We had a great time. Definitely recommend taking he truck ride up to the mine. It's only a 10 minute drive from the site We spent 2 hours and found a ton of fun quarts. Can't remember his name but our guide had a beard ( maybe Chris?) and was super friendly and helpful. This was so much more satisfying than diamond crater because here you are guaranteed to find quartz. My husband was hard core digging and found some fun pieces. I was just surface digging and found tons of fun pieces Highly recommend hiking boots and jeans no matter how hot. Also recommend bringing your own shovels small picks and strong screwdrivers. We had a ton of fun and am taking back a bag of rocks

Elise Dixie Jane M.

A seriously swell two hour dig! We loaded out buckets of large boulders with attacked clusters, points, and baby clusters. Come prepared as your car is not by the mine. You need water, knee pads, food, PROTEIN drinks, sunscreen, full coverage in clothing, hiking boots, tall socks. Responsible mining. Which, I appreciate. Things that were a bit of a bummer.. PLEASE READ IF INTERESTED IN THE PHANTOM QUARTZ MINE. The hype around the Phantom Quartz mine is not properly explained and honestly, hyped up. You will not leave with buckets of Phantom Quartz points that are clear OR AT ALL. Also, it is not like the two hour dig they offer. Do not allow the guides to fabricate the truth and tell tou this as they did us. This is not the same mine. This is a Commericial mine with BROKEN pieces everywhere. We visited the day after rain AND them turning the mine over. They were very insistent on telling us this. However, these factors did not matter as the Phantom Quartz were practically one in a blue moon. What I found the most of? Itty bitty baby Crystal Quartz points that I made into earrings. I only found three itty bitty Phantom Quartz points in five hours. I'm talking 1/10 of my pinky fingernail. Not large enough for earrings. Heads up: You will be digging up extremely milkY Crystal Quartz and Phantom Quartz. The Phantom Quartz is very difficult to find. It is also $40. So, if you are looking for better quality Crystal's, I do not recommend it. If you are open to a six hour dig to find a baby point with Phantom growing inside, awesome. I did this dig once and wouldn't again. We were lied to about the quality and offerings. But again, IF you find something that isn't broken, all power to you. I love this mine and I do not want this review to stay you from visiting. However, large families spending hundreds of dollars on this mine were extremely upset, had driven 18 hours to visit Mt Ida for two days. And, they saved all of their time and money for this dig. So, this is an honest and needed review. Also, the biggest bummer is that kids do not have discounted prices. That would be an awesome and kind gesture, as this mine does make PLENTY of money. The workers even say that!

Had an incredible time at the Phantom Mine Tour with Lance! He made sure we found what we were looking for and even carried a 73lb Quartz/Sandstone boulder out for me! We had a group of six for our Annual Sorority Sister Summer Trip and we would come back again but only if we can ride on Lance's bus!

Sarah M.

We had the best time at Wegner Crystal Mines! We spent 2 days here mining in the Crystal Forest. It was so fun, and we came back with 3 bucketfuls of awesome quartz crystals and big pieces to put in our garden after 6 hours of mining. Everyone was so friendly and kind. We loved chatting with Charlie, and he was so great about answering questions and making sure we were having a good time. We also walked away from their crystal shop with another $150 worth of amazing wholesale crystals, polished crystals, crystal clusters and jewelry. They have an amazing selection of crystals! I would recommend Wegner's Mine 100%.

Jessica R.

My boyfriend and I planned to do the Crystal mining at the mine but we got there 30 minutes early and the bus was full so we'd have to wait for the next ride up an hour later. We decided to go with the tailing option instead. We were a bit nervous bc we have a 2014 Hyundai Sonata which rides very low. It was about a half mile in gravel and the car did great! We just drove slowly. We were super happy with the tailing option since we had the flexibility to be there as long as we wanted vs at the mine it's 2 hour increments. It was perfect for our first time mining! Things you need: -tools (shovel and/or rake) -gloves -bucket -clothes you don't care about including shoes -sunscreen -hat -WATER! -snacks or full lunch for tailing to picnic there -something to sit on would be a bonus If you come unprepared like we did: -ask the hotel managers for tools/buckets (we stayed at Royal Oak inn & let us borrow stuff so kindly!) -family dollar has $13 shoes and $7ish shirts

Lizzy O.

