study areas, we found no current published collecting rule: ask the district office first.
How much petrified wood can I take in Utah?
On BLM land, 25 pounds plus one piece a day and no more than 250 pounds a year, for your own collection. In state parks such as Escalante Petrified Forest you can't take any.
Can I keep dinosaur bones I find in Utah?
Not from public land. Vertebrate fossils on federal land need a research permit, and on state land and trust lands the state requires a permit too. On private land fossils belong to the landowner. Leave the bone where it is, note the spot and tell the land agency.
Can I use a metal detector in Utah state parks?
Only where a park issues a special use permit for it, such as Echo, Hyrum and Jordanelle, and only in the areas the park allows. Historic items you find can't be kept, and at Echo every find goes to the park's lost and found.
More about Utah
Sources
- 43 CFR 3809.5, definition of casual use
- 36 CFR 228.4, notice of intent in national forests
- 43 CFR 3622.4, petrified wood collection rules
- Utah Division of Water Rights: Recreational Dredging Application 2026-2027
- Utah Division of Water Rights: recreational dredging conditions of approval
- Utah Division of Water Rights: Stream Alteration Program
- Utah Division of Water Rights: fee schedule
- Utah Code 73-3-29, stream alteration
- Utah Admin. Code R647-1-106, mining definitions
- Trust Lands Administration: Rockhounding Permit, Form 2360
- Trust Lands Administration: rockhounding brochure
- Utah Geological Survey: Public Information Series 62, collecting rules
- Utah Admin. Code R651-620-2, state parks
- Utah State Parks: Echo State Park metal detecting
- Utah Code Title 79 Chapter 3, paleontology (79-3-102, 79-3-501, 79-3-502)
- Utah Code 9-8a-305, archaeological permits on state lands
- Utah Admin. Code R652-70-1200, dredging and filling on sovereign lands
- Proclamation 11043, Modifying the Bears Ears National Monument (2026)
- Proclamation 11044, Modifying the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (2026)
- BLM: Topaz Mountain
- BLM Utah State Office and district offices
- Forest Service, Intermountain Region
- Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands: sovereign lands permits
- Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining
- Utah Geological Survey