We loved it here. Fun, educational, beautiful and easy short trails. (Note, there are steps.) My littles (6 & 4.5) we’re a little nervy/scared to enter the mine but they did and they really liked it. We went in the off season. We’d love to come back when the panning is open so we can do that too.

Visited over Father's Day for the 2nd time (with 3 generations - age 6 to 74). I've done the self-guided tour before but did the guided tour this time. I enjoy both. My 6-year-old REALLY loved the panning for gold and was the only one to find a fleck. She is proudly displaying her vial on a shelf in her bedroom. It's a fun way to spend a few hours with family. Quick advice, check for ticks when you leave. We found a few after walking around after the mine tour. (That wouldn't stop us from going back.)

When a family member suggested we go to an old gold mine while visiting NC I was hesitant. I will admit, I was wrong. I throughly enjoyed my time here. A short visit through the museum gave great history lessons through artifacts, including Gene Cernan’s ( last man in the Moon) helmet from Apollo 17 (gold deposition of the glass face shield to protect against solar radiation). Knowledge staff answered my questions and when the couldn’t the called on others who could. They were pleasant and helpful. It was then on to panning for gold. We were handed pans of sand, silt and rocks. We were shown how to “pan for gold”. We had fun and ended with small gold flakes our kids loved. It was the on to the old mine. The outdoor temperature was in the mid 90s Fahrenheit. As we approached the mine entrance we felt the cool air. We found the entrance and a low hanging fog welcomed us down the valley to the entrance. Walking through the mine tunnel you could see the milky quartz veins running at sloped angles. Condensation covered everything. At various places a mine car, mine shaft, etc cloud be seen. Having walked the tunnel we exited up the 70 some steps to surface. The air got warmer and warmer as we went up those steps. We soon followed a trail to a high point and then headed back to the visitors center. On the drive home our kids asked when we could come back.

I have never visited a mine or had this type of experience before and it was really awesome to share with my best friend and her family. The history of the mine is really interesting and I greatly enjoyed the trails through the woods and exploring the actual mine. The site is also dog friendly so I was happy to share this experience with my puppers! The gold panning was cool, however we did feel very rushed by the staff because we had two pans to do each. Overall it gets five stars because of the historic element and ambiance of the area.

Some of the state historic sites can be hits or misses (looking at you Aycock Birthplace, nobody wants to learn about the “education governor”). Reed Gold Mine is a hit, fun and educational. Tour and museum are free, for $3 you can pan for gold. The self guided tour of the mine is impressive, never seen anything like it and it was extremely cool inside compared to the mid 90 degree outdoor heat. Staff was great and helpful with questions.

Took my teenage sons and we had a really good time! The museum does a really good job of balancing education with fascinating experiences. We found gold while we were panning!! Another group found some as well. Well worth the visit.

This was a neat place to check out with my kids! The visitor center had interesting artifacts and an informational video. The self guided tour of the mine was fascinating and easy to navigate. The staff both inside the visitor center and outside at the panning area were super friendly and knowledgeable.

This place was fantastic. Such a unique experience to see the inside of a mine. Self guided tour, and no charge for anything other then the gold panning if you choose to do so.

This is a great place for learning about a local gold mine. You can walk through the old mine guided or on your own. They have a few trails and for a small fee you can pan for gold!

It was a unique experience and was able to learn a lot. You are able to do most things around here for free. The only thing that costs is the gold panning and its only $3. We did it for each kid and one pan had a little fleck of gold and the other had nothing. Kind of surprised they didn't have more in the gift shop or a way to donate to the place. A ton of walking paths and tables for a picnic. Recommend going and bring the kids!

Definitely a space to check out at least once. Has some great historical features and the underground mine is really cool and takes you back to a time in the past. The grounds are well maintained and perfect to walk on a nice day like we did!

We had a blast! The trails are beautiful. The staff are so friendly! 10⭐️ to the staff! Management should encourage tipping!! Shame on you management!! The tour guide and the guys at the panning station didn’t get any tips. I gave the guy at the panning station a tip and he didn’t know what to do with himself! He said, “what’s this? You can pay inside.” He told me they had never been tipped. WHAT?! Every tour guide gets tipped! They set us up for mining, gave instructions, checked on everyone, helped so many people, then cleaned up after everyone. Admission is free, but the tour and mining cost. The museum is also free. The mining was $3 and worth it. So fun! PLEASE TIP THE STAFF HERE! 😊😊 The tunnels were cool. The trails are beautiful. There are picnic tables and benches everywhere. Everything was very clean. I’ll definitely go back!

