Jake was an AWESOME tour guide. Very knowledgeable.
Cody Ehlers
Visited in March. Tour was very informative, amazing to learn the slow processes back then, and about other mines of the time right here. Is a must stop for people interested in the history of the gold rush and seeing a real working mine and what all went into them. The kids loved finding real gold in the stream, and I loved the quick history. Recommend to everyone who is on the fence about going. Has something to offer for everyone.
Sandrine Breuil
Very interesting visit with Joe, a friendly guide with foreign tourists and always careful that his explanations are well understood. Full of astonishing and little-known details about the life of gold miners
Jim Blaine
Very interesting history about the area.
Trista Holz
We loved our panning for gold experience! Before we knew it, 3 hours had gone by! In addition to finding several small flakes of gold, we found lots of very small garnets, fragments of agates, and other various stones. Super friendly and helpful staff at Big Thunder Gold Mine. Highly recommend!
Scott C.
Nice tour of an original mine. Panning for gold netted a few flakes. Joe, the tour guide, was great.
emily lopez
AWESOME! I want to say Jim was his name, he taught us to pan and let us do our thing! Stayed out there for about 2 hours and honestly we could’ve went longer! We were addicted. Each got us some gold (just a little) but it was an amazing experience.Also the guy inside (not sure if his name) was super nice and explained everything! Definitely would return and is worth it.Also it’s close to Rushmore so it would be worth stopping!
Michael Sprague
This was an interesting spot. As you come down from Mt. Rushmore it’s a great place to stop. My family had a great time sifting through dirt to find gold. We did do the mine but we did pan at the stations. We found some flakes and had a great time. No nuggets but for $16 per person it was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed finding the gold. There is a creek that runs in front of the building. My daughter and i took the opportunity to do some pictures and they were perfect. Overall was a great place to stop. You may meet some interesting people, we did lol
Jake Schreiner
Don’t expect a huge crazy mine like you would see in the movies, however, the history and story behind Big Thunder was very interesting. The maintenance guy (forgot his name) led the tour and shared some of the knowledge he’s gained through his own research plus working in and around the mine everyday. He made it worth every penny. They also had gold panning available which I did not partake in, but I’m sure kids would really enjoy it.
Chanell Ponce
We had a wonderful time. We did not do the gold panning, but did the tour of the mine. Everyone enjoyed it. We’d definitely come back when we’re visiting the state again.
Tour would have been better but maintenance guy filled in for regular guide and it was LONG!!! Too much talking, and about stuff that didn't pertain to the mine! We were in the mine itself for almost an hour and we had to miss the other part of the tour due to my husband's knees no longer able to take the standing. We also were not shown a demonstration by the Guide at the beginning of the tour how to pan but the tour right after ours did.
Nikki Germain
We had an great tour of the mine. It was a perfect day for it as it was extremely hot and the mines are refreshingly cool. Brian, who is the maintenance man, did the tour and he was informative and funny. We chose this particular tour as it is dog friendly. Our dogs were welcomed warmly and enjoyed trotting through the cool mine. Would definitely recommend.
Allen Bartell
We bought a group deal via Groupon. Great deal. Really nice they do that. We did the tour and on-site panning. It was great. WE also had one more in our party than the Groupon. The clerk made that one of the kids’ tickets (as opposed to adult) so that saved us more money. A very nice touch. I would not have thought twice if she had charged us adult rate for the extra ticket. The tour guide was kind of in memorized auto mode with his presentation. But happily answered questions and kept the tour on time. And we learned a LOT.The gold panning was awesome too. The first pan came seeded with 5-6 flakes. But we were able to find a bunch more in the gravel on the bottom.They also had people working the area and giving everyone individual attention. It was really good. We even got a couple of vial clasps that turned our vial of gold into pendants. We were going to pay for these but she just gave them to us as well. We also bought 5 gallons of paydirt to take home for our scout troop. At $55 I thought this was really reasonable too. They seed that too so it’s guaranteed to produce gold. They also have a fair selection of pans, sluices, and other mining equipment.Everyone was very very nice and accommodating. We stayed for lunch and ate at their restaurant next door and it was excellent too.Overall I was really impressed with the quantity of the experience and the hospitality of the employees.
Brittany Mills
We had a great experience at Big Thunder Gold Mine. I was hesitant to bring our young kids to a mine, but it was kid-friendly & an easy straight walk. Our guide was very knowledgeable & always checked in with everyone to make sure we felt comfortable. The tour was the perfect amount of time to be spent in a cave with our kids before they got antsy. It was nice to see a piece of history left untouched still to this day. It's in a great location very close to the main street in Keystone. You get an opportunity afterwards to pan for gold or gemstones. The store also has a large selection of gemstones & pieces you can purchase for souvenirs.
Christopher S.
