Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine

This tour was absolutely phenomenal!! I grew up near coal mining but knew very little about it. The ride into the mine with our knowledgeable guide and retired miner, Gerald, really opened up the world of coal mining to all of us. I confess, I wasn't expecting much when my husband said he wanted to go, but I was truly blown away by the experience. Everyone should visit this at least once.

We had a great time. You ride into the mine and guide explains in a knowledgeable way the workings and abuses of early miners. There's also a company house , church, museum and other coal mining exhibits. We bought a nice coal mining hoodie for only $24. I definitely recommend this tour.

What a great educational experience. When combined with a fun guide like Don, (all the guides are retired miners)this is a good use of time and makes me appreciate what coal miners had to endure to keep this country going. I highly recommend!

This is a great thing to see in the area. Take a tour on a train of the coal mine. Don the tour guide was fantastic. You'll learn all about how coal miners used to live and work. It is absolutely eye opening to see and hear about the conditions people had to endure to live in the coal camps and work there. You can also see the historical buildings that were preserved. Highly recommend seeing this place. Tour is about 45 mins in the mine.

This is a must-see place in West Virginia! We went to the coal mine on a early Saturday morning... before it was open. While there waiting for the 'Company Store' to open, we walked around & took in the sites. There are historic markers relaying the history of the coal industry in West Virginia, a train stream engine that was used to transport coal from the mines, and statues dedicated to the miners. You are greeted by the representation of an early coal town that was built from several buildings that came from early coal towns. They were dismantled, brought to Beckley and rebuilt. They did an amazing job furnishing them with antiques from the time, too! While we waited for our coal mine tour we wandered through the 'Company Store'. It is a museum that teaches you so much about mining & life at the miners camps. It also has a gift shop area. Then, at 10:30am, we went on a tour of the coal mine. The mine was a real coal mine, and our guide was a real coal miner named Don Barrett. He was funny, informative and I highly recommend his tour. There's lots to see, do & learn. I put some photos so you can see some of the sites. You've gotta check it out!!! 10 out of 5 stars to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine!!!

We had a great tour with Gerald! We loved hearing his perspective as a retired Coal Miner and the things he demonstrated and pointed out on the tour. What a fantastic experience. The Coal Camp houses are also a fun way to travel back in time and envision life in the 1900s, especially thanks to Bea and Dana (as well as the other attendants whose names I can’t remember!) who made our visit memorable, and fun!! If you want to learn more about the history of coal in WV, or are just looking for a rainy day activity for all ages, let this be at the top of your list!

Pristine! Well put together, informative, interesting. The entry fee is more than fair. The staff friendly and welcoming. This is not a replica coal village, they took actual building apart and rebuilt them on site. The cart ride thru the mine and our guide Dorcet were phenomenal. On site, there is a coal museum, a colonial village and a children's museum all for one low cost entry fee!! I've traveled alot and this is truly your best bang for a buck.

My husband and I just took the underground tour with Garold, he was very knowledgeable with his 45years of experience. The people are friendly, the place is very clean and well kept for being open for 60+years. A fun, educational stop while passing through. The little gift shop is even fairly priced. Overall a good experience.

We were driving to the Midwest from Virginia to visit friends, and we decided to stop at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. We had a full day of driving, so a break of a couple hours was welcome.
The Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine advertised as a trip into a former working Coal mine, and that's exactly what it was. Now, there are two kinds of Coal mines. A shaft Mine uses a vertical shaft going deep underground. A drift mine uses a horizontal shaft that tunnels into a mountain. Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine is a drift Mine.
You board a trolley, maybe 20 people in all. The mine you tour was a working Coal mine, until it was made into an Exhibition Mine.
Our guide was a gentleman that had been a working Coal miner for over 40 years. He really knew what it was like working in the mines. We had a great time.
After the mine tour, we toured the Coal mining town. The had numerous houses, a school, and other buildings that had been an actual Coal mining town until they were moved to Beckley. It was fascinating, and very realistic. You really saw how miners and their families lived. They also had a children's building with many interesting activities kids would love. We spent 3 hours at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine and it was time well spent.

This was an amazing place for us to camp! They have an underground mine shaft tour and buildings for you to tour of how miners lived at that vacation time. They had people in the rooms to explain how they lived. I would highly recommend you visit if in the area or plan a trip there. We will stay there again on our way back from the rest of our vacation to spend more time to hick the trails.

OMG. What a wonderful tour!!! I can't say enough good things about our visit. Don was amazing. Very engaging and fun!!! We sang songs and had a total blast. He made learning fun and the kids on the tour hollered out answers and Don gave fist bumps throughout our visit. He da man!!!! Give that man a raise!!! Thank you for a very enjoyable visit.

This place is fantastic. The tour is worth the trip. The tour guides in the mine were FANTASTIC. They were friendly, gave first hand experience, and did demonstrations. I would recommend it to anyone to make them appreciate the history of mining and the sacrifices of the miners.

Recommended by the hotel I was staying at. It was interesting very educational the tour guide was awesome. Price was a little expensive though but included the mine the little Museum up top and the house is outside plus the Children's Museum.

We purchased the ticket for the underground tour on site and it lasted about 35-40mins. Kids are not super interested but did learn one or two things. They loved the young museum, we spent more than an hour in it, played with a lot of animation hands-on games, and the Brian teaser games as well. Fun and cool! The staff working there is very friendly.

Awesome place to visit with a great story behind it and some great information about coal mining in the late 1800's. About as close as you can get to a real mine and our tour guide at least, was a seasoned miner working in the same vein of coal albeit 30+ miles away in a different mine!

A cool attraction to see and definitely worth stopping by and checking it out!

Informative and historical experience. Came as a family, spent about 2 hours on the grounds learning about historical coal mining. Ticket prices include a tour, the opportunity to explore the museum, and the opportunity to explore the grounds which included many of the historical houses. Exhibition Hall has nice bathrooms, a gift shop, and a fudge area. The coal cart tour, only took about 35 to 40 minutes, and our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and engaging. He had many great stories, and came from a line of coal miners. He was even one himself! We took our school age children with us, and they enjoyed it as well.

Great place for people of all ages! The staff is super helpful and friendly. The content is so interesting and educational. The mine tour is a must; it is very eye-opening in regards to the lives of coal miners and what they had to endure. The tour guides were great and definitely knowledgeable on the topic, having mine experience themselves. One tour guide in particular was very helpful to me and my family during the ride into the coal mine. My son was upset and the kind man backed the train out of the mine so that we could exit without any hesitation; I appreciated that so much. Also, try their fudge- it’s delicious! 😀

Amazing experience to see and learn about coal mines in the past and present. Enjoyed the underground tour with Don. He was an entertaining guide with first hand experience of how it was to grow up around coal mines and be a coal miner. Would highly recommend to all who come through Beckley.

There is some of a wait for the underground tour but no wait for the rest of the areas to explore.

Lots of very interesting information, great place to visit. They also have a lovely gift shop.

The Beckley mine was a fantastic experience. The tour guide, Don, was the absolute highlight. He shared not only the history of the mine and the coal industry, but his own experience being a miner. The area outside the mine is also great, and the folks working there were friendly and very willing to chat. Overall great place to spend a few hours.