Gold King Mine & Ghost Town — Attraction in Four Corners States

I decided to make a visit to his so called “gold mine and ghost town” it was my first time visiting Jerome I originally wanted to do the ghost tours but I had no idea where to go register for it and I realized that I must of been at the wrong location as I was making my way to the back door there were 2 employees and me looking very clueless they didn’t bother greeting me at all so I assumed I could just walk to the back of the door maybe the tours were being held somewhere else as I proceed to the door and I cracked it open the cashier speaks very loudly saying “Sir there’s a fee to enter! There’s the sign right at the door!” Keep in mind there were other visitors inside and I felt pretty embarrassed afterwards and brushed it off and got over it, at first I couldn’t see the sign correctly since it was posted in the glass of the door and since the sun was reflecting through it, it was hard to see the prices, I didn’t want to argue with her so I squinted and saw how much the fee was so I paid it in cash and I apologized to the lady and she just said “that’s okay!” And looked rather bothered afterwards and I then proceed to check out this “ghost town” it was a nice scenery overall there wasn’t really a mine to begin with and it wasn’t even a ghost town, it looked like it was just a junkyard with old cars, buses and other vehicles from back then, overall it was a nice scenery, I walked around for maybe an hour checking things out and I enjoyed it for the most part. As I was making my way back inside the gift shop the door slammed and once again the cashier lady that raised her voice at me seemed bothered by it, I said sorry and thank you and made my way back to my car. Based on my experience I would never come back, I felt somewhat unwelcome, the fee to enter at my age range is $7.25 so idk why the lady made it such a big deal raising her voice across the whole gift shop as if I was some sort of criminal, I was the only person of color there so maybe she’s not used to it and she assumed the worse, if she had initially greeted me and told me the fee and was polite to me as she was to other people (not of color of course) maybe I would of given this place a better rating!...

It was something different, fun to do, and passed the time. REALLY liked the gold mining! (That was our purpose for going.) The place is a cross between a museum, a junk yard, an art exhibit, a ghost town, and a Renaissance Fair, minus the food and people. We followed Google maps directions and found it just fine. In Jerome there's an old style black & white oil truck with a big red arrow on top - follow it to the mine. Neat views! Cool stuff to see. There's a store with a nice selection of souvenirs and jewelry, and fossils. There are paths to take to buildings and exhibits. (Earth path vs paved path, so if there's moisture there will be mud). I recall a dentist, a blacksmith, sheds of vintage vehicles, the gold and gem mining, and a fake mine entrance. There is so much to look at your eyes are constantly moving. The blacksmith was there selling wares (hooks & hangers he forged, etc). There are flowers, plants and cactus, rocks, and bits of rusted or enameled parts scattered and displayed throughout. Little details everywhere. Its evident someone (many people) took time to create this southwestern ghost town wonderland. I think we paid $12 a person to get in and explore, and our bags of material to pan were maybe $25 a person? Gem bags were less cost. And the gold miner guide was very nice, and it was evident he enjoyed it. Fun day! We certainly didn't regret it. And now are addicted to...

Seven dollar admission to acres of old buildings, old junk, old cars, chickens, goats and more junk. A photographer's heaven. Don't expect a polished attraction, more like one man's obsession with collecting old junk. There are a few nicely restored cars and probably a few more hidden ones but the majority on display are junkyard type cars not particularly displayed well.

The gold mine is real but the "ghost town" is fabricated. Fun to explore. Although my suggestion to the owners would be to clean up the the place a bit. Sweep the dust out of the buildings, improve the walk ways and spread the cars out a bit. It's hard to get a good shot of most of them.

This place could be a photo shoot and selfie heaven if arranged better. A good example of similar "junk" arranged better for photo-shoots and photographers is the Eldorado Mine in Searchlight, Nevada. They charge $10 an hour to any and all photographers but they've arranged the cars across their property.

Over all a fun place to visit and it's very close to downtown Jerome. Open until 5 pm which is nice since so many places seem to close at 4. You can visit after lunch and then have more time to shop in...