The WORST episodes of Gold Rush: White Water

Every episode of Gold Rush: White Water ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Gold Rush: White Water!

Gold miners Dakota Fred and his son Dustin are back – returning to McKinley Creek Alaska, determined to make a fortune no matter the risk. But to find the big gold payout, they'll put their lives on the line by diving deep beneath the raging waters of one of Alaska's wildest creeks.

Last Updated: 8/21/2025Network: DiscoveryStatus: Continuing

6.99

322 votes

#1 - Boulder Battles

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/16/2018

Fred's ex-boss Todd Hoffman has invested $50,000 in the Dakota Boy's operation. He infuriates Dustin, when he pays a surprise visit in a chopper.

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7.09

267 votes

#2 - Inland Tsunami

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/23/2018

73-year-old Dakota Fred gets married for the fourth time and a landslide upstream threatens to unleash a wall of water that could destroy the dive site and drown the miners.

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7.12

339 votes

#3 - Dredge Down

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/2/2018

The first gold nugget promises a monster payday. But when Dustin dives into the danger zone, a torrent where the current moves rocks, a rogue boulder almost costs him his life.

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7.16

266 votes

#4 - The Graboid

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/16/2018

The Dakota Boys are digging down to bedrock gold but when they hit the biggest boulder of the season Dustin is forced to rig a new mechanical solution the Graboid.

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7.23

373 votes

#5 - Between Craziness & Insanity

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/19/2018

The Dakota Boys return to McKinley Creek to dive for millions in gold. But the fierce Alaskan winter has destroyed their mining equipment. Their luck changes when Dustin locates the perfect plunge-pool he believes contains a massive pile of nuggets.

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7.24

70 votes

#6 - The Last Stand

Season 9 - Episode 12 - Aired 7/18/2025

Low on fuel and facing failure, Dustin’s crew races against winter to get to the bottom of Nugget Creek. Exhausted and close to breaking point, a monumental find could signal a shift in fortune, saving Nugget Creek and his mining career.

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7.25

336 votes

#7 - First Gold

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/26/2018

'The Dakota Boys' launch their gold dredge. Fred dives in the raging white water, and despite running out of air, the 72-year-old veteran succeeds in finding their first gold.

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7.36

70 votes

#8 - Winter Waits for No Man

Season 9 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/27/2025

As winter starts to show its teeth, Dustin and his crew fight to find bedrock and the $100,000 in gold he needs to avoid selling his claims. A burnt-out winch causes rocks to pile up in the dive hole increasing tensions between Dustin and Danielle.

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7.38

98 votes

#9 - A Dying Wish

Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/22/2024

Dustin departs Nugget Creek when he's needed most to attend Dakota Fred's 80th birthday celebration. With Dustin away, the miners turn to questionable tactics to dig them out of a deep hole.

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7.39

70 votes

#10 - Get Rich or Die Trying

Season 8 - Episode 11 - Aired 5/10/2024

Feeling the squeeze of winter's grip tightening around them, desperation pushes the miners a step too far in their search for millions in gold.

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7.39

127 votes

#11 - Gamblin' Man

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/17/2021

In a bid to rescue his season, Dustin plans a daring double dive to get gold. Meanwhile, Kayla's crew struggles to adapt after losing a crew member.

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7.39

75 votes

#12 - Mutiny at Nugget Creek

Season 9 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/13/2025

Desperate to find gold and save his mining career -- Dustin Hurt is ready to risk the lives of his entire crew by chasing gold at the bottom of a deadly waterfall. But an all-out mutiny changes the course of his season.

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7.40

81 votes

#13 - Grave Diggers

Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/30/2025

After months of hard work Dustin and his crew have nothing but bruises to show for it. Now under the scorching Alaskan sun, Dustin must make an impossible call. Keep going at The Wall or abandon site and start over.

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7.41

73 votes

#14 - Broken and Stranded

Season 9 - Episode 11 - Aired 7/11/2025

After an airboat disaster, Dustin and his crew are stranded in the wilderness. As supplies start to dwindle -- the crew is stretched to their limits as they desperately search for bedrock and enough chunky gold to save their mining future.

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7.42

125 votes

#15 - 4-Ounce Nugget

Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/28/2023

Weeks of battling Mother Nature has the crew at Nugget Creek running on empty -- but seeing a 4-ounce nugget is all the motivation Dustin needs to take charge of his season.

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7.42

72 votes

#16 - When Darkness Falls

Season 9 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/20/2025

A darkness descends on Nugget Creek as mine boss Dustin searches for a Plan B. But his crew may be onto something at their new mine site. After battling bedrock for months, a breakthrough offers them the hope they need.

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7.42

285 votes

#17 - Hypothermia

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/2/2018

The Dakota Boys' desperate bid to hit bedrock gold is thwarted when 73-year-old Fred's heating system fails mid-dive and he's is overcome by the glacial Alaskan water.

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7.44

258 votes

#18 - End of Days

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/23/2018

A flash flood racing down McKinley Creek threatens to kill the crew and destroy their operation, but the Dakota Boys still manage to find more gold than they've got all season.

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7.44

149 votes

#19 - The Gold Cave

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/13/2019

Dustin discovers a secret gold cave that could hold millions. Fred and his crew head upstream into a mini-waterfall to find a huge deposit of gold, but first they have to move their 700lb dredge up dangerous rapids.

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7.46

136 votes

#20 - Missing In Action

Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/14/2023

With Dustin M.I.A., the crew takes matters into their hands, 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 beyond all recognition.

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7.48

126 votes

#21 - Blood Red White Water

Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/1/2023

The collapse of a snow bridge sends a tidal wave of water ripping through Nugget Creek, leaving Dustin and his crew directly in its path. Rumors of a fabled gold-rich layer of hardpack have Scott seeing red.

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7.48

86 votes

#22 - "Man Overboard"

Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/9/2025

On the gold, Dustin's crew inches closer to a monster payday. On a resupply mission to civilization, Wes goes missing after a life-threatening fall from the airboat into the raging 36°F river, and the crew fears the worst.

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7.49

122 votes

#23 - Boiling Point

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/10/2021

Fred celebrates his 78th birthday the only way he knows how -- diving for gold. But a deadly widow maker threatens to end it all. Kayla's crew is on a hot streak, but their luck runs out as tensions between crew members reach a boiling point.

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7.50

84 votes

#24 - Love and War

Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/23/2025

Dustin and his crew reach their boiling points as exhaustion and the lack of gold at The Wall lead to a world-class fallout. Dustin is forced to take drastic action, calling in help from a controversial source.

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7.51

135 votes

#25 - Groundbreaking Gold

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/3/2021

Fred opens the door to a new site. Kyla makes a season-changing discovery.

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