Omg we loved this place it was so cute eclectic and cool. We took our 9 yr old son who is obsessed with gemstones. He had a blast. We purchased the complete package that allowed for all adventures (panning, digging, geode cracking, and cave hunting) and boy did he love it. Each experience was so cool and perfect for him. Also the amount of different stones he got was so freakin awesome. His geode was so beautiful (I wanted it for myself lol) also a huge huge shot out to Nikki who helped us along the way and made my sons experience super amazing. She was so wonderful and we will definitely make this a frequent thing to do read more

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Fun little place to spend a few hours of the day with your little ones. There's an old ghost town in the same parking lot that's great for pictures. read more

I absolutely loved and will be back! Everyone is so nice, my kids loved everything they got with the medium crystal bucket. I bought myself a Brazilian Agate slab necklace and it's absolutely beautiful and quality. read more

Gold Rush mining Company in big Bear Lake is by far the best experience you could give your family. I highly recommend this place for anyone.They have the most unique gemstones in California.Going anywhere else would be a total waste of money. Rudy was so helpful and nice with my two boys, my 4yr old boy and my 7yr old boy can't wait to come back! read more

Maybe I came after a long morning for the staff. No greeting and no customer service. After that I did have a great personal experience touring the property with the fam. They do have geode opportunities and panning for gold which is cool. Ended up not spending any money here. Just viewed and left. So exciting I didn't take pics but the fam did. read more

Tried to go three times no one was there.. there lunch is in the middle of the day and they don't come back after

Very cute shop! The staff were super friendly and great with kids. We brought a group of children aged 3-5 and did the mystery bucket for sifting rocks. They made sure each child got a special rock of their favorite color, which the kids loved. read more

Gold Rush Mining Adventures - Activity menu - Souvenir Shops Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

We went mine some gold. You buy a pound of "pay dirt" and pan for gold. It was a great family activity to do but the pound of dirt was quite expensive. read more

The creativity of the themed experiences here--sharks, dinosaurs, gold mining, rocks--was definitely a fun touch and kept things interesting. However, I did feel that the experience was a bit overpriced for what it offered. The "rock hunting" activity was essentially a short time spent in a dark shed with some lights, and it only took my son about five minutes to find all 24 rocks. At $50, it felt a little steep for such a brief activity. That said, my son had a blast and seemed to really enjoy the hunt, so if you're looking for a quick, themed adventure for younger kids, it might be worth it for the fun factor. read more

Gold Rush Mining Adventures - Creative cave of wonders - Souvenir Shops Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

Great Yelp find in Big Bear. Ok folks, there is a strict 10 person capacity limit per their fire code. They will make you wait outside if there are over that amount. The store itself is super small either way, so it wont fit more than that to be comfortable or without breaking something. I'm the store, there are a couple different sections including a glow area, mermaid area, Egyptian area, Dino area and the check out. The geodes, stones and other rocks are color coded on the back and the prices are posted. You can purchase a ton of different geodes. They will cut them for you outside once you purchase. We opted to do mining for gemstones as we had 3 boys with us 8 and under. They love Minecraft and mining, so they were into it. They also love rocks in general and collect rocks. The kids sifted shortly and the lady (didn't get her name) went through each of their sifters and let them know the name of each rock and interesting facts. She gave us a pamphlet on the way out that describes the stones. The Owner inside was great with all the kids. There was a special needs child with his mom checking out in front of me that was taking a pretty long time, but she got him some snacks and even let him sit with her behind her counter to check out. When our kids didn't fill up their rock bags all the way, she went and made sure they will filled up correctly. The outside area is cool to check out as well. Fun little area for little ones to check out. We were there about 45 min-hour. It was a fun stop on our adventure in Big Bear . read more

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So much fun! Rudy was so great with our large party and she had so much patience with the kids. We had a great trip! read more

Gold Rush Mining Adventures - Souvenir Shops Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

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On our way back down the mountain, we decided to stop at the Gold Rush Mining Adventure. My son had lots of fun sifting through a bucket of mixed gemstones in the mining trough. We were unaware on how things worked, so here's a bit of an idea: When you get there, you will notice that their is a 10 person occupancy in the store. This is due to the size of store. So depending on the amount of people waiting in line, you can be waiting for awhile. This is not just a store front. While some items can be purchased inside, the main draw to this venue is the hands on experiences. This obviously takes time, so patience is key. You will select the " package/experience " you want, snd then they will ring you up for your purchase(s). You will then be able to start on your selected activity. The ladies working were super nice and very knowledgeable on the gemstones/rocks that we had questions on. They have a cute mini Ghost Town out in the back of the store too. Fun for picture opps! All in all, would definitely recommend as a fun thing to do and to support a local business! read more

