We have visited numerous gem mining venues in NC and TN with very satisfactory results. These people fill their buckets with gravel (not sand) and our experience was that less than 1/2 of 1% contained any rocks not considered gravel, so at 99.5% gravel they are making a lot more money than all the other gem mining operations. Our $129.99 "Gloryhole" bucket was junk literally and in reality. A word to all who read this: AVOID THIS JOINT!!!!! read more

I came here with my family and we got the big bucket, we got lots of great gems. The value was great for the amount of gems we got. I can't wait to go back ! The service was amazing, the people up front were so nice. read more

The service was nice and friendly.Really wish there was a cheaper bucket (40$ for 3 gal bucket being their cheapest option) but if you share with friends it becomes much more affordable just use Venmo. We went on a cold day and appreciated the rent being heated but if the water was heated to that would've been AMAZING. But alas the water was cold but I guess that's the authentic experience lol. They throw in some bigger and brighter gems than some of the places I've been before which I highly appreciate. I went with a friend who was a geology minor which definitely enhanced the experience. read more

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I know this is a family place and perfect for kids, but on a solo trip in Boone, I stopped here and had a blast. Scoop after scoop, I discovered treasures. You know that feeling - the eager anticipation, the surprise. Staff couldn't have been nicer. Highly recommend. read more

Sugar Creek Gem Mining - Gemstones & Minerals Near Me - Banner Elk, North Carolina

you can find sooooo many crystals like lot go with your kids its so fun you can get a big bucket it helps me beacuse at least im not at home

Our grandkids wanted to mine for gemstones so we took them here . They had a blast and my wife , daughter and myself had just as much ( or more) fun being mine helpers. 5 stars isn't enough of a rating , more like a solid 10 . Sugar Creek Gems , " You ROCK"!!! read more

Sugar Creek Gem Mining - We took our daughter and grandkids here to mine for precious gems , Sugar Creek Gems "ROCKS"!!!!! - Gemstones & Minerals Near Me - Banner Elk, North Carolina

We went to five gem stores in the area. This was one of the better ones. They had slightly lower pricing although really everyone was selling about the same thing. Had a good set of gems in the mix. Of course we found Emerald Sapphire and Ruby. They're miscellaneous mix had plenty of small stones to keep us interested as we search for larger pieces. They're an outdoor Flume and although there were curtains that could be put down for poor weather they left them up in the rainstorm. They also had large holes in the screens that you use to pan. They were partially fixed but the stones would fall between the layers and that could be a hassle. Would like to see them spend a little bit of time fixing their screens. On a cold day that wasn't ideal and the roof leaked and dripped on me while panning. Still, they were a good time and we got plenty of precious and semi-precious stones. read more

Sugar Creek Gem Mining - We're sorting gemstones at the flume.Their screens were in disrepair with large holes in the middle that were only partially repaired. - Gemstones & Minerals Near Me - Banner Elk, North Carolina

UPDATED REVIEW - WILL NEVER RETURN!!! While the experience here was 'thought' to be an excellent one, it was unfortunately tainted by EXTREMELY bad follow up and HORRIBLE service/resolution. DO NOT EVER PAY FOR OR ORDER YOUR STONES TO BE CUT! We were promised one thing an received an entirely different product. While they did respond (finally after my 3rd call into them) the resolution was "we'll give you a credit" and NO FOLLOW UP EMAIL as promised to confirm this credit or that the time limit would not expire (we may not return to the area for another year). We spent $123 for JUNK and I'm still ticked off about it...thus we will NOT RETURN because of this issue. It's really too bad as the facility & staff seem great, but administration/owners/management could give 2 _ _ _ _'s about customer satisfaction. They got our money, that's all they care about. Multiple phone calls and all the time wasted and they obviously don't care; so I'm posting this in hopes it at least warns prospective customers. Again, really too bad - simple customer service AGAIN is just a thing of the past. But I can certainly speak by NEVER giving them another moment of patronage and SPREADING THE WORD to all of my connections to NEVER visit this business! Owners at Sugar Creek - I hope the $123 was worth the bad-advertising I'll be forwarding your way! read more

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Great for the kids! A little messy but well worth it! Took home bags of gems and the kids loved looking through them. Def recommend! read more

