Hi, I just wanted to share my thoughts with you on Hiddenite, NC. We went there for a day and boy, it was a long drive from Clayton to Hiddenite (3 hours). We were unable to find the Emerald mine once we get there, as our GPS device doesn't have their address listed. We had to ask around and they were kind to show us where. We didn't expect to drive on a rough dirt/gravel road downhill. There were bunch of people, mostly families with kids. As we got out of the car, we headed straight to pay booth and got us tickets for combo (slucing, digging, and creeking). We got three small bucket for slucing and of course, me and my husband gave our bucket to our excited son who loves to collect rock/gem. He got plenty of those and was very happy. We order one small bucket for $5, which it was supposed to have ruby in it, but in our disappointment, there aren't any. So we went ahead and pick up the shovel and bucket to start digging. It was a looonnng walk and hard to find a specific spot to dig. Remember the movie "Hole"? It's similar to what we've seen everywhere: holes in the ground everywhere by previous diggers. We dug some, but gave up easily as it was too much work under the hot sun. So we headed back to the booth and drop off the shovels. Next is creeking. It wasn't bad at all. Bunch of people were creeking there, looking for gold and gems. We found quite a few gold and other small gems. It's very nice to sit at the creek area, where there were some shade to cool off. Children play in the water while adults use screen box to look for prizes. We only stayed there for four hours and went back home. Do we want to visit there again? We don't think so, as we think it wasn't worth it. My husband think the gem company purposely put some gems in each bucket to satisfy their customers. If you do know a better place to find gems, let me know. We are going to Blowing Rock on Labor Day weekend.
I like Hiddenite, but it is no frills and a lot of work. Not a great spot for kids. Gem Mountain in Spruce Pine has a nice set-up if you want to be sure to find something. It was recently featured on a show on the Learning Channel. www.gemmountain.com or Emerald Village in Little Switzerland is another possibility. www.emeraldvillage.com
It's digging for gems. It wasn't easy before, and the people visiting should expect to experience a little of the past. I don't mean to be rude, but don't get it. I wouldn't use GPS to locate it...I'd call. I'd make sure we got there EARLY, since it's the heat of the year. That means leaving at o-dark-30...which was something we used to love growing up. I just don't think ya'll were prepared for the reality of it. If you're looking for an easy out, try Luray in VA.
My husband and FIL love to go gem mining. They went to Hiddenite a few months ago and were very disappointed. Most of the area is salted. They do love to go to Franklin, NC to Mason Mountain Mine. http://www.tjrocks.org/masonmtnmine.html They have found rubies, rhodolite garnets and star sapphires there.
Funny you should mention Gem Mountain and Little Switzerland....we just got back from four days spent there....we stay there every year at a fabulous campground: http://www.bear-den.com/ Gem Mountain is minutes away. So is Little Switzerland where there is an adorable little ice cream shop that we take he kids to every year. There is also a Mineral Museum....nothing huge n fancy...but enjoyable for my son who is also into rocks rocks and more rocks (Lord help my poor abused washing machine) The drive from here is about 4 hours...but well worth it if ya make it a weekend camping trip. Bear Den has tent spaces, RV spaces, camping cabins, and fully loaded creek side cabins. (potties n showers too)
The key to finding the gems is knowing what they look like in the "rough". A ruby looks nothing like a ruby when in the rough. Get a book or look on the web for instructions before you go again. I've given my wife a knickname, she's addicted to sifting thru that dirt for gems. She's a "Dirt Daubber." In case you don't know what a Dirt Daubber is, it's those black wasp look alikes that don't sting and they build those long pencil shaped mud nests.
