Plot Synopsis

In this one-hour reality series, GOLD RUSH's Dakota Boys -- Dakota Fred and his son Dustin -- return to McKinley Creek to dive for millions in gold, deep beneath the raging waters of one of Alaska's wildest creeks. In this series, the boy assemble a team of intrepid divers, mountaineers and bush mechanics to go where no miner has ever managed to explore -- the depths of freezing plunge pools in white water rapids that have only recently become accessible. Nothing will stop these guys -- they'll dive in raging torrents with a six-inch suction dredge where one wrong move could have deadly consequences. Accessing the creek each day takes nerves of steel -- traversing a death defying 400-foot canyon on a precarious zip-wire. But that is not the only danger. The guys will face wild animals, extreme temperatures and hypothermia from the freezing water. But the Dakota boys need to make a serious return on fellow gold miner Todd Hoffman's investment -- and soon.

The sophomore season of GOLD RUSH: WHITE WATER premiered on Friday, January 4, 2019 at 10pm ET/PT on Discovery Channel. Most of the crew from last year is backing including retired Marine Sgt. Carlos Minor, who is desperate for gold in order to help his young family. Texan brothers Wes and Paul Richardson also return with the vital job of maintaining the equipment that could break down at any moment. Also, greenhorn Rich Webster and Arizona miner Casey Morgan have joined the crew with big hopes of finding millions-worth of gold. In Season 2, Dakota Fred and his son Dustin are mining for nuggets in the raging torrents of glacier-fed McKinley Creek using heated wet suits to dive beneath the freezing plunge pools. But has the father-son duo taken on more than they can handle? The Alaskan wilderness is as brutal as ever -- as they battle against ferocious weather, flash floods, falling boulders and hungry bears. The men also face catastrophic equipment failures in a mad dash to hit the jackpot that could make them millionaires.

Discovery Channel premiered the third season of GOLD RUSH: WHITE WATER on Friday, November 8, 2019 at 10pm ET/PT. This season, for the first time, father and son are separating and running their own crews as they move higher up the mountain - chasing the mother lode and a massive pay day. But the higher up they go, the more dangerous it gets. As they head deeper into the hostile Alaskan wilderness, they'll risk their lives battling hungry bears, falling rocks and boulders, and raging currents, searching for a monster payday. With such a remote location, the teams have to "sling in" all their gear and equipment using a helicopter. Once the final drop is made, the Dakota Boys are on their own - forcing them to engineer radical new methods to lift 1,000-pound boulders, lower their dredges down vertical cliffs and fix catastrophic equipment failures in the middle of nowhere. They're putting it all on the line in the pursuit of giant nuggets and a life-changing jackpot of gold. The pressure is on. But can the Dakota Boys and their team of miners tame the wilderness, strike gold and make it out unscathed?

Season 4 of GOLD RUSH: WHITE WATER debuted on Friday, November 13, 2020 at 9pm ET/PT on Discovery Channel. Fred Hurt has mined in Alaska for 17 seasons and even worked Porcupine Creek several years before the Hoffman crew and GOLD RUSH cameras ever turned up. He is a straight shooting, self-taught gold miner who has worked and fought with his son, Dustin since he was a kid. This season, Fred shocks everyone with his choice of dive site at the Trifecta, dredging twenty feet to bedrock on a hunch about a plunge pool filled with nuggets. But, at 76 years old, Fred knows this could be his last season diving for gold in Alaska and is determined to hit the jackpot and prove his son, Dustin wrong this year before he ends what could be his last season diving in Alaska's raging gold creeks. Just downstream from Fred's Trifecta site, Dustin Hurt pushes his operation closer than ever to the edge, on his quest for millions in gold. Dustin sunk his life savings into buying a mile of claims along McKinley Creek back in 2013 and has since been on the hunt for life changing gold that will make that gamble pay-off. After finding a one-ounce nugget at the end of last season, Dustin needs to get back to Rockfall Ravine to clean out the jackpot that could change his life. He has the crew and the equipment to get to the places the old timers could never reach. He returns knowing he's on the gold, he's found the monster nuggets and is ready for the payday of a lifetime.

The fifth season of GOLD RUSH: WHITE WATER premiered on Friday, November 5, 2021 at 9pm ET/PT on Discovery Channel. After a record gold haul last year, veteran gold miner Dustin Hurt returns to Alaska to discover his McKinley Creek mine site buried in snow after suffering the heaviest snowfall in over a decade. The unseasonably late snow creates challenges from day one. From impassable roads to raging white-water caused by record snow melt, the miners must tackle every obstacle mother nature throws at them if they have any hope at uncovering a life changing pile of gold. As Dustin and his team of fearless white-water miners forge ahead, his father Fred Hurt returns to Alaska with shocking news. For the first time in four years, Fred will forgo running a white-water operation of his own and embark on a hunt for his next big mining opportunity. It's a mission to keep the family's mining legacy alive. For Dustin, Fred's sudden change in plans presents an opportunity; buy up Fred's mining equipment and for the first time ever, run two crews simultaneously. It's a huge gamble that will require double the investment and double the manpower, but Dustin knows this is the opportunity of a lifetime. An opportunity to double his chances of uncovering the millions in gold out there for the taking. Double the crew may double Dustin's chances at a big payday, but it also doubles the danger in one of the most challenging and unforgiving mining operations on the planet. With the addition of 4 new crew members, Dustin is now responsible for 8 lives, challenging his resolve like never before. Will Dustin's big gamble pay off with another record-breaking season, or will it bring financial ruin?

Season 6 of GOLD RUSH: WHITE WATER premiered on Friday, November 11, 2022 at 9pm ET/PT on Discovery Channel. At the start of the season, Dustin was presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy a remote claim, known as "Nugget Creek," with the proven history of delivering gold. Dustin, believing the previous owner had barely scratched the surface of what the land had to offer, scraped together every penny he could find and purchased the claim. Dustin Hurt has gambled everything on gold claims deeper in the Alaskan wilderness than ever before on this season. Hurt and his crew start from scratch and must relocate their entire mining operation across the Chilkat mountains and nine miles up the mighty Tsirku river. They must learn new skills to overcome the hostile terrain and mother nature at her worst. This season could be truly life changing if they can get down to bedrock and their new claim lives up to its legendary name, "Nugget Creek." After a 3.5-month break, GOLD RUSH: WHITE WATER returned with new episodes on Friday, April 14, 2023 at 10pm ET/PT on Discovery Channel. In the mid-season premiere, "Missing in Action," with Dustin M.I.A., the crew take matters into their hands and are hellbent on getting to the gold on Nugget Creek; bad blood between crew members derails the momentum and Mother Nature deals a killer blow, obliterating the creek.
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On Friday, March 8, 2024 from 8-10pm ET/PT, Discovery Channel premiered the eighth season of GOLD RUSH: WHITE WATER. Dustin Hurt is desperate for redemption. After barely escaping with their lives last season, it's make or break as he's forced to streamline his crew and come up with a whole new plan of attack for the deadly creek that nearly destroyed him. Dustin must overcome heartache, as he bids a final farewell to his dying father, Dakota Fred, before he can attempt to triumph over Mother Nature and find the life changing gold of Nugget Creek. In the season opener, "Tragedy and Triumph," Dustin Hurt and his band of brothers set off on a season that will deliver the highest of highs and lowest of lows as they brave their toughest dive site in search of millions in gold.