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Gold Rush Mining Adventures was #2 on our ghost tour in Big Bear California! We read that Big Bear has a lot of haunted places, and since we really didn't get to meet "George" at the Captains Anchorage Restaurant , we drove down the road to a place called Gold Rush Mining in Big Bear Lake! Now although it's not really a haunted place as much as it's a tourist grab, we discovered, it's still well worth the visit! We read reviews of it having long waits, and being a very small store. So we really only went to see the ghost town it stated it had on Facebook. We arrived with two cranky kids in tow, and were met by woman named Erin. She was working by herself and when we arrived she had a family already panning for gems. She greeted us happily and asked us to wait just a few minutes while she made sure the other kids were done panning. I asked her about it being haunted and her response was absolutely hilarious, she said, and I'm not kidding, " Wait, you can see me?!" We all laughed, even my cranky kids! She sent us out to meet the resident ghost she said was named Mr Skelly who waits for visitors in his jail cell in the ghost town. He didn't talk much, actually he didn't do much of anything, She came and got us right away, and explained all the activities they offer. We chose the blackbeard pirate activity for my Son, and my daughter picked out a beautiful geode to crack. Erin was so helpful in explaining the stones and also gave my Daughter a mini lesson in geodes! She told us how they form, how long it takes, and the different regions they come from. Turns out she is a gemologist and actually went to school to learn about gemstones so she seemed very knowledgeable and excited to explain them to us. There is some truth to it being small, because while we were there, another family showed up, and she let us know we needed to wait outside while she helped them, but she apologized and sent my kids to color on the back picnic area with crayons and coloring pages, and had us do a scavenger hunt, she helped the other family and returned with them, asking if we would all like to do an activity together. So we did! I want to thank her because we made new friends with the other family and all went to the lake to picnic and pan for treasures we bought haha! Thanks for the suggestion Erin it was a blast!! The store has literally everything you could imagine, from dinosaurs to Star Wars it's almost crazy! And so cool!! But it didn't have the one thing we were looking for, a ghost ‍ I still highly reccomend going there, and I will continue on my ghost tour. read more

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Such a special place. My daughter wants to go here every time we are in town. The little cave in the back is so fun for little ones to search for gems. Thank you for a fun time! read more

Gold Rush Mining Adventures - Super fun cave for gem finding! - Souvenir Shops Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

We were very disappointed with this place. Even though it was much smaller than advertised the service was terrible b the clerk was out front doing a panning for crystals thing with someone and we weren't allowed inside to look through store. We had to stand in front and wait d for her to be done. Very unprofessional. If you want a cheesy experience then go for it. Not even a little fun at all read more

I see there are some mixed reviews here, but I will share my experience visiting the store and it was fantastic in every way! We got there early so we walked around the extensive outdoor space with many fun photo ops for the whole family. When it was time to go in, Rudi explained all the options for experiences and made age-appropriate recommendations for the kiddo in our group. We all had a great time with the panning experience and also cracked open several geodes. That was magical for kids and adults alike! Rudi also made great recommendations for where to cut the geodes and how to best cut them. The store is small but full of fun treasures for a variety of interests. I'd recommend arriving early, be prepared to have to wait just in case its busy, and know that it's worth the wait! read more

I love the very nice knowledgeable lady who works here. She was so kind to my family, teaching my kids all kinds of fun facts. I'm only dinging one star because it was kind of pricey and not what I expected at all. It's a very small store with a TON of toys and knickknacks - space themed, Egyptian themed, dinosaur themed, mermaid themed, ocean themed, etc etc. The "adventure" is picking a package of goodies that are essentially housed in sand. We chose one of the "shark adventures". So basically, my 7 year held one of those mining strainer things, which it supposed to be like panning for gold. The lady scooped up clumps of sand (with goodies like shells, shark teeth, gemstones, etc) and dumped it into the thing my son was holding. And he basically held it somewhat in the water and had to shake it back and forth to get all the sand out. He kept repeating this and the lady kept dumping stuff into it until she finished the whole bucket of sand + goodies she had. The stuff my son got was, yes, pretty cool. I think it was just the experience that threw me off. I remember being a kid and having the gold rush explained to me as we went through the motions to mimic what the old gold rush miners used to do. IDK, I'm not really sure what to think. All the other reviews here are really nice, I think I just had something else in mind. read more