Great little tour of a once active mine. Tour guide was interesting and you go pretty deep into the mine. Even a wheel chair was accessible. Children enjoyed panning for gold and found a few flecks. Enjoy.
Jake was an AWESOME tour guide. Very knowledgeable.
Visited in March. Tour was very informative, amazing to learn the slow processes back then, and about other mines of the time right here. Is a must stop for people interested in the history of the gold rush and seeing a real working mine and what all went into them. The kids loved finding real gold in the stream, and I loved the quick history. Recommend to everyone who is on the fence about going. Has something to offer for everyone.
Very interesting visit with Joe, a friendly guide with foreign tourists and always careful that his explanations are well understood. Full of astonishing and little-known details about the life of gold miners
Very interesting history about the area.
We loved our panning for gold experience! Before we knew it, 3 hours had gone by! In addition to finding several small flakes of gold, we found lots of very small garnets, fragments of agates, and other various stones. Super friendly and helpful staff at Big Thunder Gold Mine. Highly recommend!
Nice tour of an original mine. Panning for gold netted a few flakes. Joe, the tour guide, was great.
AWESOME! I want to say Jim was his name, he taught us to pan and let us do our thing! Stayed out there for about 2 hours and honestly we could’ve went longer! We were addicted. Each got us some gold (just a little) but it was an amazing experience.Also the guy inside (not sure if his name) was super nice and explained everything! Definitely would return and is worth it.Also it’s close to Rushmore so it would be worth stopping!
This was an interesting spot. As you come down from Mt. Rushmore it’s a great place to stop. My family had a great time sifting through dirt to find gold. We did do the mine but we did pan at the stations. We found some flakes and had a great time. No nuggets but for $16 per person it was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed finding the gold. There is a creek that runs in front of the building. My daughter and i took the opportunity to do some pictures and they were perfect. Overall was a great place to stop. You may meet some interesting people, we did lol
Don’t expect a huge crazy mine like you would see in the movies, however, the history and story behind Big Thunder was very interesting. The maintenance guy (forgot his name) led the tour and shared some of the knowledge he’s gained through his own research plus working in and around the mine everyday. He made it worth every penny. They also had gold panning available which I did not partake in, but I’m sure kids would really enjoy it.
We had a wonderful time. We did not do the gold panning, but did the tour of the mine. Everyone enjoyed it. We’d definitely come back when we’re visiting the state again.
Restaurantji Recommends
Tour would have been better but maintenance guy filled in for regular guide and it was LONG!!! Too much talking, and about stuff that didn't pertain to the mine! We were in the mine itself for almost an hour and we had to miss the other part of the tour due to my husband's knees no longer able to take the standing. We also were not shown a demonstration by the Guide at the beginning of the tour how to pan but the tour right after ours did.
We had an great tour of the mine. It was a perfect day for it as it was extremely hot and the mines are refreshingly cool. Brian, who is the maintenance man, did the tour and he was informative and funny. We chose this particular tour as it is dog friendly. Our dogs were welcomed warmly and enjoyed trotting through the cool mine. Would definitely recommend.
We bought a group deal via Groupon. Great deal. Really nice they do that. We did the tour and on-site panning. It was great. WE also had one more in our party than the Groupon. The clerk made that one of the kids’ tickets (as opposed to adult) so that saved us more money. A very nice touch. I would not have thought twice if she had charged us adult rate for the extra ticket. The tour guide was kind of in memorized auto mode with his presentation. But happily answered questions and kept the tour on time. And we learned a LOT.The gold panning was awesome too. The first pan came seeded with 5-6 flakes. But we were able to find a bunch more in the gravel on the bottom.They also had people working the area and giving everyone individual attention. It was really good. We even got a couple of vial clasps that turned our vial of gold into pendants. We were going to pay for these but she just gave them to us as well. We also bought 5 gallons of paydirt to take home for our scout troop. At $55 I thought this was really reasonable too. They seed that too so it’s guaranteed to produce gold. They also have a fair selection of pans, sluices, and other mining equipment.Everyone was very very nice and accommodating. We stayed for lunch and ate at their restaurant next door and it was excellent too.Overall I was really impressed with the quantity of the experience and the hospitality of the employees.
We had a great experience at Big Thunder Gold Mine. I was hesitant to bring our young kids to a mine, but it was kid-friendly & an easy straight walk. Our guide was very knowledgeable & always checked in with everyone to make sure we felt comfortable. The tour was the perfect amount of time to be spent in a cave with our kids before they got antsy. It was nice to see a piece of history left untouched still to this day. It's in a great location very close to the main street in Keystone. You get an opportunity afterwards to pan for gold or gemstones. The store also has a large selection of gemstones & pieces you can purchase for souvenirs.
Great little tour of a once active mine. Tour guide was interesting and you go pretty deep into the mine. Even a wheel chair was accessible. Children enjoyed panning for gold and found a few flecks. Enjoy.