The Cedar Creek placer workings were among the earliest workings in the Likely area and are located about 4 kilometres south of Likely, east of Cedar Point Provincial Park near the eastern shore of Quesnel Lake. The creek drains an area containing black phyllite, argillite and basaltic volcanic rocks west of Spanish Mountain. This assemblage forms part of the Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic assemblage of the central Quesnel Belt, correlative with the Nicola Group.

"Data from the Cariboo Mining District indicate that supergene leaching of gold dispersed within massive sulphides by Tertiary deep weathering followed by Cenozoic erosion is the most likely explanation for the occurrence of coarse gold nuggets in Quaternary sediments" (Exploration in British Columbia 1989, page 147).

Placer operations in Cedar Creek often mined the upper 1-2 metres of bedrock along with the pay gravels. The gravel consists predominantly of angular fragments of the same composition as the bedrock, and the gold pieces were not much worn or travelled in appearance. Depth of gravel and "boulder clay" ranges up to 5 metres in the placer area. Total gold production is recorded as 37,784 ounces (1,175,207 grams) in two main periods, 1881-1895 and 1921-1945 (Bulletin 28).

The Cedar Creek area has been a site of placer gold exploration and production since the late 1800s. Early placer workings along the creek were largely confined to post-glacial gravels in the bed of the lower part of the creek. Later, benches along the creek, above the present creek level, were mined. In 1921, gold was discovered in the gravels on the plateau immediately south of the canyon. Placer activity has been carried out sporadically and evidence of this work is clearly visible in the many old buildings, abandoned equipment and disturbed state of the overburden. In 1923, an adit was driven on a bedrock showing in the north canyon wall approximately 1.6 kilometres above the creek's junction with Quesnel Lake. In the 1950s, dragline operations left a deep trench and ridge 1 kilometre long.