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I saw several of these gem mining shops on our trip this past week from Banner Elk to Boone there are several. After reading reviews I decided to come to Sugar Creek. It was just me, my 15 year old (who spends a lot on her crystals/gems) and my 7 year old. Several of the reviews we read said to opt for the larger buckets for more bang for your buck and I'm so glad we did. We got the 5 gallon bucket to share between the 3 of us. It was an easy transaction and then we were told to go outside to the sifting area and wait for our bucket to be delivered. They were great at explaining what to look for and what to throw out (gravel), they even give you a laminated photo page to help identify what you find. After we finished off the bucket we put all our gems in small baggies they give you and went back inside. They will then put them on silver trays and sort them for you, help identify those you cannot and you have the option to order jewelry or other items. We did not order any of ours to be buffed down as we were leaving the next morning but if you go at the beginning of your trip maybe that would be a great idea! I purchased one of their show boxes ($19.99) and my son was very excited to put everything in there when we got back to our cabin. Even after filling the box we still had 3 full bags full of crystals/gems. To put the cost in perspective. Our daughter pays $7-12 for crystals at nearby shops during our stay...she spent probably $25 total before we went gem mining. I spent $60+ dollars on the bucket and we got several of the same stones she had been purchasing all week....when I say several we had about 20 rose quartz just to point out one example. We had a great time but remember if you are going when it is chilly (for this FL gal that is anything below 70 degrees) then dress accordingly, you will get wet at least your hands and a little dirty from the sand etc. We would recommend this to any age...lots of fun! read more

Sugar Creek Gem Mining - Gemstones & Minerals Near Me - Banner Elk, North Carolina

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This place was just ok. There was only 1 person checking people in, checking people out, and running the gift shop. We were given our bucket of choice and sent into a tent to figure out the rest for ourselves. I really thought there would be an "experienced professional" to assist as, as the website suggests but there wasn't. We purchased valuable and breakable items in the gift shop but there were no newspapers, bags, or anything to wrap or carry our purchase with. I believe this place only does well based on their location. Our kids enjoyed it overall, but I was not impressed. read more

Sugar Creek Gem Mining - Gemstones & Minerals Near Me - Banner Elk, North Carolina

This was super fun to do with a group of small children. We did the medium bucket but the small would have been fine. I wish I would have recorded them telling us what the gems were because some weren't on the sheet or looked different. The guys who worked there were very nice. read more

Wow amazing place my kids had the best time finding gems , the lady that works there is so sweet and nice and explains all rocks( gems ) everything with detail. place is clean nice and so much fun for all the family. , best place to go mining is Sugar creek mining ! Hope to come back soon we got the medium bucket best deal $64 is worth it read more

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We selected the smaller bucket that was about $39 & started sifting away the sand. We ended up with a couple bags of rocks/gems. Most of the stones were quartz and jade, but we did score a few low-quality rubys, too. I loved that the sifting area was covered, so you can do this rain or shine. It was a fun time and something different. read more

Sugar Creek Gem Mining - Gemstones & Minerals Near Me - Banner Elk, North Carolina

We weren't sure what to expect, but the idea of mining for our own gems and keeping what we found piqued our interest. We found so many cool stones and gems and were able to even get a couple pieces cut for a very reasonable price! Grant, the manager, was extremely knowledgeable and went through our findings with us. He explained each stone and made great recommendations for us. He was also very patient! It was an overall AMAZING experience that I would recommend for all ages (we're in our 30s lol). Please visit if you're in the area! Thanks again, Grant!! read more

Sugar Creek Gem Mining - Our findings!! - Gemstones & Minerals Near Me - Banner Elk, North Carolina

We had the best time here! The staff was friendly and oh so helpful in identifying the stones we found. We filled five baggies with good sized gems of all sorts from our 5 gallon bucket. Young and old alike enjoyed the time. When doing similar activities in the past we have never found as many or as large of stones. I would highly recommend this activity. A great activity for families. read more

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We are here in February for a snow/ski trip unfortunately it's quite rainy for the last couple days so trying to find something for the kids to do ages 6,8,11,12,13. They have numerous size buckets of sand with "gems" and rocks $40 for 2 gallons $69 for 5 gallons. We split the 2 gallon bucket for 5 kids and it was enough in my opinion. They each got about 1 cup of "keep rocks" ad they called them. The mine area is outside but has heaters on the roof and the plastic covers on the side to keep the wind and rain out. They also have a cool rain car we peeked inside it was open it also has the water for the rocks but didn't look like it was open for the day to use (maybe just summertime or busy days?) They have a full gift shop too with bathrooms and ski equipment rental. It is what it is a tourist attraction but the kids had a blast for $40 so it was worth it for us on a rainy day read more

The guy refused our business. It was 15 minutes before close. Get there early if you want to go.

