Lode gold, embedded in quartz veins in granite, required mine shafts to be drilled and blasted through miles of rock to search out the veins. Gold bearing rock was crushed and sorted to concentrate the ore, which was then further refined to extract the gold.

Placer gold, flakes eroded from gold bearing rock and washed into streams, collects in streambed gravels and can be recovered by dredges or scooped into sluices and gold pans. Recreational gold panning is permitted in small streams flowing through the park and in designated areas along the Little Susitna River and Willow Creek on opposite sides of Hatcher Pass.

Severe winters and heavy snow damaged the mill complex and other structures beyond repair before the national historic site became a state park in 1980. The creek provided water for the mill. 

The manager's house built in 1939 has been restored and turned into a visitor center with wheelchair ramps and other adaptations.

Remains of other nearby mines of the same era include "Lucky Shot" and "War Baby," visible on the mountainside from Hatcher Pass road at Craigie Creek, mile 23.8, on the west side of the pass. (Side roads and trails, not maintained, are very rough but provide access for hikers and off-road vehicles, where permitted.)