This is an absolute must, especially if never done. Great fun and lots of nice gems found in the "big daddy" sized ore pkg. rubies, sapphires, garnet, citrine, etc. etc. friendly staff helps novice learn what to to toss and what to keep. Lapidary, gem cutting, stone setting all available options. Certified gemologist on location.

This is a fun place to visit for the whole family. All the staff are really helpful and knowledgeable - Kari was great at telling us about all the gems we had found and showing us how they would look when cut and polished. Even the 3 year old with us was fascinated! We were surprised at how many gems... More

I would highly recommend Foggy mountain gem mine. We visited with 2 small children, the staff were friendly and helpful and we found a lot more gems than we expected in our bucket. They spent time with us identifying what we had found. We chose to have them cut a couple for us. This was done in the time frame... More

Came here with my parents an 9 year old son on a cold rainy/snowy Thursday. Luckily they have an indoor area where you can sort through your find. The four of us split the Big Daddy bucket for around $60 and each of us found a nice pile of stones with many large ones. They sell jewelry already made in... More

We capped off a winter ski visit to NC with a trip here in February 2013. The flume is indoors, and we had a great time sifting through the rock buckets. Afterwards a staff member goes through your findings and explains what type of mineral, crystal or gem was found and gives you approximate values. We bought a $30 bucket... More

We had a great time sifting through the water to find our little treasures! The showroom was full of gems and unique minerals that were reasonably priced! The employees were very friendly and knowledgeable about each of the minerals we found. We plan on visiting again on Friday before we head back to Florida!

My son loves findings gems. Wish you did'nt have to pay for huge buckets to find the huge gems. If you buy the 17 dollar bucket, you mostly get very tiny gems.

We took our two boys, 7and 9 years old and they had fun. They enjoyed finding stones and picking out the good ones. The cutting and settings will get you for some more cash if you are not careful...but overall, It was an educational and enjoyable time. We will be back.

We had a great time. This was something new and interesting. We found quite a few gems and the staff explained what each piece was. They even have the option to have your gems polished and set in jewelry.