We decided to take a chance and see what this was all about!! This business is right on the main drag and near our rear to turn off. We walked in snd the young men were so friendly and inviting! We told them we had no Idea what we were doing!! We paid ($40 for a two gallon bucket of rocks) and had a blast! They brought the bucket outside to the skimmer for us. We scooped snd scrimmed snd had a blast picking out "valuable gems". Lol the guys were outside with all of us miners- young and old!! They were helping us, offering advice, and telling us when we had a gem and when we simply had a rock. Then--they took our bags inside snd sat with us to sort through our haul!! We had several valuable gems- rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and other gemstones. We did get teased a little about the number of "rocks" we had! Hahahaha it was all in good fun and we had a blast!! There are tons of gem mining businesses in and around Boone and Banner Elk but we felt like we chose the right one!! These guys were so patient with us and called themselves total gem nerds!! Haha it was fun!! read more

We took our 4-yo at 5:05 today and we were told that they weren't selling anymore buckets since they close at 6. We have been having to console our child for the last 30 mins. We would have easily been done gem mining by now. You guys may want to add this to your website. Do better, Mr. Leonard. read more

We ended up going here 3x during our stay in Sugar Mountain. My kids (6 and 8) absolutely loved it! We did small buckets the first 2 times and then finally caved and did a big bucket the 3rd time. The big bucket is definitely the way to go! Much bigger and better gems. We have bags of beautiful stones to take home and I was able to get 3 of them cut into actual jewelry. The staff were amazing and really took the time to explain to my children what they had found by sorting and identifying everything in their bags. Emily was especially lovely and took extra time with us. I also felt very safe with everyone wearing masks and being super respectful during these times. I would definitely recommend this to anyone traveling in the area with young children. It was their favorite activity of the whole trip! read more

My wife and I had a great time. The staff was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. We went with the 5 gallon bucket for about 65$. It was worth every penny. It took us about an hour to wash and sort all the dirt. After we finished, the young woman helped us identify all of our finds. We ended up with about 4 backs of precious/semiprecious stones. I highly recommend for kids or for a fun day date with the significant other. read more

Sugar Creek Gem Mining - Not even half of the stones we found in the 5 gallon bucket. - Gemstones & Minerals Near Me - Banner Elk, North Carolina

We had a great time! The workers were very helpful and they did social distancing and sanitizing well. We got some sweet rocks, too!

We had the best time at the Sugar Creek Gem Mine. Tim and Jamie were so helpful, knowledgeable and made our experience so great. If you're in the area be sure to check this place out!! A+++ service. read more

This place is not kid friendly and should be avoided. We recently took our grandkids and bought 2 70$ buckets and was told could buy more if needed. This was very high but we had drove 2 hours and the grandkids love doing this . We where close to finishing up the buckets we had and I ask one of the men assisting to bring another bucket. I was told we could not buy another bucket and we had to leave the site. We had done fine and causing no problems. But still we being thrown ( 2 senior citizens , 2 small kids 4 & 9. The issue was that a group came on and wanted the place to themselves so even though we were there first and this group did not have reservations we where being thrown out. I immediately ask how to contact the owner I was told to go inside while the rest where leaving the sifting area. When I left my wife was still there with the grandkids. After I went into the building one of them called me an SOB in front of all including a 4 and 9 year old. My wife did not share this until we where home. It took a few days to get in touch with the owner and shared the above. His response was his guys would not do that and one that called me the name was an assistant pastor at his church. Great example in front of anyone especially same kids. Although the owner was basically calling a liar but he would talk to them and get back to me. Of course He never did. Make your own choices but this is not a good place to go. As a side note the North Carolina gems are imported from Indonesia and Peru. read more

