Great fun and Isaiah was super helpful with identifying the stones we found!…read more We did both an enriched bucket and a native bucket, as it was too fun to stop after the first bucket!

Very tucked away little spot, but it was cute and we had fun! My son loved the sweet little cat…read morethat came to greet us. We found some nice gems and we had a great time.

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.

This place is a great place for a couples trips or a group of friends or a family. You can dig your…read moreown buckets(best deal) or buy a preloaded bucket. It's fun and relaxing to just sit there and pan out the dirt and see what you get. The staff are super nice and knowledgeable about everything.

I came all this way from Georgia and they only accept wholesale people!! Terrible!! They posted…read morestone cutting free admission 9 am - 6 pm.. and they're closed?!? Never ever coming here and would not recommend to any crystal lovers! They should update their bill board!! False advertisement!! Really disappointed!!! Although they did post on their door that they only accept people with a wholesale license.. but still.. they should really update their bill board and website! This is what I call unprofessional and lazy! So I went to The Old Cardinal Gem Mine and the owner there was really sweet. Her name was Darcell (I'm sorry if I spelled it incorrectly), and she told me that there was a man who used to let people come in and do the gemstone panning thing (sorry I don't know what it's called) but he passed way and not his wife and children are in charge of it. So I get it but still they should've updated their signs, because regular people like me wouldn't know, you know?

I've been to several gem mining places with my grandchildren, and I have to say that this gem mine…read moreoutshines them all. From the moment we entered the shop, we were treated to professional educational conversations about any stone or piece that we inquired about. The patience of the staff, especially Shane, made us feel welcome, valued, and unhurried. We learned so much before we even purchased our buckets for mining. We had many "wow" moments, and our favorite was the story of the Desert Rose. There was no pressure to purchase any of the items they offered for sale. By the way, the prices are extremely reasonable, especially compared with prices I have seen at other gem-mining shops. When we decided to purchase buckets for mining, Shane explained each choice very well, and he even helped us decide on the best value for my grandson, instead of pushing us to buy the most expensive item on the menu. Our experience with mining was epic! Shane identified every stone we found, showed us how he identified the stones, and even told us the significance of several stones. It felt like we were getting a personal master class in gem identification at no charge. The buckets we chose had a massive amount of large, beautiful stones and geodes in them, so we all had a fabulous time. Before we left, another family came up with a very young child. Shane recommended a very inexpensive bucket seeded with marbles for the child instead of pushing a more expensive choice. The young boy was thrilled with the marbles he found, and he asked for and received a second bucket. Shane was more interested in providing a positive experience than in pushing for a higher profit margin. In fact, he started the family off with their mining before they paid for the buckets - something I have never seen before. Shane said their main focus is customer service, and I say they have exceeded any and all expectations anyone could have for customer service and for providing a memorable experience.

This place was such a hidden gem! (Get it?). Family owned and ran, they were so friendly and…read moreknowledgeable about each stone we found. Sam even took the time to separate all the valuable stones from the rest and had them bagged and ready for us. Lots of options to fit into any price range. Definitely recommended!!!

We've been to the other mines in the area and this one is by far our favorite…read more.... Great Experience!!! Highly Recommend!!!

We decided to mine here on our last trip it was a great experience! Staff are friendly…read moreknowledgeable and helpful! We brought back the star ruby we found and had our wedding rings made. Highly recommend!

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

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!!!

A real gem of a store! The front half has items for sale but the real prize is the owner's…read morecollection of rocks, gems, minerals, etc located in the back half of the store - it rivals even the Smithsonian in variety and size! And it's free to view! As a rock enthusiast I easily spent an hour just wandering the collection and store, definitely recommend stopping in.

What an amazing place! I had a couple of links taken out of a gifted watch and they are very…read morepleasant to deal with and removed links while we toured the shop. Amazing merchandise and a gem museum is in the store which in an of itself was amazing. Highly recommend!!

Used to be our favorite place to camp. Not any more. New owners allow full time camping and…read morehomeless to tent camp here. You can't make this up - on one side we have a family with 2 kids, dog and cat that have been here for months. The other side is a class a camper that's broken down. Next to that is some guy in permanent trailer with crap piled up all over. And then there is the homeless person living in a tent. Last time coming here....supposed to be here thru Sunday. Don't think I'll make it that long.

Trees scratching on my Rv getting into the property.Roads are not well maintained. Prices are high…read morefor what you get.

We enjoyed a night stay here with our dog over the holidays. This is a historic property so…read moretherefore the rooms and baths are not modern like a chain hotel; however they are charming and comfortable. The breakfast was delicious and plentiful (made to order for us because it was a quiet night!). A nice touch with the holiday plating and general home decorations. We got a very nice history from the owner of the property and area along with a spot-on dinner recommendation. The local brewery is a 2 block walk down the hill. A great stay for the price!

My family and I stayed here for two nights and I was very happy with their friendly service,…read morehospitality, professionalism, cleanliness, and communication - and of course the breakfast! They were very accommodating when we asked last minute to move one of our family member's booking to the first floor because of her difficulty with stairs. They were also helpful in offering restaurant recommendations in the area. During breakfast on the first night, we were told the history of the house, which was fascinating. The breakfast coffee was very good! And the common areas were beautiful (decorated for Christmas, which was right around the corner). This place is a great stay.