During our family trip to Blue Ridge, Georgia, we stopped at The Lilly Pad Village to try our luck at gem mining. We chose one of the medium-sized buckets for the three of us to share, and it was totally packed with colorful gemstones.
The gem mining was fun, easy enough for all ages and definitely rewarding. However, our bucket had so many gems that we found them pretty quickly. I think we were done in under 20 minutes.
This is a fun stop to add to your Blue Ridge itinerary, but unless you combine it with the other activities available at The Lilly Pad Village, don’t expect it to fill an entire afternoon.
What Is The Lilly Pad Village?
The Lilly Pad Village is a small family-friendly attraction located in the Aska Adventure Area, about eight miles outside downtown Blue Ridge. It has a quiet, woodsy setting that feels very different from the larger attractions surrounded by parking lots and busy roads.
Gem mining is one of the main attractions, but it isn’t the only thing to do. The Lilly Pad Village also offers:
- Miniature golf on a natural mountain course
- Catch-and-release fishing in a stocked pond
- A covered gem-mining flume
- Picnic tables and shady places to relax
- A small shop with gifts, gemstones, snacks, ice cream and drinks
The property is both kid-friendly and pet-friendly, and leashed dogs are welcome. The covered gem-mining area also makes this an activity you can enjoy when it is hot outside or lightly raining.
The Lilly Pad Village is located at 24 Adelaide Drive, Blue Ridge, GA 30513. You can find current hours and additional visitor information on The Lilly Pad Village website.
How Much Does Gem Mining Cost?
Gem mining is priced by the bucket rather than by the number of people participating. At the time of our visit, there were three bucket options:
- Biggie Smalls Bucket: $35
Includes 10 pounds of gem dirt and more than 18 ounces of assorted gemstones. - #2 Pac Bucket: $45
Includes 15 pounds of gem dirt and more than 27 ounces of assorted gemstones. - Slick Nick Bucket: $85
Includes 30 pounds of gem dirt and more than 54 ounces of assorted gemstones.
The posted prices included sales tax when we visited. Miniature golf was listed separately at $8 per person, or $4 for children under five with a paying adult.
Because prices and hours can change, I recommend checking the website before visiting.
Sharing the Two-Person Gem-Mining Bucket
Our family of three shared the #2 Pac Bucket, which is labeled for a maximum of two people. However, that number is more of a recommendation than a strict rule.
They aren’t going to count the number of people reaching into the bucket. The recommendation is simply meant to make sure everyone receives a satisfying amount of dirt to sift and gemstones to discover. If a large group tries to share a small bucket, some people may not get much of the experience.
The three of us had no trouble sharing the #2 Pac Bucket. In fact, it contained an incredible number of stones. We ended up filling four baggies with our finds.
How Gem Mining Works at The Lilly Pad Village
You don’t need to bring any equipment or have previous gem-mining experience. The setup is simple, and everything you need is provided.
The mining area has a long wooden flume with water constantly running through it. You use a wooden sifting screen that has a mesh bottom, along with a scoop for transferring the dirt.
Here is how it works:
- Scoop some dirt into your screen.
Start with a manageable amount rather than filling the screen completely. Smaller batches are easier to rinse and inspect. - Lower the screen into the flowing water.
Hold the wooden screen securely and dip the mesh portion into the flume. - Shake and swish the screen.
Gently move it from side to side while keeping it in the water. The flowing water washes away the loose sand and dirt. - Check what remains.
Once most of the dirt is gone, lift the screen and look through the rocks left behind. The gemstones are usually easy to spot because of their colors, shapes and textures. - Place your gems in a bag.
Save the stones you want to keep, dump the remaining gravel and repeat the process until the bucket is empty.
It can get a little wet and messy, but that is part of the fun. I would wear clothes and shoes that you don’t mind getting splashed.
What Kind of Gemstones Can You Find?
Every bucket contains a mixture of rough gemstones, minerals and other interesting rocks. The exact assortment will vary, so you won’t necessarily find every type on the identification card.
Some of the possible finds include:
- Amethyst
- Amazonite
- Apatite
- Black tourmaline
- Citrine
- Crystal quartz
- Dalmatian jasper
- Emerald
- Garnet
- Green calcite
- Green quartz
- Moss agate
- Moonstone
- Orange calcite
- Petrified wood
- Pyrite
- Red jasper
- Rose quartz
- Ruby
- Sapphire
- Smoky quartz
- Sodalite
- Tiger’s eye
They give you a gemstone identification postcard to help you compare the colors and patterns of your stones. Identifying everything is almost as much fun as finding it, especially when you have a pile containing many different colors and textures.
Our Experience with the #2 Pac Bucket
Our bucket was loaded with gemstones. We didn’t have to search very hard before colorful stones started appearing in the screen. By the time we finished, we had enough gemstones to fill four separate baggies.
While it was exciting to find so many, I actually think the experience might have been even better with a larger amount of ordinary dirt surrounding the same number of gems. Part of the fun is supposed to be the “mining”—washing away the dirt, examining what remains and hoping to spot something special.
With our bucket, the gemstones appeared so quickly that we finished sooner than expected. Of course, kids who want a guaranteed haul will probably consider this a major advantage. There is little chance of walking away disappointed or empty-handed.
Is Gem Mining at The Lilly Pad Village Worth It?
We had a lot of fun, and the amount of gemstones in our bucket was impressive. The activity was easy, hands-on and something our whole family could enjoy together.
Just keep in mind that gem mining may go fairly quickly, especially if several people are working on one bucket. I wouldn’t plan on this being a long afternoon activity by itself. If you want to spend more time at The Lilly Pad Village, consider combining gem mining with miniature golf, fishing or a relaxed picnic on the property.
Once we got home, the fun wasn’t completely over. I like putting rough gemstones into my National Geographic rock tumbler to polish them and see how their colors and patterns change. It turns the stones we found on vacation into shiny keepsakes—and gives us another project to enjoy long after our trip to Blue Ridge is over.
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