Diamond Hill Mine

This is really a great place to do some Rock hounding at. Be sure to bring an old screw driver and maybe a garden shovel, garden rake, and small pic hammer. A bucket to put what you find in and water to rinse stuff off. They do not have running water there. A bristle brush would also be helpful. I found mostly white, clear, and yellowish crystals and smokey quartz and white quartz when I was there and intend to go back soon to try and find some amethyst. They have some picnic tables if you want to sit and enjoy a lunch break.

My husband and I have been going here for about 5 years now and we truly love it. It costs $20 per adult and $10 for kids. You bring your own digging tools, buckets, etc... and go crazy!! You keep what you find and they close by 5p.m. We have found some beautiful pieces; purple amethyst, skeletal, garnett, milky quartz and crystal quartz. Lots of points!!

What an experience! Truly! We arrived a bit later that we planned at 1:30pm. The mine closes at 5pm. We were unsure if this would give us enough time. But, it ended up being perfect due to the sweltering summer heat. #1 read the website before you go #2 bring all the tools you need. What we brought and recommend: Hand garden rake, hand shovel, long screwdriver, a hat, something to keep your treasures in, lots of water, a bucket, a gallon jug of water, sanity and patience. Hint: go after it rains. We were very overwhelmed at first. Didn't know where to start, how to look etc... We just walked out to the mounds of tailings and started hacking away with shovels. That was too much hard work for us. I noticed while taking a break, that when the sun is super bright, it makes some of the gems sparkle if you are close. This made it easy to find little ones without digging. So we started walking around- found way more just looking instead of digging. Had we brought a bigger hammer or Maybe a sludge hammer- we probably would have found more. Our daughter found a big piece. We were a hotmess when we left, but we left happy and with a good amount in a short amount of time! David - thank you for the info and conversation.

Good price, great people, and you can dig the whole day and take as much as you find for no additional price. And of course it is fun if you don't mind hard work and getting dirty. Don't forget your tools! My parents got a senior discount ($10), but even at the full price of $20 it is worth it. You can find $20 worth of crystals in no time if you are lucky. The digging isn't easy but the time flies by. We visited on April 22, 2023 and there were virtually no bugs. All the other miners and staff were super helpful and nice. We stayed in Anderson which is just about 30 minutes away and it was easy to get to the mine. It was my first time digging for crystals and my first time at Diamond Hill mine. The crystals came slow in the morning as I jumped from spot to spot trying to find them, but once I started digging in big holes other people had already made it was a lot easier and I started finding more crystals. Our main issue digging was our tools. we had a small folding shovel, some hand cultivators, and a long screwdriver. Since we were new we didn't know what was best to use. Obviously the shovel was best for starting holes, but that was labor intensive and slow compared to just using someone else's old hole. The cultivators work great once you start a flat wall in a hole, but you run the risk of hitting a crystal too hard and chipping the point - and that was our main problem. I started using the screwdriver in my last hole at the end of the day and it worked great - just don't pry directly on the crystal or you could break it. If you plan on staying the whole day bring plenty of water and at least some snacks or pack a lunch. I was drinking water but still ended up dehydrated at the end of the day. The photos are all from just 1 day of digging, and they are just some of the nicer crystals we found. You can find quartz, skeletal quartz, amethyst, smoky quartz, aquamarine, mica, feldspar and more there.

I love this place with all my heart and always look forward to spending a day of treasure hunting, especially after a rain. David, Cindy, and their son Travis take turns holding down the fort, welcoming diggers and helping in any way they can. This time, I watched David help a man repair a flat tire, even offering to run home and grab an item they could use. The only way you will not find quartz points crystals is if you never look down, as there are always some exposed after even a light rain. Take along a lunch and water, as you'll need to remain on the grounds for the extent of your visit. Have fun & happy digging!

Overall impression: adults loved it, kids enjoyed playing in the mud and creek! More physical than we anticipated but definitely want to go back. We planned a whole day trip, bought a ton of supplies, and watched a ton of YouTube videos. Thank goodness we did! The videos helped a lot. It was pretty easy to get to (take suber rd) and even though there were a ton of people it didn’t feel crowded. When we pulled in there was someone patrolling the parking lot for entry instead of an office or kiosk. He was incredibly, astoundingly rude including physically pushing my daughter out of the way when the car next to us adjusted parking (she was not in danger). After that though everything was awesome! We found a ton of smaller clusters, clear and milky quartz, and smoky quartz. To make sure we “got our moneys worth” I grabbed an absolute wagon full of quartz to line our garden beds 😆 Heads up: - you might not find giant things, but everything is still super cool - you can’t leave once you get there (dude was real aggro about it too) - take plenty of water - baby wipes were a lifesaver with the kids - take a big shovel and little shovels/spades - picnic facilities are nice - port-a-potty was vile - make sure to look on the ground! We found most of our coolest stuff right on the surface!!