Reed Gold Mine is a must-see for anyone interested in the Carolina Gold Rush, American history, or gold in general. It was a perfect combination of an indoor museum-style exhibit, an underground and above ground tour, and gold panning. Self-guided tours are free and panning only costs about $3 per person. I visited with my family (10 people ranging in age from 4-57 years old) and everyone enjoyed it!

It’s a fantastic place to visit and bring kids. I really enjoyed getting to see the mine, learn about the history, and walk the trail. The small museum is very informative, and I love getting to see the exhibit. There is lots of history here, and the trail has beautiful views of the creek and woods. It’s certainly worth a visit.

Nice gold mine to visit. Panning for gold is $3.00. The gold museum has a good movie about gold in NC and ery good mining exhibits. Walking through the gold mine was interesting and the trails were nice.

Kids (7 years) had a great time. Tour was interesting and informative. Not much else to do out there and you will only spend about 3 hours there. We went early, had a tour and ate lunch and left. Would go again, but not someplace to go often

This place is free! What a wealth of knowledge. Learned so much about mining and the Carolina golden state. They have a movie you can watch. A fun trail you can walk and a mine you can walk through for a self guided tour. The gift shop is not super impressive. There is no earring or gold jewelry type item. I liked that they had shirts. I think the gift shop could do better. I really enjoyed the entire experience. It was great to do on a rainy day. Loved it.

I am only giving 4 stars because panning for gold was closed. The rest was really a lot of fun. It was nice to get out and walk in nature and go into a mine. There are nice trails and interesting things to look at and learn about. The museum was informative and the artifacts we really amazing. Next time we will pack a picnic lunch, try another trail and pan for gold.

Enjoyed this a lot. Most of the museum is free. You have to pay for gold panning. The employee who taught us how to pan was very nice as was the front desk staff. There are a lot of picnic tables. The trails are nice and well maintained as is the mine and museum. The only thing that could be improved is that the bathrooms could use some maintenance/cleaning.

Interesting experience! Very affordable and lots of historical information provided!! You get a self-guide pamphlet to go explore underground in pleasantly cool tunnels (it's summertime!) Panning was also educational for children, haven't found anything though. Be careful: Roads leading up to the mine are in need of patching and there are lots of stairs in the mine. Good thing there are benches everywhere in the woods trail area and a nice gift shop to explore. BTW you pay only for Panning.

This was great when you include the walking trails and the well preserved mine tunnels.The museum is nice to understand how things worked. A great place to spend an hour+ if you are not in a hurry.

I took my family here on a Saturday afternoon and we all enjoyed it. It wasn't busy at all and it was a self guided tour which we were fine with. Busier days have guided tours. Panned for gold and actually found a small piece to take home.

We took our children there (7 & 1) for a homeschool learning day. Carolina Gold Rush Day was the theme.. very educational and can't stop talking about it. It was cool to go down in the mine and see what it was like. Alot of walking.. do not recommend taking a stroller. Both kids loved it.

Nice place and neat walkthrough of the mine. It is a bit short but you can walk through it as much as you want. Natural air conditioning in the summer

Staff was very friendly and helpful especially the gentlemen helping at the panning station. Exhibits were very well done and informational. Walking through the old Mine was so cool. Literally as the temp was much lower than the outside Temps so it was quite a relief from the heat. Looking forward to taking my family of 6 back again. It was able to keep everyone interested from our oldest (11 yo) to our youngest (2 yo). Free to tour, $3 per person to pan for gold.

The video shown at the beginning is very helpful in understanding the history of gold mining in the area. The mines and the trails really enhanced the visit. There was a school group enjoying the gold panning experience. Very nice experience overall.

Kid and adults of all ages will love it here. You can explore the caves where it tells the history of the area. Gold panning is a must.

This is a fun trip for a couple of hours! Panning for gold is cool and we found a flake of gold in 4 out of the 6 pans we had. You can also explore the underground mine! We heated there was hiking but we didn't see it or attempt.

Great weekend activity! We enjoyed the visitor center and all the interesting facts/displays. We loved that you could do a self guided tour of the grounds and the mine. The panning was also such a fun little activity and we actually found a tiny flake! We also enjoyed the mass amount of other activities around this area. All kinds of wineries and a prison turned distillery!