Foggy Mountain Gem Mine
4416 NC Hwy 105, Boone, North Carolina
Located in North Carolina’s High Country, Foggy Mountain Gem Mine gets kids and adults alike hunting for treasure. Just like the miners of yore, visitors sift through rocks and dirt using water flumes to discover rough gems, like amethysts, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and more. Each bucket comes guaranteed with goodies—you just have to keep an eye out.
At Foggy Mountain Gem Mine, you can purchase a bucket of gravel and rock to sift through—various sizes are available—and, after brief instruction from staff, you get to work with the water flumes to search for real gems. Each bucket contains a guaranteed mix of emeralds, rubies, sapphires, garnets, citrines, and more. Of course, visitors aren’t expected to know what’s what, and staff are around to help with gem identification and cleaning. The mine also offers a shop with pre-made jewelry, rocks and gems, and other souvenirs.
Foggy Mountain has outdoor and indoor operations, making weather a non-issue.
Most visitors spend roughly 30–60 minutes searching through a 2-gallon bucket.
Restrooms, parking, and a shop—offering fossils, geodes, and more—are on-site.
Foggy Mountain Gem Mine has two locations, both in Boone. The main location is right on highway 321 and open year-round; the second location is west of town on highway 105. The main location is more easily reachable from downtown Boone, but both will require a car or taxi.
With year-round operations and both indoor and outdoor flumes, there’s no bad time to visit Foggy Mountain Gem Mine. That being said, with Boone’s nature being so spectacular, many visitors consider Foggy Mountain to be one of the town’s best rainy-day activities. If you run into inclement weather during your visit, that may be the time for some treasure hunting.
In addition to helping guests identify, sort, and clean their gems, staff can cut, polish, and even set found gems in jewelry, from pendants to rings and more. The difference between a rough-cut gem and a polished one is remarkable, though rough-cut gems are also worth setting. Bonus: Foggy Mountain offers plenty of birthstones in the buckets, too.
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