Scam Alert -- Avoid at All Costs…read more My family arrived at Cherokee Ruby & Sapphire Mine at 3pm and immediately realized we had made a mistake. We were charged $30 per person just to stand on the property, plus a 10% credit card fee. Moments after taking our payment, the only employee on site, Zach, announced he was leaving for the day and that we could "stay on his property." No staff. No guidance. Nothing. When I politely asked how we were supposed to identify any gems without an employee present, he became agitated and hostile. I asked for a refund since we had just arrived and no services had been provided. That's when things escalated--Zach began yelling and got in my face aggressively. We immediately returned to our car and left. The property itself is nothing but piles of rocks. No buckets or tools are provided -- you're expected to scavenge everything yourself. Bags cost $20 each unless you post a positive review on the spot, and they charge another $75 just to evaluate anything you might find. It's pure extortion. I have since filed a police report and am actively working to recover the $165 we were charged for absolutely nothing. Please sort reviews by "lowest" before visiting--many people describe similar experiences. This place feels unsafe, unprofessional, and predatory. Stay far away.

DON'T GET SCAMMED!! READ THIS FULL REVIEW FOR ALL THE DETAILS. I really wanted to love this place…read more The fact that Cherokee Ruby & Sapphire Mine is unsalted is what brought us here--it felt like a rare opportunity to experience an honest dig and possibly find something special. And we did. I found what appeared to be a naturally formed ruby crystal: very clear, vivid red under lighting, and visibly fluorescent--something gem-quality by any measure. Unfortunately, the excitement ended in the dark room, where we were invited to examine the stone. A staff member, Eric, took it to look more closely and never gave it back. We left empty-handed and deeply unsettled. Eric was extremely excited about the stone, literally did a little jump and said "WOW!!!" while examining it, and then the stone disappeared while he was holding it. Before we left, he said he thought one of the other miners there "swiped it," but there were no other miners working in the dark room at that time. Makes me wonder if this is business as usual when someone makes a good find--encourage them to hand it over in the dark room and then palm it. We trusted Eric at that point. He had been helping us with our questions and giving us great guidance all afternoon. We called the next morning to speak to Eric about the situation, but no one answered and after leaving a voicemail he didn't return our call. I'm sharing this not out of anger, but because others should be aware. If you visit: Keep all stones in your line of sight at all times. Examine them in daylight if possible, before entering any enclosed spaces.Politely decline if someone offers to take the stone from you to "look closer." If you make a great find but want to continue mining, put the find in a safe spot in your car and lock the car. Show it to no one. I hope this was just a misunderstanding. But it didn't feel right, and I wouldn't want anyone else--especially children or first-time rockhounds--to lose something they worked hard to find. This could still be a great experience, but only if you advocate for yourself and protect your finds. I encourage the mine to put better safeguards in place.

What a great local artist and a master of wood working. So many great pieces and amazing stories…read more Capt Dave is a character and always with his trusty bee swatter. Be sure to stop by, well worth a visit when vacationing in the area.

Wonderful wood carvings from $2k to $10, including wood walking sticks, carved wood chairs,…read moredragons, wood trees, pottery, statues, unique wood gifts. I highly recommend to drop by and see.

Loads of sellers have unique booths full of antique finds. Their online auction, as well as High…read moreLow Bid are a lot of fun and always full of goodies. Highly recommend the store and auctions. Very personable staff!

This place is so cute! We stopped before visiting the GSMR, it is just around the corner…read more I like that there are so many vintage and antique items in this place. A very wide range, from comics to furniture to cast iron (ok, I admit, I am a cast iron addict)... The staff were very nice and helpful. There is a range of prices.

This was a trip back in time to enjoy the tribe showing the ways of crafting, weapons making and…read morethe classic housing. With the finale being the dances of the tribe. This is well worth visiting to see the culture and the wonderful people.

Oconaluftee Indian Village is a great place to visit to learn more about the Cherokee and how they…read morelived in the 1700s. As I bought a combo ticket with Unto the Hills and wasn't given a ticket for the Village I arrived with my receipt and ticket for the show. That was scanned and allowed me in. Tours start about every 15 minutes or when a large enough group is formed. The tour is guided and we stopped at stations to learn about weaving; bead work; woodworking. Some of the stops were at dwellings and ritual sites. We saw traps for animals. They had a unique way to catch fish with the trap that was placed in the water. Some of the stops didn't have anyone working so the guide just talked about it. One guide took us on the tour and two separate guides talked with tour groups mixed together about the customs and rituals in the Council House. There was no dancing done at the dance grounds. They did talk about the different tribes.

