Reed Gold Mine
Reed Gold Mine is the site of the first documented gold find in the United States. From this discovery, gold mining spread gradually to nearby counties and eventually into other southern states. Today you can still feel the cool dampness underground in an early gold mine, marvel at early 20th-century steam locomotives, and relive a colonial or Civil War battle. Visitor centers with exhibits filled with artifacts and multimedia presentations can be found most sites, as are picnic facilities. Most tours and many special programs are free.
Joshua Emmanuel Isaacson
4.5 out of 5. It would be nice to know where they found some of the exhibits and any stories behind their preservation. Staff was friendly and informative. Cave itself was cool, although it was just the horizontal shafts not any vertical ones. They've a few interesting trails that overlook some old mine shafts which is neat. They could use some asphalt to fix up the potholes on the driveway. All in all a good experience.
Mark Shapiro
Underground mind part is awesome. Self guided tour. Panning for gold sells out quick. You are not digging or panning on river. Its a rectangle area with a shed. They dump a pile of dirt in the middle. Workers give you a pile of dirt in a plastic pan. That being said, it was super cool, because you actually learn how to pan for gold. Its a laborious process. They said you have a one in five chance of finding gold. Two in our group of five found gold. The size of the gold was super tiny, like a large sand grain, not even a small pebble. It was fun none the less. As a kid I loved museums, but as an adult I didnt find their museum all that interesting.
Jessica Sergent
The experience that we had here, was priceless. Great history lesson! The underground area was chilly, but we survived. And the gold panning is well worth the couple of bucks. Great staff to help out! We went twice in two days, on out visit from NY. Can't wait to come back again!
Kayla Marie
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.
Chelsea H
We drove here from Raleigh as a little day trip and it was so much more fun than I expected. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes history or just thinks it would be cool to walk through a mine shaft.