Cute venue. If your. Child loves little thing, take them! Even if you just let them pick out one item in the. Store instead of purchasing one of their packages, it's worth a drop-in. read more

Gold Rush Mining Adventures - Every space has a different theme. There is an alien one, mermaid one, etc. etc. - Souvenir Shops Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

It's a cute idea to have this shop and we like the staff, graveyard and creative props in the back. The shop and activities however need some work to live up their high price tags. I would say to parents before getting the kids inside of the shop to decide how much you can realistically spend and also know that the activities are not necessarily educational. The $50 (including tax) geode breaking activity we did was completed under 10 minutes (and one of the cheapest you can do). The shop can still be enjoyed by just walking through, but just don't walk in without doing some research before you bring your kids through there. read more

This place is great! But Rudy made our time AMAZING! My daughter loves rocks and gems and Rudy is so excited to show kids everything. She's very knowledgeable and you can tell she absolutely loves her job! My daughter had the time of her life!She got amazing rare finds. THANK YOH RUDY! You're an inspiration to kids who are discovering the love of rocks The nice lady who helped us check out at the gift shop was super nice too! Overall great staff read more

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So very sad. We made a special trip to visit here for my child's birthday but they were unexpectedly closed. Nothing posted about a change of hours at the storefront or on Yelp, Facebook, or their website. Tried calling as well but no answer. Yet the building signage says open daily at 10. read more

Showed up with my 5yo right at 10am because he was so excited. The lady rudely told us it would be 10 mins(which it was 20). They opened and she proceeded to complain about the owner cutting back hours, so I got it and was fine. I then was interested in learning the adventures and she had very little interest in making recommendations for a 5yo and walked away. Then, after another 15 minutes of us deciding she rudely tells us if we don't have cash she can't help us. Go to summit, they have mining and other activities and it's far nicer all around. Luckily, my very sad 5yo mood was quickly turned around with Summit. read more

While some of the prices were decent for things like the gold pan. Do not shop here for rocks! For a 5" fluorite they were charging $160.00. You can get fluorite online/Etsy etc for $20. Their standalone rocks were highly HIGHLY overpriced. Edit: to respond to business owners reply since yelp will not let me. I am a serious collector and have everything from museum quality pieces to side of the road pick ups. The owners response is utterly false. Between the treated quartz and the various towers, their pricing has NOTHING to do with the "quality". Period. read more

Waste of time tourist trap. They are not friendly either. I'll give them two stars for the effort. But the items here are 4x the normal price of anywhere else. read more

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Super cute little gem store. Lots of beautiful pieces. Fun for the whole family. Super friendly staff are very knowledgeable and helpful. Love stopping here whenever we are in town. read more

Gold Rush Mining Adventures - Exterior shot of Gold Rush Mining Adventure - Souvenir Shops Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

This was a cute place with a lot of pirate, mermaid, and minerals to buy. There was an option to buy a geode and crack it yourself, so that was cool. They had panning for gold and then 2 little set ups where you could either dig through a little sand box for "fossils" or a different little Frozen themed sandbox for "treasures". It was all so outrageously expensive in my opinion. But it was a cool place to shop and something fun to do. ETA: I was unaware that there were less expensive options. I called in advance and the person that answered the phone said that all mining starts at $15 and up. Also in the store the sign for the geodes said sold out on all of the lower-priced items. The store was kind enough to respond and let me know that there are cheaper options which we will take advantage of next time. read more

We had such a great time here, yes, it's a bit pricier than other places, but the experience was a lot of fun. Rudi was fantastic and super knowledgeable about the geodes and crystals. read more

