Sweetwater Creek Road , Cody, WY 82414(Park County)

Buffalo Bill Reservoir is just down the road East with great fishing and boating,

A half hour away, town of Cody has all the necessities, as does the small town of Wapiti just 10 miles away.

Located in the majestic Big Horn Mountains in America’s first National Forest, Shoshone National Forest.

Within hiking distance to a Nature Preserve, the North Absaroka Wilderness, with public access.

This area has the feel of the Old West where the Cowboy Culture still lives on.

See further down the listing the buying process, my financing options to choose from, and how to purchase my claim.

See with the listing pictures maps and satellite views.

Click on the top listing picture then arrow right to see all.

TOWN OF CODY

CALLED BY THE LOCALS, CODY YELLOWSTONE

Cody was named the best city in Wyoming to live and visit based on employment opportunities, cost of living, school systems, outdoor activities, and tourist attractions.

A gateway town to Yellowstone National Park, Cody is a historic town surrounded by natural splendor. Cody was named after the infamous William "Buffalo Bill" Cody and boasts a thrilling stampede event now named after him.

Along the central streets you’ll find Old West-style shop fronts and saloons that provide a glimpse into the past—but the architecture is just one part of Cody’s charm. Residents enjoy an excellent school system and lower on average cost of living, with the average price of a single family home well below the national average.

Yellowstone National Park is an exciting destination, the beautiful Buffalo Bill State Park is nearby, and the surrounding areas provide excellent opportunities for outdoor adventures, recreation, and fishing.

The Wild West is a place filled with adventure. It’s a place where you can ride horses, rope cattle, sit around a campfire and stay at a genuine guest ranch. But it’s also a place filled with warmth and charm. Welcoming accommodations, fine restaurants, stellar shopping, plenty of things to see and do, and no shortage of outdoor fun and adventure.

National Forests remained open at all times during the virus with a televised invitation by the Director for families to visit them as safe places for family recreation, making our mining claims some of the safest places for your family to enjoy and get away from all the nonsense.

WYOMING ROCKHOUNDING

Rockhounding is more than just a hobby; it is a lifestyle. Rockhounding in Wyoming is a great way to get out and enjoy the state’s expansive landscapes and beautifully unique terrain. Wyoming happens to be among the best states in the entire country for rockhounding thanks to the sheer volume of prospective collecting sites and the impressive array of rocks and minerals to be found. Wyoming is perhaps most well known for its world-class National Parks like Yellowstone and Grand Teton. While you can’t collect rocks within those parks, the fantastically complicated and gorgeous geology found within their borders is a testament to the complex geological history of the area. The relatively recent volcanic and metamorphic activity in Wyoming has given rise to many desirable and sought-after rocks and minerals. Wyoming Jade, the Wyoming state gemstone, is the most famous of the state’s geologic treasures. Wyoming also hosts diamonds, corundum (sapphire and ruby), opal, peridot, iolite (gem-quality cordierite), agate, petrified wood, and quartz crystals. Some Wyoming rock types used by lapidaries also include marble, silicified banded iron formation (BIF), fuchsitic quartzite, and gneiss.

BUYING PROCESS:

To purchase my claim, I would need how you want your name(s) and street mailing address on the contract, and which payment option you choose, where I would scan and email you a signed contract.

Total price of $3500, that can be paid in one full payment where your ownership is then transferred after receiving payment,

or $3500, paying $1750 first month, and $1750 2nd month,

or $3500, paying $1500 first month, $1000 2nd month, and $1000 3rd month,

or $3500, paying $700 per month for 5 months,

or $3500, paying $500 per month for 7 months,

or $4000, paying $400 per month for 10 months.

A $199 deed processing fee is paid with final monthly payment.

After receiving your final payment, your ownership of the 20 acre claim will be legally recorded with the Wyoming Bureau of Land Management and the Park County Recorder.

I am a retired teacher, and got into prospecting as a hobby with my family.

I am 75 and my wife 73, and we have gained the experience to select the best areas to locate claims.

We feel we are selling more than the gold and minerals on beautiful land.

