Closed for the season. Open April 1, 2025.

Photos

A family of Canadian geese in front of the Bon Ami mine waterfall

A family of Canadian geese at the Bon Ami waterfall

A mining flume with people hunting for gems and a historic mine in the background

The Gemstone Mine at Emerald Village

Bright green foliage seen from the Bon Ami Mine at Emerald Village in Little Switzerland, NC.

Green Grow the Mountains!

Hands holding gemstones

A handful of gems!

A multilevel wood building housing the Crabtree Junction Gift Shop and the Discovery Mill Museum

Crabtree Junction Gift Shop & Discovery Mill Museum

The underground Big Deal mine at Emerald Village

The Big Deal Mine

Looking towards Discovery Mill in the fall at Emerald Village

Looking towards Discovery Mill in the fall!

The Big McKinney Mine at Emerald Village in the fall

The Big McKinney Mine in the fall

A group of smiling school children with hands raised

"Who's excited to be at Emerald Village?"

Two boys holding gemstones at the gemstone mine

Fun at the Gemstone Mine

A group of tour buses in a parking lot

How many kids did you say?!

A smiling girl holding a gemstone

One happy miner!

White rocks, green trees and a blue sky

The McKinney Mine Dumps

The North Carolina Mining Museum building at Emerald Village in Little Switzerland, NC

The North Carolina Mining Museum

A historic mine with a waterfall and old mining equipment at Emerald Village in Little Switzerland, NC

The Bon Ami Mine

Two kids holding gemstones

Look what we found!

Two kids holding bags of gemstones

Showing off their treasures!

A group of children walking along a path

A visiting school group

A closeup of vivid green and blue minerals

Mixed minerals under UV light

An old mining town Company Store

The Company Store

A water-filled mine entrance

The flooded mine under the road

From inside the mine, looking out towards water and a path

Looking out of the Bon Ami Mine

Closeup of vivid green mineral

Hyalite Opal with UV light

Hands holding assorted gemstones

A handful of gems!

People gem mining at a flume

An old version of our Gemstone Mine!

A group of people in front of an old mine

The Big Deal Mine

An antique steam engine at the North Carolina Mining Museum

Antique Steam Engine

Discovery Mill building with NC Mining Museum building in background

Discovery Mill & the NC Mining Museum in 2007

An old photo of Discovery Mill at Emerald Village

An old photo of Discovery Mill

Old musical instruments in the Discovery Mill Museum at Emerald Village

The Antique Music Museum in Discovery Mill

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