Libby Creek Gold Panning Area

This is an open claim area for primitive gold panners. Several sites with fire rings right on the creek. Be aware that there is mercury contamination due to mining activity in the area in years gone by so dogs should be kept out of the water. Otherwise, there is a single vault toilet (bring your own tp), beautiful trees, cedar, for, spruce and pine and Howard Lake Campground is nearby with swimming opportunities and other amenities. There was a decent amount of dead wood around the site we chose so while we did bring some camp wood, it lasted by burning up some of the dead stuff laying around. I drove a 24' class C RV and while there were a few different areas I could have parked, level ground was the principal factor for parking at a wide site right next to the road. There were only two other tent campers there for the day and a half we stayed and they were together at a good distance. I enjoyed the beauty of the creek and the rocks along with the clean smells of the cedar and other evergreens. It is a bit of a drive in on a gravel road, just about ten miles from highway 2. Plenty of washboard surface and a few chuck holes but overall, I've driven much worse, just make sure everything is securely tied down and stowed. The sites aren't numbered and there are sites on both sides of the access road, at least eight with some of them able to accommodate groups. We may have found a couple flecks of gold between four of us but we still had a fabulous time.