You would be acquiring an experience that will give you a good feel for what the old time prospectors must have felt during the days of the original Wyoming Gold Rush.

A mining claim is an affordable way to enjoy the beauty of the land combined with the adventure of panning for gold.

BIG HORN MOUNTAINS

Located in north-central Wyoming, the Bighorn Mountains are a sister range of the Rocky Mountains. Conveniently located halfway between Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone National Park, the Bighorns are a great vacation destination in themselves. Visitors experience a diverse landscape - from grasslands to alpine meadows, clear lakes to glacial carved valleys and rolling hills to sheer mountain cliffs.

TOWN OF WAPITI

Wapiti is situated along the North Fork of the Shoshone River in Shoshone National Forest, between Cody and the eastern entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

The town is named after the Cree Indian word for elk.

BUFFALO BILL RESERVOIR

Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody made the area famous in the early days of the West. He and his companions were the first to perceive the possibilities of turning the sagebrush flats of Wyoming's Bighorn Basin into a land of agricultural abundance through irrigation. The main historic site is Buffalo Bill Dam, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a major engineering achievement. Fishing open year-round. Wyoming State fishing license required. Fish species (coldwater) include rainbow trout, brown trout, lake trout (mackinaw), and cutthroat trout. Good access via shoreline roads and 3 boat ramps. Water surface covers approximately 8,000 acres. Additional blue-ribbon quality fishing available on Shoshone River above and below reservoir. Available services include developed campsites and RV sites with dump stations, drinking water, tables, restrooms, wind screens, primitive campsites, and a new visitor center. Other activities include watchable wildlife, big game, and waterfowl hunting in season with Wyoming State license. Hiking and horseback riding. Popular windsurfing area.

PARK COUNTY

You won’t run out of things to do or places to see when you visit Park County.

Plan your vacation around one of our many events—any time of year—from ice fishing and music shows, to rodeos and festivals. Enjoy the myriad of quality attractions and world-class museums.

Park County encompasses 3,349,120 acres of land, the majority of which is held under state or federal control, with only 23% privately owned. Most of the Shoshone National Forest, the first national forest, and a portion of Yellowstone National Park, the first national park, fall within Park County boundaries. Park County is located in the northwestern section of the State of Wyoming.

If within one year you are not satisfied with your claim, you can trade for another comparable claim, just paying the BLM and County transfer fees which will be about $125.

Claim buyer will also receive a new, free, Gold Panning Kit:

One 14 inch Gold Trap pan; One 10.5 inch Gravity Trap pan, One combination sifter/classifier with 7/16 of an inch exit holes, One Gold Guzzler snuffer bottle, One Tweezers/ Magnifying Glass combo tool.

Mining Claims as an investment: if you purchase a claim from us, at no charge, I would help you if you ever decided to sell in the future.

Mining Claims are a great investment, as claims go up in value over time, just as land does.

Gold and gems discovered in our own prospecting along with the beauty of the area, makes for awesome camping and prospecting.

Owning a mining claim is having access to a lifetime of great family fun and recreation, in a very beautiful, natural setting.

This is a 20 acre unpatented, gold mining placer claim, the Sweetwater Creek #5, with beautiful Sweetwater Creek running all the way thru the claim, in the Big Horn Mountains that are part of the Rocky Mountains, and in the Shoshone National Forest.

The claim is legally registered with the Wyoming Bureau of Land Management and the Park County Recorder.

You own the mineral rights, not sharing with others, on the 20 acres, and use your 20 acres recreationally for camping and prospecting in an awesome, beautiful area.

For any building like a shed, you need to file a Plan of Operation with the BLM for approval. For anything to live in, you would need to file a Plan of Operation with the BLM for approval, and to be considered, you would need to have developed a full-time mining operation.

For the possibility of constructing any building you or others could live in, you need to file a Plan of Operation with the BLM for approval, showing you have developed a “full-time operation” performing “diligent mining.”

You do not need a plan, permission nor a permit to camp and prospect.

You do not need to be a full time prospector to file a Plan for a shed type structure.

With an approved BLM Plan of Operation, a building can be built on the land: any building that benefits and improves the claim.

