The tour featured a train ride underground (complete with water drips) and was presented by a guy who had a lot of mining experience. He demonstrated many mining techniques and answered every question he was presented. Meeting him gave me a real appreciation of the toll that mining takes on a miner. Well worth the price of admission!
This was a great gold mine tour with a Capitol "G". You ride in on this little wagon the when you get way back in you get out for a walking tour of the mine which included demonstrations of the various equipment. Some of it was quite loud but very interesting and informative.
This mine tour is much better then I was expecting. I was coming in with the mind set of being in a cave tour where you can't touch and very dry tour guides. This tour allows you to experience what it was like being in a mine over 100 years ago. There are working demonstrations of equipment and very well explanations on techniques as this was a real working mine at one time. Our guide was an actual miner that has since retired and now does tours. He was very friendly and very patient with the children. I recommend going to this tour even if you "think" you know what happens in a mine.
For the money you get about a three minute train ride in a dark dripping damp tunnel, then a short circular tour showing how the rock is blasted and removed, and you get some idea of the daily routine if the miners, then you go out again, all in less than an hour.personally, i would have liked to spend longer underground, walk further through the mine, and learn more, but this is perhaps a good introduction for children and other people with short attention spans.The guide was a former miner who was entertaining and knowledgeable.
This was my first Gold Mine tour. Surprising fact is that this is an abandoned mine so no more gold left. However, the tour guides still takes a lot of pride (and rightfully so) .. to show all the details of this mine. It was very well designed tour. If you are around Silverton and have couple of hours do come and visit. Also, the location of this mine is interesting: lots of scenic views while driving in and out.
After hiking for two days we took a side trip and found this great mine. Jake our guide was funny, smart, and wonderful with the kids in our group. After a short train ride into the mine we enjoyed a tour on foot, saw how equipment was used, and given plenty of time for picture taking. Getting to the mine involves a gravel road but keep going, it is worth the trip. We really enjoyed the tour.
We visited this really out of the way but very accessible mine while vacationing in the mountains of Silverton. Our guide was a miner and so knew his way around the tunnels, trams, lifts, drills, blasting, and so much about the history of the area. We had been atving on many of the trails around the area and just wanted to know more about why lines were strung from top to bottom of the mountains, why there were so many many holes in the rocks, how on earth the folks got such massive equipment up a trail no bigger than 70 inches. Our guide gave us a geology lesson, a history lesson and little spun stories I am sure. He made it fun for the kids from 4 to 64 to take the tour. You actually go into the mine on a mine care, where the drilling and blasting equipment is still in working order and they show you how it worked, and the kids can sort of have a hands on experience (without the danger) of drilling and blasting the copper ore. Most informative and fun!
Great mine train ride with good explanations of mining techniques. The scenery up the valley and the old mine works are worth the trip.
We had fun wearing our yellow raincoats and hard hats, riding the train into the mine, hearing the stories and looking at how they worked in the mines years ago. It is fun for everyone.
The mine is located about 5 miles outside of Silverton. Tours run every hour during the summer so we didn't have to wait long. Even better, there was a novelty gold panning area for the kids that's included in the tour price, where they can pan for gold, silver and copper.The tour starts off on a small, open mine train where they take you a good ways into the mine itself. Be prepared... the mine stays a constant 47 degrees and you cross under dripping water at the entrance. Our tour guide was a former miner at the Old Hundred mine and walked us through it's history, geology and mining techniques and tools. Example: the quartz veins found in Galena mountain contained five minerals (gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc). Very interesting stuff. Our kids loved it and so did we. Definitely worth doing.