Took my grandson and he loved it. The owner and Richard were amazing. My grandson still talks about his visit here. We will do it again!!

Took a trip to Franklin, NC for a little mountain getaway. Gem mining in this area was listed everywhere as a top attraction, therefore there were a lot of options with different pricing structures. We settled on Sheffield Mine as it's one of the oldest Ruby Mines still in operation in the Cowee Valley and overall, it felt like the best of what we were looking for. Really enjoyed that they call big rubies "honkers." For a flat $20 admission you got 3 decent sized buckets for some good old sluicing. You can pick native buckets (local specialty gems like rubies) or rainbow (various gems) buckets to clean and find stones. This was a nice and COVID safe outdoor activity. You will get dirty so don't wear anything nice and best to take off your jewelry before. Water was a bit cold on your hands' overtime, which I'm sure is season-dependent. Most people were wearing masks, even outdoors which I appreciated. To mine three buckers took around 2-3 hours. So, a good value for the money. I didn't find many rubies, but one of my friends found one of a decent size. I got a lot of cool looking stones from the rainbow buckets, which was good enough for me. The guide was very knowledgeable about gems and also very entertaining. He was giving us a lighthearted hard time (as I didn't know what I was doing) made the event even more fun. read more

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Best gem mining experience for real - unsalted mining. Staff is very friendly and helpful in identifying your finds! read more

Knowing there are some there are nice big stones to be upturned plus new owner is adamant to get miners to find these gems!!

We had a fun time here. We got the native dirt buckets which are not the pre-loaded buckets, these are true luck of the draw. Kids might not enjoy that as much as a bucket guaranteed to be loaded with shiny objects but we had aball. My husband and I each found a few tiny rubies. The staff was very helpful. Adam was great. You will get dirty with that red Carolina dirt but that's all part of the experience. read more

As soon as I saw this place on the Travel Channel I knew on our first opportunity in the area we just had to go. This region of NC has several gem mines for rubies and sapphires, some of which star. Most of the gem mines charge no admission, but charge more for buckets. This place you pay $15 up front admission, but get two buckets. This is one of the few places that give you "virgin" buckets meaning they have not been tampered with or added to. If you're with kids you should get at least one enriched "rainbow" bucket which has a bunch of gemstones thrown in it. The people running the place were very helpful and nice. Clearly used to tourists like us who have never done this before. Wear clothes you don't mind getting wet or dirty. What you do is take your bucket dump part of it in a sieve like box and work the mud/dirt out in a water shoot all the way down to the rocks and gravel. You clean that and then look for the stones. Plan on each bucket taking you an hour. Additional buckets may be purchased for only $5 if you have more time. Franklin seemed rather back country to me - not much else around besides the mining attractions, but the people were very nice and I felt like we got an authentic NC experience. If you're nearby or within reasonable driving distance - go! read more

We had a fantastic time! Special thanks to Jack - who made our trip with four adults, grandma, and her two grandsons ages 6 and 4 - a memory none of us will forget! At times, I think the adults were having more fun than the kids, but Jack let the boys blow the 'honker' horn each time one was discovered! We've been telling everyone about our experience. Honestly can't thank you enough for all of the education and experience Jack shared with all of us in an age appropriate way. You don't want to miss this experience! read more

This was a wonderful stop for all 3 of our kids (ages 9, 14 and 17)! The staff was very knowledgable and helpful! Call ahead if you are running behind because the mine is privately owned and there is no reason for them to stay open if no one shows up by 3 PM! The road to the mine is a bit narrow. They have stairs to walk down to the mining area, however I overheard them talking to customers about accommodating individuals in wheel chairs. The work is fun but dirty, so wear old clothes and shoes! It takes time to go through the buckets and find treasures. The gems you find are generally small and not shiny (as they are raw gems and come right from the mine)! Still, all 3 of my kids had a blast! Good dirty fun!! read more

This was so much fun...we aren't kids but enjoyed it as much as any kid...got muddy and even excited when we found a few nautural rubies. The people are very helpful and friendly..well run and totally enjoyable. Great fun for any size family. Bring your kids! read more

Really great place! The workers are very knowledgable, and they want you to find gems and have a good time. Prices are very reasonable. There is a very friendly worker at the flume helping everyone determine what is worth keeping, my 10 year old found a pretty good size ruby, the workers made a real big deal about it, they made an announcement and gave here a certificate. Down home place, not a tourist trap. The right place to go. read more

Awesome experience for adults and kids a like. The workers were extremely helpful and entertaining. Believe them when it says it takes about 2 hours or more to get through the native soil buckets but man the fun. Our kids 11 & 9 actually enjoyed doing the native buckets more than the Rainbow buckets. The 2.5 hours we spent there flew by and we'd definitely go back if in the area again. read more

We took my grandson yesterday and the woman who was running the place was extremely rude. She yelled at us not to sit down until we were seated by her staff. I told her we had been seated by the man that was doing that. Then she yelled at us that we were not to sit down until we had paid. I had 2 grandsons one 1 1/2 years old & the other 5. There was a line and I needed to sit with them (and my husband was in line to pay). Also, I think it was way overpriced - they charged us by the head and made us get a bucket for my grandson even though he could have helped us with our buckets. We love gem mining and have been to several places. For just a few dollars more we could have gotten a "really nice" bucket from Rio Doce Gem Mine and they would have cut one of the stones we found free. Plus (and this is a big plus) we would have been treated much better. Those people actually act like they want you there and are much more helpful. I will NEVER go back to Sheffield Mine. read more

We returned for another try to the home of the honker in September of this year (2015) with another couple. Our last try in 2014 did not end up with much to show. The people that were manning the mine were as nice as the last time, nothing else changed much. Several people were in attendance and few found anything bigger than flakes or BB sized rubies. I think one lady found a 2 or 3 carrot stone. They have a very small gauge wire that catches the small pieces but makes it hard to sift the rough out. A lot of matrix covers the stones and it takes twice as long to work through your buckets. No sour apples. We have gone to all the mines in the area, and found the pickings much better. We go every year to this area and enjoy the time we spend mining. Do yourself a favor and check out some of the others. If you have kids, you might buy them a salted bucket to keep them busy. Their prices are reasonable and the flumes better than some of the others. As of this September, this mine was for sale. Please check them out before you drive all the way out there. read more