Kenai Peninsula, AK Mining Claims & Land Ownership Map
Current BLM claim data, land ownership layers, and rockhounding-ready backcountry navigation for Kenai Peninsula, AK — built for the field.
Kenai Peninsula, AK Mining Claims & Land Ownership Map
Current BLM claim data, land ownership layers, and rockhounding-ready backcountry navigation for Kenai Peninsula, AK — built for the field.
The Kenai Peninsula holds a special place in Alaska's mining history as the site of one of the state's earliest gold rushes. In the mid-1890s, years before the Klondike or Nome stampedes, prospectors discovered rich placer gravels along Resurrection Creek, Sixmile Creek, and Mills Creek on Turnagain Arm. Historic boomtowns like Hope and Sunrise quickly rose along the tidal inlet, attracting panners, hydraulic miners, and small suction dredgers eager to test the glaciated stream channels of the Chugach Mountains.
Today, much of the upper Kenai Peninsula sits within the Chugach National Forest, creating a unique regulatory framework managed by the U.S. Forest Service. While many stream stretches are covered by active federal unpatented claims or private property, designated public recreational gold panning areas exist along Resurrection Creek near Hope and Sixmile Creek near Sunrise. Geologically, the region consists of the Chugach Terrane—a massive accretionary complex of turbidite greywacke and slate cut by quartz veins. Glacial activity reshaped these valleys, concentrating placer gold in bedrock crevices and gravel benches. Rockhounds exploring Turnagain Arm beaches and creek beds frequently find fine quartz crystals, slate slate-hosted pyrite cubes, pyrrhotite, grey-green greywacke agates, and native copper trace specimens.
558
Current / Not-Closed Kenai Peninsula, AK Claim Records
4,121
Historical Kenai Peninsula, AK Claims
299
Kenai Peninsula, AK Rockhound Hotspots
4,978
Total Kenai Peninsula, AK Claims & Hotspots
299
Metallic Sites
0
Non-Metallic Sites
60
Lode Claims
314
Placer Claims
Reflects BLM federal claims only — Alaska DNR's state mining-claim records aren't classified by claim type the same way.
| Claim Type | Current Claims |
|---|---|
| Lode Claims | 60 (16.0%) |
| Placer Claims | 314 (84.0%) |
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Official Prospecting Resources for Kenai Peninsula, AK
What it is: The official federal management portal governing mineral exploration, land rules, and surface use within Chugach National Forest.
Use case: Checking federal forest mining rules, submitting notices of intent for prospecting, and reviewing environmental guidelines.
What it is: An official recreational guide detailing public panning areas, equipment limits, and open stream stretches on the Kenai Peninsula.
Use case: Finding designated public panning sites on Resurrection Creek and verifying suction dredge intake rules.
What it is: The official Bureau of Land Management district office portal managing federal public domain lands, mineral entry, and surface management across Southcentral Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula.
Use case: Verifying active federal unpatented mining claim boundaries, checking public domain land availability around Hope, Sunrise, and Turnagain Arm, reviewing surface management regulations, and making inquiries regarding federal placer and lode claims.
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Paid plans renew automatically at the monthly or annual rate you choose until you cancel. Cancel anytime and keep access through the end of your paid period. See our Terms of Use.
Staked Maps isn't crowd-sourced guesswork. Current and historical claim boundaries are parsed directly from the Bureau of Land Management's Mineral & Land Records System (MLRS), which replaced the legacy LR2000 mining claim system in 2021, and kept in sync with our database on a regular schedule. Rockhound Hotspots draw from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS), cross-referenced by material so you can see exactly what's been found at a given site. For legal filings, always confirm current status directly with your BLM state office of record; Staked Maps is a research and navigation tool, not a substitute for the official record.
Directly from the Bureau of Land Management's official MLRS (Mineral & Land Records System) case-recordation records, synced into our database on a regular schedule — not scraped or crowd-sourced.
Staked Maps displays the status reported by BLM. Records with a case disposition of Active are labeled Active; historical records come from BLM's closed-claims dataset. These statuses are research information, not a Staked Maps legal determination of claim validity, discovery, ownership or compliance. Verify the current record through MLRS before acting on it.
Free users can search by county. Paid plans add search by claim serial number, plus each claim's full legal (aliquot) description and BLM records link.
Staked Maps currently tracks 558 current federal mining claim/site records and 4,121 historical claim records from BLM's federal MLRS records combined with Alaska DNR's state mining-claim records, plus 299 Kenai Peninsula, AK mineral-occurrence records derived from USGS MRDS.
A premium map layer of documented mineral occurrences, prospects and mines sourced from USGS MRDS and labeled by material where available. These records are research leads, not a directory of verified public collecting sites.
Yes — the live map covers all of Alaska, not just Kenai Peninsula. Other Alaska counties with a dedicated page: Fairbanks & Circle District, Nome & Seward Peninsula, Fortymile River & Chicken and Mat-Su Valley.
USDA Forest Service - Chugach National Forest Minerals is Kenai Peninsula, AK's primary office for filing and researching mining claims — see the Official Filing & Information Links section above for the direct link and more resources.
Regulatory and editorial content last reviewed against official records · Source: USDA Forest Service - Chugach National Forest Minerals · USGS MRDS
Information hosted on Staked Maps is compiled from publicly available data streams provided by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and relevant state geographic clearinghouses. Staked Maps accepts no liability for the content of this geospatial data, or for the consequences of any real-world exploration, land entry, or staking actions taken on the basis of the information provided via this application interface.
Staked Maps makes no warranty, expressed or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, nor assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the pinpoint accuracy, reliability, completeness, latency, or programmatic utility of these geospatial data layers, or for the improper interpretation of these data grids.
These mapping layers and related graphics are visual convenience aids only; they are not legal documents and must never be used as such. The data may not be used to legally determine title, mineral ownership, valid description boundaries, jurisdictional authorities, or land restrictions in place on public or private land. Natural backcountry hazards may or may not be depicted on topographies, and land users are strictly mandated to exercise caution. Federal records are dynamic and change constantly. The end-user is exclusively responsible for validating current land classifications with local BLM field offices and managing compliance accordingly.