Gold Dredge 8 is located about 25 minutes outside of Fairbanks on the Old Steese Highway. Take Airport Way West towards the airport take a right onto Dale Road continue about 1/2 mile and take a right onto Discovery Drive we are located at the end of Discovery Drive. The Riverboat Discovery is located a few miles from Fairbanks International Airport. When you arrive at Gold Dredge 8 you will need to check in at our train station in the parking lot to pick up your boarding passes. We recommend arriving at Gold Dredge 8 at least 15 minutes prior to departure time. When you arrive at the Riverboat Discovery you will need to check in at our ticket counter to pick up your boarding passes. We recommend arriving at the Riverboat Discovery at least 30 minutes prior to departure time. We recommend making reservations as soon as you know the date you would like to go on our tours. Are reservations required?Īlthough reservations are not required, they are highly recommended. However, please note that these tours are not at the same location. Yes, our tours are designed so you can do both tours in one day. They have been working to share our rich gold mining history with visitors ever since.Ĭan I do both the Riverboat Discovery and Gold Dredge 8 tours in one day? The Binkley family has run a successful sternwheel attraction for over 60 years and added gold mine tours in 1994. In 1984, the dredge was opened for tours.

But Gold Dredge 8 was one of the few mines that did re-open and ran successfully until it was shut down for economic reasons in 1959. By the time the war ended, the miners that once ran the gold mines were in other professions and their wage levels had increased too high for gold mining to support.

After the war was over, very few mines re-opened. In 1942, gold mining suffered a serious setback the War Productions Board issued it’s famous Order L-208 which forced the closure of all gold mines in the United States for the duration of World War II. It is said that dredges and mining saved Fairbanks. Gold Dredge 8 operated between 19 and played an essential role in mining and the economy of the Tanana Valley. Gold Dredge 8 is also a National Engineering Landmark. Today, Gold Dredge 8 National Historic District serves as a monument to the hard working miners who built Fairbanks. Described as either a floating workhorse or a mechanical gold pan, Gold Dredge 8 extracted millions of ounces of gold from the frozen Alaskan ground.

Gold dredge pump