Gold Mine Experience (Bloo Nelly Mine)
Pan for gold and tour a historic mine on a working mining site near Wickenburg
- What you do
- Pan the old miners' tailings and tour the mines
- What people find
- Fine flour gold in most pans, now and then a nugget
- Tours
- Bloo Nelly mine, about 30 minutes; longer Bloo Tunnel II excursion on request
- Season
- Open every day, all year
- Where
- 34100 S Constellation Rd, about 10 miles east of Wickenburg
- Getting there
- 3 miles paved, 7 miles of maintained dirt road
- Also
- Historic buildings, shaded pavilions, restrooms, snacks; dogs on a leash
Fee dig: pay to search the ground on site
Native material: you search the natural ground on site.
Season: Year-round.
Make a weekend of it
191 gold spots on open public land with no claim on record, within 50 miles.
There are more on the map, some of them with a possible mining claim.
About Gold Mine Experience (Bloo Nelly Mine)
Gold Mine Experience is a historic mining site on 187 acres in the hills east of Wickenburg, with ten patented mine claims and more than 20 old structures rebuilt on their original rock foundations. It is also an active, state-certified mining operation: the owners still mine for gold and other minerals, and visitors can watch the daily processing.
For visitors, two things count. The first is panning: you work the tailings left by the old miners, which still carry fine gold. The site says you find flour gold in nearly every pan and now and then a nugget, and you take home everything you find. The second is the mines themselves. The Bloo Nelly mine dates back to 1903 and is shown on easy guided walks of about half an hour, full of mining history, rock specimens and fluorescent minerals; inside it stays around 65 degrees. For a deeper look there is the Bloo Tunnel II excursion, about four hours, to ask about when you arrive.
The site has a western town built at the mouth of the historic Unida Mine, using windows that came from the old buildings of Arizona State University, plus shaded pavilions, restrooms and snacks, and a few farm animals. Dogs are welcome on a leash. Groups come too: in March 2026 a desert history tour run by the Sigler Western Museum in Wickenburg included a guided visit to the Bloo Nelly mine.
To get there, leave Highway 60 in Wickenburg, take Jack Burden Rd and turn right on Constellation Rd, then drive about ten miles east following the signs: three miles of pavement and seven of maintained dirt road, passable with an ordinary two-wheel-drive car with some clearance. Constellation Road itself is a trip into the past, passing old mines such as the Monte Cristo. The site sits higher than Phoenix and is noticeably cooler.
Clubs and places nearby
- Wickenburg Gem and Mineral SocietyClub · 10 mi
- Lost Dutchman's Mining Association - Stanton CampClub · 11 mi
- Weaver Mining DistrictClub · 16 mi
- American Gold Prospecting AdventuresPay-to-dig · 27 mi
- Daisy Mountain Rock and Mineral ClubClub · 29 mi
- Lynx Creek Gold Pan Day Use AreaFree public dig · 35 mi
Where to buy gear nearby
- Nugget Shooter Metal Detector SalesOnline shop · 14 mi
- Dry Mining EquipmentOnline shop · 16 mi
- Rob's Detector SalesOnline shop · 32 mi
- A & B Prospecting Supplies (Prescott Valley)Shop · 40 mi
Access
From US-60 in Wickenburg, turn onto Jack Burden Rd by McDonald's, go to the stop sign and turn right on Constellation Rd. Follow it about 10 miles east and follow the signs. Paved for 3 miles, then maintained dirt road: fine for most cars with some ground clearance.
Technique
Gold panning in the site's own mine tailings, with fine gold in most pans and an occasional small nugget. For the all-day mine excursion, ask on site or text (602) 487-0456.