AkAu Gold Resort - Nome, Alaska

Eiko Risch

My husband and I always wanted to go to Nome, AK because it's known for gold and a remote and secluded place in north west of Alaska. Our friends from gold prospectors club invited us to join in their trip to AKAU in Nome. We signed up for 2 weeks as one week sounded too short for all the adventures that the camp offers. The weather one week before our trip was all sunny and warmer (65 high), but when we got there it was misty rain everyday except 2 days. But when we were having fun highbunking all day, it didn't matter that much because you get wet anyway from the highbunking process. The gold rich dirt was provided by a tractor right behind our highbunking area. All you have to do is turn the pump equipment on and start shoveling the dirt into the highbunker. My job was clearing the large rocks in the hopper and occasional rock buildups in the sluice box then panning the concentrate come out of the highbunker. Each clean up was exciting time because I always find reasonable amount of gold in my pan. Thanks to my husband for shoveling the dirt tirelessly -:). We rented a two seater ATV for 2 weeks. One day we did our own ATV excursion to nearby attractions. That was exciting trip. We encountered a group of Musk Ox crossing the road. We knew Musk Ox are aggressive when they have young ones. One late afternoon, we went to pick salmon berries. Blue berries were to early this year. One day after lunch, Taylor took 7 of us to metal detecting. I learned few new technique for metal detecting. Less than 2 hours, my husband and I found 14 pieces of nice picker. I was ecstatic when I panned the dirt we collected from the metal detecting excursion. After while we decided to shovel the dirt near the detected area into our gallon Ziploc bag instead of finishing the dirt elimination process because we didn't want to waste our time doing the dirt elimination process. Good thing we brought a gallon zip lock bag to collect the dirt because we found multiple pickers at each detected spot. It was my first time finding nice size pickers from a gold detector ( Mine Lab Gold Monster that we borrowed from AKAU). I was like a kid finding a Christmas present so excited that I had to share my findings to everyone at the dinner in the great room. Another notable experience is the meals. Oh my! the cook, Tim is like a professional chef. He made wonderful breakfast, lunch and dinner. Marsha and all of stuff were very friendly and helpful. Now we are back in southern California in 95 - 98 degrees hot heat. In this dry heat I truly miss the 48-51 degrees misty weather-:). When you are prepared for the weather, you will be fine. In our case, the water resistant rain jacket from California didn't work. What we needed was a good water proof rain jacket. Luckily Carrie, the owners wife let me borrow her rain jacket after I was soaking wet wearing my water resistant jacket. Overall we had a wonderful experience in our 2 weeks stay at AKAU.

Laurie Rogers

Greatest trip of my life and one that I am excited to repeat again. Serene location that's as quiet as I have ever experienced. The staff is more like family and you are treated as kindly. The food is plentiful and delicious. Their experience and guidance is very helpful and I firmly believe you have nobody but yourself to blame if you go home with empty pockets of gold.

Chad Schimmel

Had a great time at AKAU. Cool place, great owners making it fun. Many firsts on the trip, First time finding AK gold, first time catching AK Salmon, first time seeing a Muskox, and over all a great experience. I'll be back to see you, Thanks Augie and Tyler

Tim Blank

I just returned from my dream vacation of looking for real Alaskan gold with AKAU Gold Resort! And it was everything that I hoped for and much, much more! Betty, Augie and his wife along with their amazing staff made my trip one that I'll never forget! Thanks Betty, Augie and staff for the 110% effort that you guys put in to please your guests! I'll be back!!
Oh did I mention that I also found a couple of really nice pieces of gold?!!!
Highly recommended! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bob Derdzinske

Just spent two weeks at AKAU. Had a great time, it was my third visit. Had a mix of everything, cold rain and wind, and too darn hot. Good food, although I didn't get any spam the whole time, I want spam! The people are wonderful, had a day of Pike fishing with master guide Tyler, and an adventure with Bob and Mike up and in Sledge Creek. Found some gold, seen some animals, drank a little beer. Augie and Betty are wonderful people, and their crew are friendly and helpful. I highly recommend a visit to AKAU

Lisa Cox

True Spirit of Alaska can be found at AKAU gold resort and it is not just about the Gold!! I visited for two weeks in August of 2017. Auggie, Betty, Tony and crew took great care of our group (there were 16 of us). The accommodations were clean, warm and comfy and the meals were home cookin like mom used to make. I anticipated digging for gold for two weeks but there was so much more to do. The highlight for me was the sightseeing on quads. (Make sure you rent a quad, it is the best way to see the sights and lug your equipment around) There are so many activities it was hard to pack it all in. Fishing, Sightseeing, Hiking and taking tons of pictures. They offer any kind of prospecting you want to do and the equipment to do it with. If you are unsure how to use a piece of equipment Auggie takes the time to show you how to get the most out of it and use it properly. Dinners in the "Great Room" swapping stories about our adventures that day were always looked forward to. Thanks Again AKAU for making my Alaska adventure one I will never forget!!Hope to see you next year for another remarkable adventure.

M N

I stayed at the 'resort' for a week in July, 2015 and it was a great experience. While staying near Nome you have a chance to go into the town by ATV, go fishing, visit old mining camps and of course find your own gold.

At the Resort you can sluice, high bank or use metal detectors for almost 24 hours a day because the sun does not set until after midnight.

A recent upgrade allows you to be in comfortable cabins with great views and take a hotel type shower every day. You'll need it as the days can be warm or worse you'll have your clothes on under your rain gear ... you get the idea.

The camp capacity is about 12 and the information from Betty and Augie just keeps coming and coming. Dinners are family style and the food was good.

I'm already thinking about going back as the gold I found was not as much as others nor as much as I would like. Even if you don't have any experience you will like it.

Mike Slater

I've been coming to AKAU for the last several years and it keeps getting better and better. Hot showers, GREAT FOOD!, many adventures, laundry facilities, all the mining equipment you need. You get anything from french toast, eggs to order, bacon, even quiche for breakfast. For dinner its fresh salmon, chicken, brisket, etc. FANTASTIC!