Smoky Mountain Gold-Ruby Mine

Had the best time. Bought an emerald bucket and got several large chunks. We had a ring made from what we found and it's gorgeous

Absolutely! 100% gorgeous! Smokey mountain gold and ruby mine has a very talented lapidary! Such beautiful work. They exceeded my expectations! This is a necklace made for my mom from the gems I found for my parents 40 year anniversary gift (ruby is 40 year gem)
I sent them a picture of the setting I was looking for, and they were very accommodating! Very nice experience! Not to mention, this is a heirloom piece, that will be handed down & holds so much sediment. The piece says it all! But I highly recommend them. I will be having more jewelry with my other rocks made in the near future! Thank you Chris & Linda! And any others that helped me with my order!

The kids had a great time, and I feel you get your money's worth of gems. I do wish the fee to actually cut the stones weren't so high (we paid $75 for a pair of earrings for my daughter). And the lady who helped us with going through the gems was informative and kind.
Plenty of seating as well.

I went with my 4 kids, wife, and mother-in-law. We did a giant 5gallon random bucket and 4 ruby buckets. Do I think I made money? Nah, that's not the intention. The intention was to get my kids interested in the natural world even though this is highly staged and controlled. We had a blast and the miner/attendants were super helpful and pleasant. The place was packed and we still managed to get some help in the beginning to get us going. Totally worth it if you set reasonable expectations that you aren't there to make money off the dirt, but to have a good time. Some of the dirt has lots of crystals and gems, some doesn't. This is life.

The pic is about 1.5 of the ruby buckets. Key fob for scale. We ended up with tons of crystals, amethysts, topaz, and other rocks/crystals the kids enjoyed. I've got a brand new rock tumbler at home to take some of these back to.

my family & i had the best experience here riding through Cherokee thanks to Eric. i honestly believe the employee has an impact on your experience anywhere you go and he is awesome! we found some amazing gemstones and the overall mining activity was a 10/10. Thanks again Eric we wish you many blessings to come

Staff were very outgoing and helpful. This was our first time my fiancé and I sifted through a bucket of sand/dirt/gravel to find some gemstones. We purchased the ruby/sapphire bucket and, though we only found one ruby (1 carat), we ended up with a few emeralds! They said it was rare that something like that happens since they come from separate mines. It must have been our lucky day (minus not finding any sapphire)! It's tough to spot since most of them look like rocks/gravel, but ask the staff and they'll help. They even have a specialist indoors to help identify the rocks you keep - for free! What a fun experience.

Family and I were up there this weekend (9/4/22) and decided to stop in and check this place out! We ended up buying 3 buckets to mine, Sapphire/Ruby/Emerald, and we ended up with a decent about of stones! The people inside were so friendly and the shop was awesome!

Me and my boyfriend the weekend before Valentines day. We had a blast we got a 12 bucket we found a emerald and he had it made into a ring for me .

Our kids had a blast searching for gemstones. We had so much fun, we came back again a few days later. They found really large, interesting gemstones to add to their collections. I found the prices to be very reasonable. We stopped at another mine along the way and this one superior and less expensive. The man working outside was super helpful, knowledgeable and kind. I would highly recommend stopping by.

The kids had a great time. It was something fun to do with the family. The staff is friendly and helpful. A great activity for kids a visit to this area.

Very fun place. Excellent employees. Great learning experience about gems and rocks.

We always have a good time here with grand kids. Good trip

It was absolutely wonderful! There is a large trough for sifting through buckets worth of gems and stones, and you really get your money's worth on the buckets! It's fun for kids, but also loads of fun for adults as well! We bought a $50 "variety bucket" and went home with rubies, emeralds, citrines, amethysts, smokey quarts, and topaz! There's even a free "identity your rocks" service! I highly recommend it!

Awesome cute spot to Spend some time . We spent $15 on 2 bags of dirt to sift through and found many fun rocks! Great way to spend some time.

We had a blast. The whole family found rubies and sapphires. I found a super large ruby and having it cut for my wife.

Very fun place to stop by. Our kids had a blast searching for gems and learning what they found! Staff is always friendly every time we have been. Affordable way for the family to spend some time doing something different.

The fossil bucket is great. Beautiful pieces.

This was just pure fun. You are guaranteed to find cool rocks. Kids and adults love it. Yes it’s a little bit touristy but well worth it. It’s a great activity for all ages.

Loved it the kids had a lot of fun for sure

Took my nephew and the thrill alone watching him become so excited upon finding the gems was worth it all. The young man assisting us was very very educational and went beyond his duties to see that my nephew was having fun. I have been to this place numerous times when on vacation here and this young man just made it extra special with his exuberant personality and inner action with us.