As stated by the BLM, this can be the "construction of a building, road, fence, or enclosure necessary for mining."

Current usage, is what the BLM calls, Casual Use: panning, shovel, rock hammer, metal detector, and creek powered sluice box.

On our visits to the claim, we gathered in and around the creek, approx. 1/8 of an ounce of gold, being worth about $250. As the BLM does not specify the amount of gold to be found to locate a claim other than gold needs to be discovered, we use this amount for a 20 acre claim as a projection of good gold potential. Someone with more time may find more.

Gold prices are over $4000/ounce. Though we could never guarantee what you will find, we did locate this claim in an historically rich area for gold prospecting.

Gold in just this past year has gone up over $500 per ounce.

We also found some nice specimens of jade, the Wyoming state gemstone, and crystals.

You are allowed to post No Trespassing for Prospecting signs in and around the claim.

A mining claim owner may limit or restrict public recreational use of/or public access across claims or portions of claims that are actively used for prospecting, mining, or processing operations where public recreational use of a claim would endanger or materially interfere with legitimate mining pursuits.

Camp on your claim and the nearby national forest campground.

A claim owner does not need permission nor a permit to camp and prospect.

You can prospect as little or as much as you like.

Now that we have located the claims, you never have to declare to the BLM any gold or gems you find.

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20 acres = parcel size of 660 ft. x 1320 ft.

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This claim in this wonderful area, has direct legal road access on a National Forest Road, with an area for camping, and gold and gems discovered in surface prospecting.

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SHOSHONE NATIONAL FOREST

Our claims are located in the Shoshone National Forest.

America's first national forest is home to 2.4 million acres of rugged backcountry. From hiking to hunting to camping and mountain biking, the Shoshone National Forest has it all.

Named after the Shoshoni people who have called this area of northwestern Wyoming home for thousands of years, the Shoshone National Forest is filled with special places. With more than 1.4 million acres of congressionally designated wilderness, the Shoshone National Forest is an integral part of the 10-million acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

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A transfer of ownership is a sale of legal, exclusive ownership of a mining claim site.

To be a legally recorded claim, a valuable mineral had to be found on the claim, which was completed by us, as we are the original claim locators.

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Your ownership is legally conveyed via a Quit Claim deed, and legally recorded with the Wyoming BLM and the Park County Recorder. A Quit Claim deed is the required legal document per the BLM.

Each year, on or before September 1st, you need to file a simple form with the Bureau of Land Management, along with $200. You can also pay this fee to the BLM online by credit card.

By doing this, you keep the claim forever.

You must be a current US citizen with a US address to own a mining claim in the US.

I have paid the fee for this new claim year so is not due again until September 1st, 2026.

There are no separate taxes on mining claims in Park County.

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An unpatented mining claim is a specific parcel of federal land, valuable for a specific mineral deposit or deposits. It is a parcel for which an individual has asserted a legal right of possession and the right to develop and extract a discovered, valuable, mineral deposit.

Mining claims are real property that you can buy, sell, or inherit.

After proving the existence of valuable minerals on the land, the claim is legally recorded with the Bureau of Land Management and Park County.

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The Sweetwater Creek #5 claim is an unpatented, gold placer mining claim, ideally situated on Sweetwater Creek, surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges.

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Your 20 acres is the South 1/2 of the NW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of Section 17, Township 52 North, Range 106 West, 6th PM, known as the Sweetwater Creek #5 mining claim.

BLM claim number: WY106753538

Hike in on Sweetwater Road:

This is easy going and fit for all ages and goes thru a beautiful river valley.

The hike begins at Wapiti Campground where you cross the bridge over the Shoshone River.

You then continue to follow the dirt road north into the stunning river valley.

The road follows along Sweetwater Creek winding thru this beautiful mountain area.

Driving Directions:

31 miles West of the town of Cody.

Take US-14 West out of Cody,

Turn right, North, on Sweetwater Creek Road, which is the claim road,

Beginning of Sweetwater Creek Road is at 44.4645, -109.6242.

Then using the GPS coordinates below to the claim.

The road is under repair so need to hike in until is completed.

