Scam Alert -- Avoid at All Costs…read more My family arrived at Cherokee Ruby & Sapphire Mine at 3pm and immediately realized we had made a mistake. We were charged $30 per person just to stand on the property, plus a 10% credit card fee. Moments after taking our payment, the only employee on site, Zach, announced he was leaving for the day and that we could "stay on his property." No staff. No guidance. Nothing. When I politely asked how we were supposed to identify any gems without an employee present, he became agitated and hostile. I asked for a refund since we had just arrived and no services had been provided. That's when things escalated--Zach began yelling and got in my face aggressively. We immediately returned to our car and left. The property itself is nothing but piles of rocks. No buckets or tools are provided -- you're expected to scavenge everything yourself. Bags cost $20 each unless you post a positive review on the spot, and they charge another $75 just to evaluate anything you might find. It's pure extortion. I have since filed a police report and am actively working to recover the $165 we were charged for absolutely nothing. Please sort reviews by "lowest" before visiting--many people describe similar experiences. This place feels unsafe, unprofessional, and predatory. Stay far away.

DON'T GET SCAMMED!! READ THIS FULL REVIEW FOR ALL THE DETAILS. I really wanted to love this place…read more The fact that Cherokee Ruby & Sapphire Mine is unsalted is what brought us here--it felt like a rare opportunity to experience an honest dig and possibly find something special. And we did. I found what appeared to be a naturally formed ruby crystal: very clear, vivid red under lighting, and visibly fluorescent--something gem-quality by any measure. Unfortunately, the excitement ended in the dark room, where we were invited to examine the stone. A staff member, Eric, took it to look more closely and never gave it back. We left empty-handed and deeply unsettled. Eric was extremely excited about the stone, literally did a little jump and said "WOW!!!" while examining it, and then the stone disappeared while he was holding it. Before we left, he said he thought one of the other miners there "swiped it," but there were no other miners working in the dark room at that time. Makes me wonder if this is business as usual when someone makes a good find--encourage them to hand it over in the dark room and then palm it. We trusted Eric at that point. He had been helping us with our questions and giving us great guidance all afternoon. We called the next morning to speak to Eric about the situation, but no one answered and after leaving a voicemail he didn't return our call. I'm sharing this not out of anger, but because others should be aware. If you visit: Keep all stones in your line of sight at all times. Examine them in daylight if possible, before entering any enclosed spaces.Politely decline if someone offers to take the stone from you to "look closer." If you make a great find but want to continue mining, put the find in a safe spot in your car and lock the car. Show it to no one. I hope this was just a misunderstanding. But it didn't feel right, and I wouldn't want anyone else--especially children or first-time rockhounds--to lose something they worked hard to find. This could still be a great experience, but only if you advocate for yourself and protect your finds. I encourage the mine to put better safeguards in place.

This is the place to go! Great people who know their stuff about gems. We bought the $60 buckets…read moreand wound up with lots of sapphires and rubies. Even an emerald. They even offer cutting and polishing which is cool.

This is the place to go gem mine! I've been to several gem mining places in western North Carolina,…read morebut this place is by far the best experience I've had. The people who own and operate are by far the most knowledgeable and passionate I've seen, and our buckets were loaded with gems (we got the 60 buckets). They mentioned they are a newer operation, and it's a smaller operation, but it made it that much more enjoyable to get the personalized service and their immediate excitement over the gems we are pulling out of the sieves - almost like a "boutique" experience. They took pictures for us as well! After all the gems were washed, we went to the store to get them bagged up and looked at in the UV light. They do offer cutting services, which we will likely go back and have them do on some of the more glamorized stones (rubies/emerald). We got rubies, topaz, amethyst, quartz, emerald, garnet, moss agate, moonstone, aventurine, aquamarine, and more! The store itself is stocked with all kinds of jewelry, sculptures, and other treasures. They have REAL dinosaur eggs on display! I cannot speak highly enough of the experience and the people - it was a hidden gem for sure (see what I did there)!

Unbelieve!! Such a FABULOUS experience! Took my 4yo granddaughter to go mining and she was…read moreenthralled!! Wayne assisted us and was so incredibly knowledgeable and generous with his time explaining and showing and educating! So affordable! Came away with a big bag of GEMS Highly recommend!!

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!!!

The wife and I have been going to Duke's for over 20 years. They taught me how to pan, they wife…read morehow to find that beautiful gem stone, and it has been worth it. It all started as fun and still is. Watching others that come in and helping them learn and have a lot of fun while doing so brings a smile to my face. No you won't get rich but some of the gold over that I got when it was less than $1k is now worth much more and locked in a safe. I bring bags home to pan over time. Go and have fun a watch the little ones faces light up when finding that first piece of gold or a nice piece of gem stone.

Dukes Creek Mines is well worth the price!!!! We did the large Gem bucket white tier and split it…read morebetween the two kids. They both got an amazing amount of rocks and gems. The man working that day was so amazing to our family and let our kids crack open two Geodes!!!! Dukes is located right outside of Helen and Clarksville and absolutely worth visiting!!!!

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!!

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.

Stopped by this little gem of a place on the way back from Asheville. It was one of many gem…read morestores, but this one caught my eye and had quick access on and off the highway. The selection is diverse and interesting. The gentleman behind the counter was friendly and answered several of my questions without hesitation. He seemed to have been at this for a long time! The prices are fair for what you get. They have an interesting mix of crystals and cut stones. I could have spent a lot more than I did. It's not too close to me, but if I was ever driving that way back to Asheville I would definitely stop again.

Absolutely the best experience and workmanship I have ever had with a place of business. Found an…read moreexact replacement for services needed and couldn't be more satisfied!!!

Artisan Jewelers has beautiful displays of gemstones and jewelry. Whether you are a local, or just…read morewant a great tour, stop by Artisan. They have such a lovely range of products, I'm sure you'll find something you like. The sales associates are helpful, without being over-present. Have questions? They've got answers. We had a visiting teen who is totally enamored of gems and gem mining. She found a ring that pleased her, and reminded her of the garnets she had mined nearby.

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

Abby is the most amazing rafting guide ever and me and my ALLL my friends experience was SO AMAZING…read more!!! It was the most fun I've ever had Abby is absolutely AWESOME!!!!!

Had an amazing time on the river with my boyfriend's family and our amazing tour guide PAUL!!! Paul…read moreand other staff members were all super friendly and adapted to anything we asked, stopped for lunch on the side of the river about halfway through our trip in which they provided and set up make your own sandwiches. Great rapids, will be back!