As a self-proclaimed rock hound, Rose Creek Mine met all expectations and more…read more Our family of 6 went on Sunday, most of us choosing the "DIY Dig" buckets for $20 per person. The experience consisted of digging up two buckets of dirt from the pile that was recently hauled from their Smokey Mountain mine, and using the provided equipment to sift through little by little. The DIY dig touts "non-salted" buckets, which was important to me, giving us as close to a real boots on the ground mining experience that a family of all ages can expect. The pictured peach moonstone was my favorite find of the day, and I also took home some really unique and reasonably priced pieces from the gift shop. I've done a few "dig & sifts" across the states and I was especially impressed with the staff helping to identify the material found and packaging up and labeling for later. The extra few minutes spent was so appreciated. Special shout out to Miss. Nancy for making my family's visit extra special!

This place was amazing. The staff is incredibly helpful, it's a great value and the setup is…read morecomfortable and well shaded. My wife, myself and two girls found a ton of garnets, lots of quarts, a little bit of amethyst, moonstone, ruby and sapphires. Most of the gems were significantly included but they tell you ahead of time that it's pretty rare to find near perfect gems. It's still a great value and a lot of fun. If you want an extra bucket to shift through it's only an additional $5. As far as value the only place around here that might be better offers unlimited buckets for twice the price. That pretty much means you would have to sift through six buckets just to break even. If you only plan to go through 1-3 buckets this is a much better value and the people are nicer as well.

My wife loves this place! She has gotten numerous pieces framed here and we have been very happy…read morewith the work that they have done for us! Great selection and knowledgable staff!

We dropped in to look around Ravenwood Jewelry today. I found a beautiful necklace and bracelet…read moreset. Very reasonably priced. The owner (I think her name is Heidi) went above and beyond to help me pick out my jewelry. After returning to our cabin I decided to go back and ask if she could make matching earrings thinking I would have to place an order and have them shipped. She immediately brought out the matching stones and custom made a set of earrings on the spot. This was a very special find. I highly recommend you stop into her shop if you are in the Townsend area. She has a lifetime repair warranty as well.

Celebrated the 75th year of this outdoor musical theater event with my first visit…read more We purchased tickets ahead of time on the website, which was quite easy to navigate. Seats have plenty of space between your knees and the seat back in front of you; if your feet don't quite touch the ground they have footrests you can borrow from the ushers, a nice touch. Parking was easy to navigate and clearly marked. The preshow was jovial and included both music and a closing choreographed piece. This was worth arriving at 7:30 to enjoy. The performance itself was well done, with more dance numbers than I had expected. The occasional cannon and musket blasts kept us alert and the actor/dancers were enthusiastic and fun to watch. The history as presented was consistent with other sources we experienced this trip to Cherokee country.

Head to the Great Smoky Mountains & there you'll find "Unto These Hills". A story of the Cherokee…read morebefore the Trail of Tears up to present day. The outdoor drama is performed in a 2100 seat amphitheater. This is their 75th Anniversary season that runs from 5/31/25-8/23/25. Unfortunately we got rained out & weren't able to see the show, however we did have the Pre-Show Dinner ($20 each). Note, I recommend buying the $5 Performance Insurance since The Smokies are in a rainforest & rain is always likely...bring a poncho & blanket too. My husband saw the show many years ago & said it was amazing, I'm assuming it still is today. The scenery was gorgeous, very lush & green. There were several attendants directing cars & a greeter instructing where to get tickets. Most of the instructions given were quite unclear & confusing. All of us waiting for dinner had no instructions of what to do once we found our tables. Our meal consisted of Pulled Chicken BBQ, Mac & Cheese, Baked Beans, Coleslaw, Hushpuppies, a drink & a Cookie for dessert. The dinner was not good & it was not homemade. The meal was very bland & lacked flavor. With that said, next time I'm in the beautiful Smokies I will go to see the show & hope I don't get rained out!