GPS Coordinates:

Sweetwater Creek #5

NW 44.4823, -109.6437

NE 44.4823, -109.6392

SW 44.4805, -109.6437

SE 44.4805, -109.6392

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The claim location monument has a 4 foot wooden post near the river, with copy of Location Notice attached, as required by the State of Wyoming.

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The creek on the claim is a unique advantage for gold prospecting.

Gold always occurs in gravels in the metallic state and when so found has various physical characteristics. Gold is dense and heavy, it has a characteristic metallic color, and it is soft and easily malleable (it is easily formed by hammering). These are the characteristics used by prospectors to identify gold in the field.

Placer gold occurs on the claim as small grains derived from gossan formed by weathering, and oxidation of the gold, copper and iron rich veins. Gold also occurs as grains flakes and small nuggets derived from the erosion of mineralized fault zones on, and upstream from the claim.

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Additional Features:

Year round Sweetwater Creek on the claim for panning.

Excellent fishing in the creek and area lakes.

Beautiful Rock specimens for you Rock Hounds

Located in one of the most beautiful mountain areas in the US.

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The Federal Government owns the land.

You are purchasing the mineral rights.

You own the mineral rights, including gold and gems on the claim, as real property, being the same legal ownership as for land and homes.

Prospect, explore, on the whole 20 acres.

You can camp on a claim while prospecting.

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TERMS:

To purchase my claim, I would need how you want your name(s) and street mailing address on the contract, and which payment option you choose, where I would scan and email you a signed contract.

Total price of $3500, that can be paid in one full payment where your ownership is then transferred after receiving payment,

or $3500, paying $1750 first month, and $1750 2nd month,

or $3500, paying $1500 first month, $1000 2nd month, and $1000 3rd month,

or $3500, paying $700 per month for 5 months,

or $3500, paying $500 per month for 7 months,

or $4000, paying $400 per month for 10 months.

A $199 deed processing fee is paid with final monthly payment.

After receiving your final payment, your ownership of the 20 acre claim will be legally recorded with the Wyoming Bureau of Land Management and the Park County Recorder. The quit claim deed is the correct document to be recorded for a mining claim, as stated by the BLM.

This is not a sharing with others of your 20 acre claim.

We live in Ohio. Our connection to the West is our daughter lives in Denver, though she is not involved with our claims. We visited her in September, then went to prospect and locate mining claims in other states, including Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota, as we have been doing for a number of years.

And just a note of encouragement for you if purchase:

My wife and I have located, prospected on, and sold mining claims in California, Colorado, Arizona, , and now also in Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota, for now over 25 years.

You can trust we will process your notarized deeds correctly and quickly.

In that mining claims are processed thru the Bureau of Land Management, a Federal Govt. agency, not following thru per our legally signed contract, would be a federal crime. I certainly will do what I say, and would never put myself nor my wife in any legal jeopardy.

Also, we have sold properties on 3 sites online for over 25 years:

Landcom, Landwatch, and LandandFarm.

Our continued good status on these sites is due to our always following thru, as just one time we would not, we would not be allowed to sell on these sites ever again.

COMMENTS FROM SATISFIED CLAIM BUYERS:

"Living in Wyoming, the purchase of our mining claim from you has been great for family fun and recreation. We have camped overnight a number of times, and panned for gold in the creek. We were even able to find gold flakes on several of our attempts. Thank you so much!."

“I'm looking forward to having some time on the mining claim.

We used to go camping 4-6 weeks out of the year.

Even though I realize this is a retirement business for you. I wanted to say thank you for giving so many people over the years the opportunity to purchase your claims. I've seen them available for a long time, but never had the opportunity to purchase anything. They have probably brought many smiles to so many people. It will be the same for us.”

"We purchased 2 mining claims from Michael Leu over the last 2 years, one in Wyoming, and one In Colorado. We have been to our claims on several occasions, and we could not be happier! They are exactly as described, and our camping on our claims and prospecting in the creek on each claim is the highlight of our vacations. You can trust Mr. Leu. If you are looking for a great time in the awesome beauty of the west, buying a mining claim from Mr. Leu will be a blessing."