Episode 1 of 12
Orofino Gold Rush
Orofino, IdahoGold
Where it all begins: the pure-history opener in North Idaho’s original gold country.
The History
The rush started in 1860, when gold turned up on Orofino Creek in the Clearwater country. Camps like Pierce, Elk City, and Idaho City boomed almost overnight, and for a stretch in the 1860s the Boise Basin out-produced almost everything else in the West. The gold rush created Idaho Territory itself: the miners came first, and the state followed. Season 1 opens here, where Idaho began.
The Dream Tour List for This Leg
The stops and companies we want on camera as the convoy works this ground. Proposed, not confirmed bookings, and growing as the dream tour list fills in.
Orofino Historic District
The on-camera anchor: walking the ground where the 1860 strike set everything off.
Pierce gold camps
The first boomtown of the Clearwater rush, a short drive up the hill.
Clearwater River placer country
Hands-on panning segment on the water that started the state.
Want your operation on this leg of the route?
Hunting Hidden Treasures pairs every mine with the end users it powers. If your project belongs in this episode, let’s talk.
Become a Tour PartnerWho’s Working Nearby
Companies with active projects in Idaho, closest to this stop first. Compiled from public sources, each with its own link. Appearing here reflects public mining activity, not a tour partnership.
IdahoNorth-central Idaho · Orofino
Hecla Mining · Lucky Friday
ProducingMullan, Idaho72 miles from this stopSilver · Lead · Zinc
One of the deepest mines in the United States.
Source →Bunker Hill Mining · Bunker Hill Mine
ProducingKellogg, Idaho73 miles from this stopSilver · Lead · Zinc
Shipped its first concentrate in 45 years in June 2026.
Source →Idaho Strategic Resources · Golden Chest Mine
ProducingMurray, Idaho81 miles from this stopGold
Currently the only producing hard-rock gold mine in Idaho.
Source →Perpetua Resources · Stibnite Gold Project
Drilling & buildingYellow Pine, Idaho118 miles from this stopGold · Antimony
America’s only planned domestic primary antimony source.
Source →IDEX Metals · Freeze (Kismet target)
Exploring & permittingAdams-Washington counties, Idaho124 miles from this stopCopper · Molybdenum · Tungsten
Re-assays confirmed broad tungsten alongside the copper-moly system; early stage, no resource estimate yet.
Source →Revival Gold · Beartrack-Arnett
Drilling & buildingSalmon, Idaho134 miles from this stopGold
The largest past-producing gold mine in Idaho, now being drilled deeper for underground ore.
Source →