Nugget Gulch is in Alaska's Yukon Wilderness Arc ...

Alaska's Yukon Wilderness Arc is formed by the bend in the Yukon River at Fort Yukon. It has a quasi baseline running from Healy with the Denali National Park and Preserve on the southwest end, up the George Parks Highway through Nenana and Ester with nearby Gold Hill to Fairbanks. The baseline continues up the Steese Highway through Fox and past the Chatanika Lodge to Central and Circle City with the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve on the northeast end.

Our "center" or base point is Gold Hill between Fairbanks and Ester on the George Parks Highway. Gold Hill, named after the Gold Hill Mine, is not the geometrical center of the arc. But with Gold Hill Alaska--a one-stop-shop for specialty Alaskan wines, beers, meads and unique gifts--on one side of the highway and the Blue Loon--a theatre club--on the other, it is an ideal location for "reconnoitering the territory."   
                                                                                                                 -Steese Review

Nugget Gulch is located at Mile 7.9 on the Circle Hot Springs Road off the Steese Highway at Central, and a relatively short distance from the Yukon Charley Rivers National Preserve. It is across the road from the Circle Hot Springs airstrip that can handle fairly large aircraft.

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Looking for gold?

There is gold in Interior Alaska and the rush is on!

Each year starting in May and going through the middle of September you can look for gold along the Steese Highway from Fairbanks to Nugget Gulch with the assurance that you will have a place to relax and get ready at both ends of this 134+ mile stretch of highway and road for your adventures in the gold country of Interior Alaska.

In Fairbanks you can supply your journey north at Alaskan Prospectors & Geologists Supply as well as learn how and where to look for gold . Fairbanks has numerous hotels, motels, RV parks, and camp grounds to accommodate your stay, and is full of tourists in the summer.

Then at Nugget Gulch at Circle Hot Springs—7+ miles up the Circle Hot Springs Road from Central on the Steese Highway just above 127 Mile—you will find a place to catch your breath and experience the lifestyle of The Last Frontier in gold country. (Note: Just remember, Nugget Gulch has a limited number of lodge rooms and cabins so it is best to plan ahead—see "Contacting Nugget Gulch" below.) There is a fairly large area for RV's and camping. Here at Nugget Gulch as well as in the neighboring town of Central, you can mingle with the real miners of the Circle Mining District. These are not performances, these are authentic encounters. It's real, folks, very real. And we are inviting you—if you are ready for it—to come up, mingle far from the maddening crowd. and experience the lifestyle of The Last Frontier for yourself.

As you travel the Steese Highway you can enjoy hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and—in season—fishing and hunting as you look for gold as well as other treasures left behind by over a hundred years of mining the gold. (See Alaska Digs.) Remember to steer clear of active mining claims and private property without having explicit permission to access from the owners of the claims and property. You can learn the rules from Alaskan Prospectors & Geologists Supply and at Nugget Gulch.

Keep in mind that while Fairbanks and Alaskan Prospectors & Geologists Supply can handle large numbers of people, Nugget Gulch is limited to only a few. That is why we filter general inquiries for information about Nugget Gulch through Gus. (See "Contacting Nugget Gulch" below.) Of course, if you already know Jim Crabb then by all means contact him directly. And if you are traveling by RV or camping out then coming up and taking your chances in the RV/camping area is not too risky. Even then, because experiencing the lifestyle of The Last Frontier directly in person is not for everyone, we want to help you make sure it's for you BEFORE you wind up wasting time and money. While there are no guarantees in looking for gold, if you stay at Nugget Gulch for any length of time—one day or all summer—we will do our best to make your adventure on the Steese Highway memorable in a way that will bring you back again and again.

Contacting Nugget Gulch: Get started early by contacting the editor/publisher of this blog, Hilding "Gus" Lindquist, at hglindquist@gmail.com. If you are serious about traveling the Steese and experiencing the authentic lifestyle of The Last Frontier in search of gold, Gus will help you make contact with Jim Crabb, Owner/Operator of Nugget Gulch. You can contact Alaskan Prospectors & Geologists Supply directly—504 College Road, Fairbanks, AK 99701, (907) 452-7398— or ask Gus for help.

From The Spell of the Yukon By Robert Service

There's gold, and it's haunting and haunting;
It's luring me on as of old;
Yet it isn't the gold that I'm wanting
So much as just finding the gold.
It's the great, big, broad land 'way up yonder,
It's the forests where silence has lease;
It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It's the stillness that fills me with peace.

45 Mile: Long Creek Trading Post

This gold nugget was found at Long Creek at 45.5 Mile on the Steese Highway. Paul Potvin is the owner/operator of the Long Creek Trading Post. You can rent canoes here and have Paul take you upstream on the Chatanika River for varying distances to float, paddle, and fish (grayling) your way back to the Trading Post.