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Such an awesome concept for young kids to enjoy and explore. We had a great time just browsing the shop, just tons of fun rocks, gems and crystals to look at. All using different themes and laid out to be interesting for kids. My 5yo's dream come true...browsing the shop is a fun activity by itself. It's very small, but that added to the charm because it is small and packed with stuff. He had a ton of questions for the manager Heather and she was great answering him and being engaging. She was the only one there and so she needed to take each customer one at a time, so people need to wait a bit for their turn, but being understaffed is not this store's problem, it's a Big Bear problem. Almost every place in BB can't find workers because many service industry staff have been run out of town by the soaring housing prices. The pandemic and all the new airBnB buyers have hit locals pretty hard. Renting a small place here now costs more than many can afford. A bit off topic, but I think anyone coming to town needs to remember that before complaining to much about wait times or staff that seems rushed. We bought some glow in the dark rocks for $9, one small quartz geode to crack open for $10 and the ghost town mystery rough and tumbled stones /crystals panning set for $40. You could say it is a bit pricey for a 5-10 minute activity, but you get a ton a gorgeous rocks to bring home (see pic) and an explanation from staff about what a bunch of them are. Then you can take them to their outside area or home, and match them with the info sheet they give you to learn more about them. My boy had a great time. read more

Gold Rush Mining Adventures - Souvenir Shops Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

Rude and clearly didn't want visitors inside. There was no one inside the store (even though they told us that there was a 10 person max capacity). No one greeted us. Followed us around the entire small space. Rude read more

We drove up to gold rush mining adventures from Los Angeles for a day trip because my niece really wanted to do some gem hunting for her birthday. All in all I would say it was 100% worth the trip. We arrived around lunchtime and the welcoming staff explained that there was a wait and that they only add about 2 to 3 parties to the wait list at a time. She encouraged us to come back, and since it was lunchtime, we went down the road to order lunch from a nearby restaurant. When we returned there was no wait and we walked right in. We were assisted immediately. The inside of the establishment is smaller than I expected but it is absolutely packed with all kinds of fun and interesting gems, geodes, and crystals for someone of any age. The actual panhandling of the gems takes place outside and it was so fun for my family to be able to do this in the family friendly setting. The staff was very helpful and welcoming throughout the entire experience. read more

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Over priced don't waste your money. Paid $70 to pick out rocks from dirt in a shed....so not worth it.

In all honesty, this is just a complete waste of time and money. We paid for the Dino package deal, which was 80 dollars, and the kids probably got about 10- 15 small rocks that they just threw into a sandbox. Definitely could have just done this at home for a lot cheaper. We were in and out in 10 minutes. Not worth it. read more

Such a cute shop with many different gems, fossil, and amenities. My niece was able to cut her own geodes, and enjoyed the ghost town. Definitely will be returning to learn about panning for Gold!!! read more

My kid loves rocks and we found this little place to do a little activity. They have different packages for your interest and size of your parties. We got the mystery rock medium package. The whole experience took about 10-15 minutes; it's quick but tasteful because my kid talked about her rocks for half an hour after it. Great little thin for kids to do! read more

Waste of time and money. The store is tiny and the service is terrible. The person in front of store didn't pay attention and was rude. The kids didn't like it as well. read more

I was hoping this would be a fun experience for my daughter, but it was barely any kind of experience. We did the galaxy package and it took about 8mins or less for her to find them a dark room in the back and cost $46. The rocks she got were nothing special and we should've just bought a bag so she could choose her own. The two ladies were fine, but they didn't seem enthused either. I'm disappointed with the trip and I feel ripped off. I wouldn't recommend the packages. They'll all be about $50 for 10mins. read more

I've been here on a few different occasions and each time it's a great experience! Staff is really friendly and passionate. The variety crystals and gems they have are very cool. read more

Gold Rush Mining Adventures - crystals - Souvenir Shops Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

My kids had a great time at Gold Rush Mining Adventures. The grounds are awesome. There is a jail, a pretend graveyard, a giant pig, etc. The gift shop is tiny but absolutely magical. The actual mining was so fun for my kids. They came home with TONS of gems and stones. Andrea was so nice and identified all of them for the kiddos. Then each kid split their own geode open, which was very fun. So far, it was the best part of our trip! read more

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Such a fun place to go with the kids! We had a blast! Even during covid! The staff was very knowledgeable and put up with all of the million questions and comments the kids made! Will be back again! read more

Gold Rush Mining Adventures - Looking for treasure! - Souvenir Shops Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

This was planned for my oldest little one's birthday! We had a blast. I loved the enthusiasm and passion we got from the staff members. We did the mermaid princess package and the shark package! It was worth the cost, the kids had a great experience and got some beautiful pieces! I appreciated the extra details to celebrate. read more

Gold Rush Mining Adventures - Souvenir Shops Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California