Turnagain Arm Shuttle Tour: Self-Guided Goldpanning Adventure at Indian Valley Gold Mine

Embark on a self-guided gold panning adventure at Indian Valley Gold Mine with the Turnagain Arm Shuttle Tour. Enjoy breathtaking views and the freedom to explore at your own pace.

Duration: 5 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Alaska’s Finest Tours & Cruises - Tours - Take a drive down the Seward Highway on the Turnagain Arm Shuttle to Gold Pan
  • Seward Highway - Take a drive down the Seward Highway on the Turnagain Arm Shuttle to Gold Pan
  • Turnagain Arm Drive - On the way down to the Indian Valley Mine you will be traveling down Alaska’s most scenic highway known as Turnagain Arm. You will make a stop at Beluga Point, Turnagain Gallery and then on to the Indian Valley Mine where you can try your luck for Gold.
  • Beluga Point - Photo spot
  • Turnagain Gallery - On the way down to the Indian Valley Mine you will be traveling down Alaska’s most scenic highway known as Turnagain Arm. You will make a stop at Beluga Point, Turnagain Gallery and then on to the Indian Valley Mine where you can try your luck for Gold.
  • Indian Valley Mine, National Historic Site - You may want to take some of the scenic walks found around Indian Valley Mine. When you are ready to continue on simply board the hourly shuttle from the Indian Valley Mine back to Anchorage. The return journey back to Anchorage is simple allow us to arrange your shuttle back to Anchorage. It’s that easy.
What's Included
  • Local guide at Indian Valley Mine
  • Customers pay their own admission and pay dirt buckets
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Customers pay their own admission
  • Admission to the mine and one paydirt bucket
Additional Information

Escape the hustle and bustle of Anchorage and board the Turnagain Arm Shuttle to the Indian Valley Gold Mine. Embark on a self-guided Goldpanning adventure to visit an actual mine that played a significant role in the region’s history. The Goldpanning Tour is perfect for those who value their independence and are captivated by the stunning vistas of Turnagain Arm. This DIY tour lets you separate from the crowd to try your hand at Goldpanning at your own pace, returning at selected times. Your odyssey to the Indian Valley Goldmine starts with a personalized tour of Turnagain Arm, an experience not to miss. As you journey towards the Indian Valley, you’ll cruise down Alaska’s most picturesque highway stretch, the Turnagain Arm. The excursion includes a sightseeing tour of the Turnagain Arm with notable features listed below. When you’re ready to proceed, just hop on the shuttle at the time you picked with a guaranteed seat back to Anchorage. We’ll make a pit stop at Potter Marsh during our return trip to Anchorage.

  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
  • Turnagain Arm Shuttle is a hop on hop shuttle. Please be aware that seats are guaranteed on the outbound and hop on hop off on the return.
Location
524 W 4th Ave
West 4th Avenue
We pick up and drop off at the Anchorage Visitors Center located at 524 W. 4th Avenue.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.3
(7 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Teresa_k
Jun 21, 2024
Fun way to see more of the countryside - Found some gold! Beautiful area and scenery. Guides were knowledgeable and friendly. I would recommend this tour
Review provided by Viator
Annette_p
Aug 13, 2021
Shuttle was well worth it! :) - The shuttle was really nice! Shuttle was clean and we learned a lot. As we had extra time, we even stopped at places not on the list like a waterfall and Potter Marsh. Gold panning was an awesome experience. The owners were fun and informative and we all left with some gold! Not much gold, but we can now say we panned for our own gold. Without the worries of driving, this mom had a great day!!!
Review provided by Viator
Linda_s
Jul 20, 2019
Gold - Tim was great. Friendly lots of great information. Beautiful sites to see. Great tour. Loved Tim natural look. Perfect for Alaska. Would definitely recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Bob_h
Jul 14, 2018
I Found GOLD!! - I always wanted to pan for gold and this was an opportunity of a lifetime. Well worth the time and well worth visiting. You get to pan for gold. They teach you how and I did get flakes of gold and precious stone nuggets. WOW. What a great time we had. I highly recommend going and having fun doing it.
Review provided by Viator
Sharon_c
Aug 20, 2022
This tour never happened.... - This tour never happened. It is only transportation to the site. You ride the van with another tour with another destination. We were told we would only have an hour at the site, in order to get a ride back to Anchorage. It was a lot of money for transportation only and very little time was allowed to enjoy the area. Plus, this tour did not include the admission fee which was not clarified until it was too late to cancel and get a full refund. Because of the cost for transportation, we decided to stay with the other tour. Full disclosure was lacking with this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Traci_b
Jul 4, 2021
Bus/van company are liars!! - The tour bus/van company moved our start time from 11:00am to 1:45pm the evening before our tour. So we rearranged our plans for that day to accommodate the bus tour company. They promised to take our group to The Alaska Wildberry Products company to see the worlds largest chocolate waterfall, due to the inconvenience. Then the day of the tour they texted at 1:18pm stating they’d arrive at 2:00pm now. My family and another family were already there waiting on them. Make note that once you get to the address they provide to be picked up, there are other companies and services that pick up and drop off at the exact same location but there is no signage or instructions as to exactly where to go to wait, which causes confusion. And on top of the fact that the bus/van was even later than 2:00pm to get there made everyone concerned we had been scammed. But, the bus/van did finally arrive at approximately 2:30pm. When you finally arrive at the gold panning location, panning for the gold was fun. Since the driver did not stop at the Alaska Widberry Product company on the way to the gold panning, we all thought we’d be stopping there on the way back. It did not appear the driver Ben was planning on stopping anywhere, so I asked when we would be there. He replied, he didn’t have time to take us there now because he was running behind. Even though he and the tour bus/van company are the ones who promised us and the other passengers to take us there for them inconveniencing us. Through the website I booked this tour I requested a refund. Within minutes of submitting my request, Ben the driver calls me to say he could offer to take us on a tour the next day, but he would not be giving me a refund. I explained to Ben that we already had made prior plans and just would like a refund due to them lying and moving times at the last minute and being late on top of that. He began to argue with me and refused to issue a refund. My family understands unexpected things come up to cause times to change or maybe even people to be late. But to promise paying customers something and then lying and not taking us where they promised to after they said they would is just flat out lying, rude and disrespectful. They inconvenienced all of us but they couldn’t go out of their way to do what they said they would do. Then to call the paying customer and argue with them on the phone. Unprofessional and disappointing to say the least. Definitely not worth the $287 I paid for a ride to go gold panning, for four people. Could of saved the money and drove there ourselves.
Review provided by Viator
Jessica_kw
Jul 4, 2021
You are only paying for shuttle . Don’t waste money - Waste of money when you can drive yourself to the mine. You are paying for the shuttle. Driver pushed our tour back over 2 hours then showed up 40 minutes late. Promised to make it and excellent experience to make up for it. Said he’s take us to the “largest chocolate waterfall” but ended up not having time or wanting to go because he had a rough day. He was not interactive with the drive. Then we had to pay for the panning at the mine
Review provided by Viator