We had an amazing time here! The staff here was nice and Dakota, our driver was so kind and helped us as we loaded and unloaded the truck. The ride out to the mine site was fun and very bumpy! We laughed most of the way and felt like bobble heads. It is so peaceful here. The smell of the forest, digging in the dirt looking for the earths treasures, and the wonderful sunshine just made it such a memorable place to make memories. We will definitely be coming back here! Tip: bring gardening gloves so you won't cut your hands and a blanket or a gardeners mat to sit and dig. Also we brought our own tools and that helped, too. Wear clothes that you don't mind being stained red from digging in the dirt!

Ashley J.

Wegner mines is a dream experience. We have traveled 3 times to visit them from California and always bring a group of people with us from all over the United States. Each time we have visited has been exceptional. The staff is extremely friendly and accommodating. Richard Wegner himself, is very kind and informative, and always gets so excited for us when we find crystals. Lance is our favorite, thankfully we have had lance as our guide the last 2 visits and we are so so grateful to him. He always makes sure we are taken care of and he is probably one of the kindest people I've ever met. Thank you lance! You are a rock star!! We can only hope you'll be there again next time. Thank you again!

Mr. C.

This place is amazing! The best part along with finding so many awesome crystals was our guide Constance! She was the best!! Definitely try to get her on your team when you visit! It wouldn't have been the same without her! Here's an example of what you might find out there. - Charan, Cheyenne and baby meadow

Valerie M.

We visited over the 4th of July weekend. We bought one of each of the pails and added on digging in the tailings. We didn't find much in either the tailings or the pails. Maybe we didn't know what we were doing... but I would have thought for the price we would've found more gems. Maybe we will try again next tome we go to hot springs. There was no restroom at the tailings or sluice which made for a very unhappy little boy when he had to potty. When we made it back to the front where the restrooms were, they were unbelievably hot.

Les K.

We had a great time at the mine. The staff was very helpful. We did the trip where they take you in the back of a truck up a bumpy, dirt road about a mile to the actual mine. They drop you off and leave you for 2 hours, which was plenty long as it was 90 degrees. We would highly recommend this mine. They also had a large barn with all kinds of rocks for sale.

Adam W.

3 days of great finds! Some of the clearest crystal quartz we have ever dug in the crystal forest. The phantom mine was more challenging but the guide was incredibly helpful. The truck rides up to the mind were bumpy but with good weather it adds to the adventure. I highly highly recommend! The entire staff is exceptional, give you all the information you need and don't try to upsell you. It was relaxing and professional thats what brought us back day after day. Other mines you do not get your monies worth but 2 hrs in the crystal forest made up for lost time at Crater of Diamonds. Best advice make Wegner Crystal Mines your FIRST Choice...skip the hype at other mines.

Julie L.

You can expect to find quartz crystal just like they say. Mostly clouded quartz. We had 4 people searching two hours in the tailings which is an area of bulldozered dirt sprinkled with the leftovers of what the owners found in the open pit mine and didn't put in their store. We searched 2 hours at The open pit mine which is picked through first by the owners, we get what's left. A total of what's in these pictures for $120 worth of tickets. My advice is save your ticket money and buy online or in a shop. They do have nice stuff in their shop, and overall it was a great experience just don't expect to get boatloads

Sarah S.

We went and did the Crystal Mine dig with our 8 yr old son had had a blast! The staff was so helpful and friendly. Great facilities considering what you're doing. The mining area has TONS of shade, port-a-potty, and place to ice down drinks. Would HIGHLY recommend to anyone wanting to go! We came out with TONS of crystals and quartz.