The park is located on the eastern side of the famous Mother Lode
Vein and was once dotted with over 250 mines within it’s boundaries.
There are a number of hiking trails within the park that will introduce
you to the flora and fauna of the area. Hike along Big Canyon Creek,
or hike along the Vulture Claim trail and see the exploratory diggings
called “coyote holes” that were left by the miners as
they searched out pockets of gold bearing quartz.
Big Canyon Creek, a tributary of the American River runs through
the park. This creek was first placer mined by Chileans in 1848.
The Joshua Hendy Stamp Mill is an eight stamp mill and
was built on the property in the late 1920’s. The stamp mill
still stands on its original site.
Two hard rock mines are still open and available for the public
to tour. The Priest Mine is the oldest Hard Rock mine in the park
and dates back to the 1850’s. This mine is only available
for special guided tours. (see Guided Tours)
The Hattie Mine (now called Gold Bug) is dated as being started
in 1888. This mine is available for self guided tours as well as
special guided tours.
The Hattie Museum offers displays of mining equipment and drawings
explaining many of the various mining techniques that were used
and are being used.
The Hattie Gift Shop offers a variety of books, photographs, gold
samples as well as other items to remember this famous site. You
can also rent a gold pan and pan for real gold in the gold troughs
located adjacent to Big Canyon Creek.
Gold Bug Park and Mine is a designated State Point of Historic Interest
and is part of the National Register of Historic Sites.
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