Ok, let's be real... you're not going to find the Hope Diamond in one of the salted buckets at Sugar Creek Gem Mine, and if that's what you're hoping for then I don't suggest stopping at any of the touristy roadside gem mines in general. Also, I have a bridge to sell you. You can expect to get about half the value in rough gemstones that your bucket costs you, but c'mon, you're doing this for entertainment purposes, right? My friend and I had a blast "mining" for gems and felt like kids again. We split a 5-gallon bucket for $65 (they have various sizes and prices) and ended up with a pretty good stash that we sat and split up later. We found a wide variety of gems: amethysts, sapphires, quartz, emeralds, rubies, red jasper, garnets, aquamarines, etc. It took us about an hour, taking turns, to mine the 5-gallon bucket. This business opened recently, so the facilities are nice and new. The staff was very friendly and the gemologist who helped us sort through our haul at the end was quite knowledgeable. Bonus: if you get a particularly decent stone (which you will), they offer cutting services to turn your rock into a polished jewel that's ready to be set. The gemologist will help you pick a good stone for cutting, and you can expect to receive it in the mail in about 1-2 weeks. They told us that they plan to eventually bring a jeweler on staff, who will cut and set your stones on site, but they aren't quite there yet. Prices for cutting the stones range from about $30-$80 based on the type of stone and cut you choose. I had an amethyst oval cut for my mom (her birthstone) that I plan to set as a pendant for her birthday. It turned out to be an impressively done 1.6 carats, and the cost was $40. Now, by the time I get it set and add a chain, I'll be way over the cost of just buying a similar amethyst pendant at Kay Jewelers, but anyone who has ever given their mom some lop-sided homemade mug or crappy drawing of the family knows that anything you make (or have made) will go a lot further with her than just buying something at the store. Bottom line, kids and adults who are kids-at-heart will have a great experience at this place, so long as they are realistic about what they are paying for, which is mostly entertainment and a few bucks worth of gemstones as souvenirs. read more

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Went there as a family. One person working the entire store. This stores focus is primarily on renting ski equipment and not on gem mining or geology. Gem mining is located in a train caboose with cold water to sift through your buckets. The man working didn't know much about rocks so the post treasure hunt experience was a fail as well. There are much better gem mining places in the area. Go to one that truly focuses their business model around gem mining and geology. Better times elsewhere for the family. read more

I decided to take the kids here while on vacation because it was such a cold day snd needed something to do indoors, while so I thought. I called and they said they were an indoor heated faculty. Well little did I know this meant a makeshift covering with heat inside which we were still cold which was a bummer. What made it worse was that the water that we had to shift the gems in was so cold so our hands were freezing and wet in a Place that wasn't so warm. It was a bit uncomfortable for the price. Also They charged 39 for a 2 gallon bucket or I think it was 89.00 for a much larger one but there website states they offer smaller buckets for more reasonable prices but they didn't have any such buckets. We got 2 separate buckets so it was over 80 bucks for gem mining ridiculous right! But I already told them they could have there own bucket each because there website less one to believe that there are more affordable options when they r not. They did get some nice gems but no one enjoyed the cold draft and the cold water. Nor the bait and switch operation. read more

I felt it was pricey for the time it took my kids to dig through the bucket, but they loved every minute and went home and washed all their gems. It's a very fun family friendly activity. We purchased a five gallon bucket for six kids and felt that was enough for them to go through. Our kids are ages 4-9 and they loved it! read more

Right off the highway and near Beech Mountain and Banner Elk. Chris was friendly and knowledgeable and not a smidgen pushy. Spent an extraordinary amount of time sorting through our finds. Would definitely visit again when in the area! read more

We took our kids here and they loved it. They learned about gemstones, got to experience sifting through the dirt & rocks like miners, and left with little collections. The manager was very knowledgable and passionate about the finds. The place was clean and seemed somewhat new and the staff were friendly. We split the $33 two gallon bucket between the four of us and it was just about perfect and took about an hour. Our nine year old was much more interested than the five year old. read more

We had a great time at Sugar Creek Gem Mining. It was very laid back and enjoyable for all. The adults got to visit while sitting on the adirondack chairs on the patio while watching the kids "mine". The kids had a blast, they found some really pretty stones. They brought their treasures home and my 12 year old organized them all in a container and is still talking about mining and the stones he found. It was an unexpected highlight of the trip for us. read more