Elijah Mountain Gem Mine and Goat Farm
2120 Brevard Rd, Hendersonville, NC 28791
Reviews
07/22/2017
Provided by YP.comElijah Mountain Gem Mine is always among our “bucket list” of activities when visiting the Hendersonville, North Carolina, area.
For the last 3 years, I’ve dropped my daughter Kate at Camp Ton-A-Wandah for summer camp. The first two years, we stopped at Elijah Mountain Gem Mine with her younger twin siblings and Mom. This year, Kate took a friend who was also attending camp and hitching a ride.
Leaving Vero Beach, Florida, early in the morning – Hendersonville is an approximate 10-hour drive with all the construction on Interstate 26 in South Carolina. And remember – I’m travelling with two 11-year-old kids.
On the road and blazing our way toward the Blue Ridge Mountains, Kate called ahead to find out what time Elijah Mountain closed and “what time do you take your last customer.” After she hung up, I advised the kids “I don’t think we’re going to make it before they close.”
Arriving at Elijah Mountain Gem Mine exactly 15 minutes before closing time – which was also exactly 15 minutes after Kate was told they took their last customer – we pulled into the parking lot and ran into a staff member picking up garbage. Opening my SUV window, I quipped that “we drove here from South Florida – can you hook us up?”
We were told yes – “come on in.” The kids were happy and we quickly made our way inside. I was happy for Kate’s friend as she doesn’t have many of these personal experiences in real life. I thought she would enjoy an experience like this.
Friendly and courteous staff that go out of their way to make each experience special; Joe, Jordan and Elizabeth are the staff we’ve encountered at Elijah Mountain Gem Mine. And it seems like we always run into Joe – he must be in charge as we run into him each summer we visit.
A wonderful array of stones and rocks that have been previously mined, it’s all about the personal “mining” experience at Elijah Mountain. We always order the “Green Giant” which is a 5-gallon bucket of mine dirt with extra fossils, geode, rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Using an online coupon saves about 20 percent over the already posted specials.
On this particular visit, Kate and her friend moved to the mining area to mine their bucket. Calcite, lepidolite, emeralds, sapphire, amethyst, jasper, sodalite and a bunch of other “special stuff” that I cannot even remember were among their “find.” Kate’s friend even mined a geode which was later cut to reveal its inner beauty.
I told the kids to “hurry up” a few times while Joe told them to take their time – no rush. All told, they spent about 40 minutes mining, which was about 30 minutes after posted closing. While they were mining, I snapped a few photos, walked the store and spoke with Joe and Jordan.
Elijah Mountain Gem Mine is a must stop place on your “bucket list” when visiting the Hendersonville area. We’ve visited on exactly three occasions and each visit was a 5-star experience. Keep up the good work!
Bill Lewis,
Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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