Ron Coleman Mining — Attraction in Hot Springs Village

I've come here 4 times in the past couple of years and finally wanted to share my honest review of the dig site and the camp grounds. The first year was great, second wasn't so they gave me a free dig gift card, 3rd year was ok, 4th year not that great again.

Dig site: When I first came to this location I thought visitors were allowed to actually mine the crystals. This is not the case unless you have a buisness llc. What visitors actually get to do is dig through piles of dirt brought up by dump trucks. If you're lucky enough to be there when they are dumping you might find an actual decent crystal or two. But it's laborious work and you don't always walk away with something special. Most pieces are broken or damaged in some way. If you ask an employee if anything is getting dumped that day most of the time they shrug and they all say the same thing, they don't know. But this visit I ran into someone named Dutch. After rudly telling people he was going to tattle and get an employee to read the rules if he thinks you're throwing rocks, Dutch said he was friends with all the guys that worked at Ron Coleman and no new dumps would happen that weekend. To my great frustration he was right. But if he can know why can't they be transparent with everyone? They use to have a wash station but as far as we could tell there is no way for a guest to turn the hose on to clean crystals... seeing your finds is a fun part of the experience. And the crystal washing station at the camp grounds is disgusting. It's between an rv dump site and a dumpster, it's usually flooded with stinky water that you don't want to get on you, the table is busted in the middle. The strainer they have is also broken and there are no longer any scrub tools. It honestly feels like a place that's more worried about the next dollar then the experience of the actual customers. The porta pottys at the dig site are a far cry from clean. Literally breathing in those things leaves a chemical after taste in your mouth. Campsite: I've stayed in the little cabin on the property each time I've gone. It's usually pretty clean and it's a nice place to stay for a dig weekend. There is no c02 detector and the fire alarm is missing (been that way each time). There's no emergency sheet letting you know where to take shelter in case of a tornado. There are no seasonings, foil or olive oil, so when you buy food for your stay I would bring all of that as well. It's always hot when you arrive (they want it kept at 75), I also really wish they would leave more toilet paper at the guests disposal, for 4 days we had a roll and a half. The only way to get more is to try to get a hold of the camp ground manager and then she has to come in, unlock the bathroom closet, and get you some. They do not sell firewood at this camp ground nor are there any other essentials there for you to buy. So if you need something you have to drive for a little bit to find a gas station or store. The laundry room is awful. It smells like a gas leak every time I'm there and now this time there's a sign stating you have to unplug the dryers (they won't shut off by themselves) in order to check on your clothes. If they're not dry yet you have to pay again and start the process over. At this visit there were several very loud, very close gun shots near the grounds. They sounded like they were near the bathrooms. Another guest at the site said an employee was trying to shoot wasps...I texted the camp ground manager and was told that the owners of Ron Coleman put in a shooting range. When I asked if this was a new thing I never got a reply. All and all I would recommend at least coming once but I wouldn't expect an experience tailored towards happy guests. Its a fun place to meet new...

I have been to 6 mines in the area, over the years. This was my first time here at this mine. Great store front and looks nice, new, and clean, but that is where it stops. Great store front, but mine is tapped out from what I can see. They wanted to charge for a tour? Really??? I had no luck what so ever at this site. and that is just sad. I know how to look for rocks. I took my three kids with me as well. Just crazy and I spent some time there to. Their idea of moving earth was moving the large bed rock from the bottom of the mine. Piles of earth that have been picked over 1000 times, with nothing in them. That Is what your digging in. I am a rock hound and I have been doing this for some time now. One of the first things I asked is what are people leaving with and what are they finding. I heard nothing but fish stories, "Just the other day this guy found this and that". lol, right, ok I will give it a go. Kids where very disappointed and I was out $35 for nothing. I decided to go up the road to a different mine that I have been to before 6 years ago. I even told the workers at Ron Colman Mine about this other mine and they were like "Oh that place." like it was trash.. I decided to go for the kids’ sake, and I found tons of points and they are clear at this other place, with little effort. I mean little effort at all and we have a ton of them. It was great. Oh, and the baskets of crystals you can buy at Ron Colman Mining for $100 to $125 that are ready to go for you, they are only $25 a basket at this other mine and they have more in them. The sad thing is that the baskets at Ron Coleman are not what you’re going to find in their mine field, nothing close at all. I swear they are getting them from some other place. Now the other mine does not have a fancy store front, or a zip line, or a tour that you have to pay for, but they have it where it counts. They have great crystals, and they are easy to find Miller...

Frequent Ron Coleman Mine visitor. We went on Good Friday. It was packed. Even on days like this where we find nothing, we leave happy because we had a good time. There was so much chaos with parents not watching their kids. We had our digging areas/holes filled up by kids running through them or on top of our digging area. We had kids taking our snacks from our wagon. We had some kids try to take our pile of crystals we had set to one side but still right next to us. When the fresh dumps came, kids were literally climbing on people that were digging! Kids were on the very top literally throwing dirt and big rocks down the pile with a pretty good crowd around the fresh dirt dump. We heard 2 good cat fights because what these kids were doing. You have Ron Regulars trying to teach proper digging etiquette or at least teach respect for other diggers and then you get those first timers that paid to be there and don't care what they're being told! Then you get husbands that were not there hearing from the wives talk about what happened and now they're cussing up a storm about it all. The staff present Friday never said anything either. I even approached the man on the cart to tell him the man next to us was using a hammer and chisel and pieces were flying our way! I told the employee, I told him he couldn't do that and he just said nobody told him he couldn't. Today (Sunday) I couldn't find nothing on the website as far as rules. Maybe I'm wrong but I do remember once years ago we were told when checking in and paying for the day we couldn't break the rocks or chisel huge points off the boulders. I even remember a staff member i haven't seen in awhile go around telling visitors the do's and don'ts while digging. I will removed my review after its read because WE love Ron's and most of the time we have a blast. Last 3 visits it has been rough with our experience on Good Friday being by...