Any of you folks do this?  

Looks like a good reason to go play in the creek where I can.

And have you had any success?  
(Not asking for locations of your "claims" n secret spots!)

Edited to add: unless you want to tell lol.

Good to hear.   I think it'll be fun to mess around with and maybe I'll find a little to keep it interesting.

I have just started and even got a sluice box but I have had no luck yet. Where are you at in NC?

Northern piedmont - triad area.  

Just north of the gold regions around Rowan county, etc.  

I haven't really tried much so nothing to date.  

Thought I'd go up to Thermal City Gold Mine or maybe Lucky Strike.  

I think you can pan around Reeds gold mine near Salisbury too.

Rowan, Cabarrus, Stanly and Montgomery Counties all have ore bearing creeks.   There are some companies that publish a map which shows most of them with a proven record of having gold, Big Ten is one company, then these guys...here.   There are also two mines in Stanly Co. that welcome visitors still,   Cotton Patch and Mountain Creek gold mines.    

Look for dark or black soil in the bends of creeks and dig there, the black soil are Iron deposits and since it's heavy and ended up in the bend.....good chance Gold will be deeper beneath it as it would follow the same path of resistance.     I live here in the middle of all these areas and panned a lot when younger, it's out there if you have patience!  

My MILs boyfriend pans around the Kings Mountian area with luck. 

I could have used this info last summer.  

I'll keep it for our next visit though.

My kid would love something like this.

My I also suggest gem mining up in the mountains for the kids. The area around "Little Switzerland" and "Emerald Village"  should help you dial in an area that will be fun for both the kids and the adults. There is the chance  of gold but the different gems add to the chances for something shiny for the kids to find. Just hope they don't take your brass tumbler for their rock & gem tumbler. Or their use  could be the perfect excuse to get you a nice larger tumbler/cleaner for reloading,  pass the Significant Other.  Most places are pay  for bucket of dirt with the up sell of polishing the finds but from there you should be able to find local areas. The mine tours are interesting for glimpse into the past and for fast a region can change. So you can make it a good half to a full day activity for the kids.

Reed Gold Mine, in southern Cabarrus County (near the Union County line), was one of the first sites of gold discovery in the US. We used to go there on field trips as a kid; you can pan for gold there as part of the activity fee, and tour some of the old mine shafts.

http://www.nchistoricsites.org/reed/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_Gold_Mine