"I'm selling candles, sister." -- Once Upon a Time, Season 1, Episode 14…read more What a cute little shop along Main Street in Highlands, NC. My friends and I walked in to look around during our New Years trip to the area and enjoyed perusing the store. It's small, but packs quite a bit of merchandise and quite the variety as well. I'm not sure if the store has a true theme as there was everything from candles to gift cards to jewelry to some religious themed kid's books - but everything was very nice and mostly well-priced. I will say that the battling scents of all the candles and potpourri-type items they had in the store gave me a bit of a headache (combined with the heat on full-blast), but the staff was super friendly and asked if they could help me with anything. They seemed quite excited to have just received their first review on Yelp and were talking about it while I was looking at items at the front counter (gave me and my friends a smile). I was quite excited to find glass nail files (not an easy find) which were hand-painted - also very reasonably priced. I bought myself a couple and was on my way. Making a mental note for the next time I am in the area as these are great for gifts as well. They also had some earrings that I had my eye on - very nicely crafted. Definitely one of the top stores to spend your money in along Main Street - worth a stop!

The best gift shop in Highlands! "We want everyone who walks in the door to be happy," says owner…read morePenny Chambless, "whether they buy something or not." The music sets the mood, and it ranges from toe-tapping bluegrass to old-timey hymns, all instrumentals using mountain dulcimers and the like. Shoppers begin to smile and reminisce, and memories of older, simpler times often cause a story to be shared. Penny patiently listens to everybody's stories; she says that's what makes her day. She has good merchandise, nothing too expensive, because she knows times are hard. Personal service is her forte, a box, gift wrap, a little extra tissue please. Funny cards cause laughter to erupt and joy seems to spread through the store. There are lots of bears, cute metal signs, bird houses, candles, garden flags, angels galore, journals and note pads, jewelry, and ,"you know, things my regular customers keep coming back for." And come back they do. Over and over they say, "This is my favorite store. We always come to Mountain Heritage when we come to Highlands, and we always find something we like!"

Friendly people, great selection of all kinds of gifts, I find something I can't live without every…read moretime I visit. It's just a cool little store that has lots of unique stuff. The owners are always helpful easy to talk to. They make you feel welcome and to me that's important. I drop in every time I go downtown.

We've been to the area year prior and can say that this place is by far our favorite to gem mine…read more My kid's had a great time as two opted to dig sift through theirs and my youngest opted for salted. Highly recommend + the young man there was really nice and shared a smidgen of history on how his family came to own the land. We will be back, one day!

One of the best experiences my boyfriend and I had what an adventure family owned business third…read moregeneration coming on absolutely fantastic personable outgoing Hands-On find exciting beautiful stones gems to my precious precious teaching learning experience Ginger and Tom and Kate and everybody awesome treated you as family rather than customers would recommend this to anybody you have to try their male bucket service grandkids had a blast finding gems

If you are visiting the downtown Murphy area this is a must stop. I met Maryann today. She was…read morefilling in for Liz the owner while she worked next store at her husband's business. She was so nice and I had a blast looking around. I could have bought the whole store and would have if I wasn't flying home. Gorgeous clothes, purses, accessories, gift items. I would love to buy things for Xmas gifts. Unfortunately, they don't ship. If you have instagram and see something you like make sure to call and they will ship it. I don't have social media so I can't purchase. Make sure to check it out. Great store and owner.

Great little downtown shop. Totally unique! Lots of gifts and price ranges for everyone…read more Owner is super kind and helpful, as well. Makes this little town unique and sweet.

As a self-proclaimed rock hound, Rose Creek Mine met all expectations and more…read more Our family of 6 went on Sunday, most of us choosing the "DIY Dig" buckets for $20 per person. The experience consisted of digging up two buckets of dirt from the pile that was recently hauled from their Smokey Mountain mine, and using the provided equipment to sift through little by little. The DIY dig touts "non-salted" buckets, which was important to me, giving us as close to a real boots on the ground mining experience that a family of all ages can expect. The pictured peach moonstone was my favorite find of the day, and I also took home some really unique and reasonably priced pieces from the gift shop. I've done a few "dig & sifts" across the states and I was especially impressed with the staff helping to identify the material found and packaging up and labeling for later. The extra few minutes spent was so appreciated. Special shout out to Miss. Nancy for making my family's visit extra special!

This place was amazing. The staff is incredibly helpful, it's a great value and the setup is…read morecomfortable and well shaded. My wife, myself and two girls found a ton of garnets, lots of quarts, a little bit of amethyst, moonstone, ruby and sapphires. Most of the gems were significantly included but they tell you ahead of time that it's pretty rare to find near perfect gems. It's still a great value and a lot of fun. If you want an extra bucket to shift through it's only an additional $5. As far as value the only place around here that might be better offers unlimited buckets for twice the price. That pretty much means you would have to sift through six buckets just to break even. If you only plan to go through 1-3 buckets this is a much better value and the people are nicer as well.

I visit Clayton a few times a year and Treehouse On Main is always my first stop. Amazing store run…read moreby amazing women. Check it out!

Love the Tree House! Exceptional customer service and attention to needs. Beautiful clothing and…read morejewelry. Love their furniture also. Great prices and wonderful selection of furniture and accessories.

Hands down the most fun mining experience we've had! You get to dig your own buckets out of the…read morepile of dirt they truck down out of the mine. John, the employee at the sluice, was incredibly helpful, approachable and friendly. The owners, Tom and Ginger, are warm and welcoming. The restroom at the shop is clean and tidy. They have an amazing variety of jewelry and cut stones in the Our party, including my 76 yr old mother and two boys (11 and 13), had a fabulous time. Everyone found more than one ruby. Several of them were really good sizes! We've been to lots of local mining venues. This was by far the best. The cost for the day was $40 for adults, $20 for kids and under 6 yr old are free. We are already planning to go back and take friends!

I had the best time gem mining with our grandsons I've ever had ! Not only is this a lovely spot…read morebut the owners are so very knowledgeable and accommodating as well as their on site staff ! The all around experience was amazing, fun and entertaining enough to capture the attention not only of a grandma but of an 11 and 13 year old ! You don't want to miss the this "gem " of a gem mining experience!!! You will not be disappointed!!!! We will be back again very soon! See you there!!!

This is our first stop on the way home from Gatlinburg. Restrooms are clean, with paper towels, as…read morewell as a blow dryer. There are benches to sit on when you exit, and a lovely gift store next-door. There are still recycling receptacles in the parking lot, and complimentary poop bags for cleaning up after your dog. Past the parking area are places to eat under shaded alcoves.

This Visitor's Center is beautiful and clean, and is in a great location…read more The lady at the counter was helpful, and offered a map and brochure to assist us in finding our chosen activities. There is a room full of informative They have coffee and bottled water available at a charge.