MAP Where is Gold Rush Todd Hoffman’s Oregon gold mine located?

As we first reported back in November, Gold Rush star Todd Hoffman and his crew of miners are returning stateside next season to look for gold in their home state of Oregon. Although we previously narrowed down the location of the claim to Baker County, and even had some satellite imagery of the equipment already on site, we still didn’t have an exact location — until now!

The ever-diligent Gold Rushologists in the Gold Rush Alaska Gossip Facebook group have revealed that the High Bar Placer Mine leased by the Hoffmans is located in western Oregon about 18 miles south-southwest of Baker City. Here are a few maps to better illustrate the exact location:

And here is a more detailed satellite photo of the mining equipment and constructed water reservoirs from June of 2015 — click to enlarge:

I half-joked in my previous post that the Hoffmans might consider making a few extra bucks by charging visitors, since the mine is now located somewhere that people can actually go to instead of way up in Yukon, Canada. Well, as it turns out, the mine is on Bureau of Land Management land, so it is theoretically accessible by the public.

The BLM brochure addressing public access to mining claims on BLM land does seem to leave that door open, especially if you are just “passing through” to access other federal lands — and as long as visitors do not interfere with mining operations:

The Federal Government maintains the right to manage the surface and surface resources on mining claims and sites located under the General Mining Law. This includes the use of the area for public recreational and resource management purposes that do not materially interfere with an ongoing mining activity.

The public has the conditional right to cross mining claims or sites for recreational and other purposes and to access Federal lands beyond the claim boundaries. The right of access to a mining claim or site across Federal lands does not mean that the you have a right to cause unnecessary or undue degradation of the surface resources. You are liable for damages if found responsible for unnecessary loss of or injury to property of the United States.

So pack up your cameras and your drone and get on out to West Oregon y’all! Let’s get some Gold Rush Season 7 spoilers up in here! 🙂