Phoenix Gold Mine — Attraction in Idaho Springs

This was the last stop on our 8 day trip through Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado and I must say it was one of the best, unexpected stops we had!

We purchased our tickets in advance, online. We only picked up the one tour because we were worried how tired we would be after 8 days of caves, parks, and museums. I will say I really wish we would have made more time for Phoenix Gold Mine.

We arrived at 9:30 am for our 10 am tour. We were a little worried we were in the wrong location because no one was around, but signage and another group assured us we were in the right place. I'd totally recommend showing up early. The area is beautiful, with a creek, and extremely adorable wildlife.

The gift shop is so much fun. It's in an old bus. You enter through the rear door. Watch your head when entering. You will check in here if you purchased your tickets online or purchase your tickets if you didn't reserve a place. There are tables set up on both sides with multiple items found or made right there on site, many of which are unique and one off. I'm a collector of key chains, and my wife, a collector of post cards. They had both! Everything is very fairly priced. Make sure to pick up a vial kit for the end of your tour. If you're a rock hound or want to take home some of your own panned gold it's well worth the couple of dollars. And most importantly. BUY A BAG OF SUNFLOWER SEEDS TO FEED THE CHIPMUNKS! This made my wife's entire trip getting to feed chipmunks by hand.

The main tour was fantastic! It was very informative. You get to learn how the miners worked from the old days all the way up to the current away the mine removes gold. We had an issue with the lights but our tour guide made the best of it. We went by flashlight instead of using the wired lights overhead. So much fun. I'd love to see this added as part of the regular tour!

After a 45 minute tour of the mind we were shown how to pan for gold. It's so much harder than they make it look but they're the professionals. 😂 We moved across the road to the creek. My wife is a total rock hound. She found SO MANY cool looking rocks. I was able to find some little pieces of gold and mixed it in with the small vials she was filling with rocks.

All in all this was well worth every penny. If your trying to decide on rather or not to stop here I'd recommend if you enjoy the outdoors, rocks, and fun little day trips, this is the perfect place to spend half a day. We originally only planned on making this a quick stop but it turned into a 3...

We saw this off the side of I-70 and decided to detour on our way to Vail. After the seeing the sign for the mine off of Stanley Rd, you drive just under a mile on Trail Creek Rd to get to the mine... Which is a dirt road and is completely surrounded by Ponderosas, cedars and a beautiful creek. Roll those windows down and enjoy the pine and cedar rich mountain air 😊

When you arrive at the parking lot, you are greeted by the mine machinery, a bus (which serves as their reservation desk/souvenir shop) and rocky hills beyond. The tour itself was so fun. I'm not sure what I expected exactly, but it delivered and then some. Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and very passionate about mining. We were given a walk through of the mine, where we were shown various areas of interest along the way. This included mine tools and their evolution through the years; the process of mining gold, silver and copper sulfate; and the history and present of the Phoenix mining operation. The talks our guide gave were thorough and very enlightening (the gold mined out of rock is in powder form, and it takes tons of ore to yield mere ounces of gold) Our guide also indulged out group and turned off the lights - the darkest dark you'll ever "see" lol.

At the conclusion of the tour, we were able to pan sift gold from pre-selected sludge. It was extremely fun to do and not only can you find gold powder, but also gems such as garnets.

Overall I highly recommend! Take exit 238 off of 70 in Dumont... follow the Stanley road east and look for the Phoenix mine sign on the right. Thanks to the gentleman who got us signed up for the tour and the tour guide himself, we...

Our family totally enjoyed this gold mine experience. We initially went there to pan gold only, but ended up taking the tour and are so glad we did!!

Seeing the brochure ahead of time and learning the venue has been featured on multiple tv shows, I was expecting a less personal experience, however, all the staff was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. We met the owner first thing, and he was more than happy to visit and answer my questions. We learned a little of the family history of the gold mine.

Tour guide Dave....he was fabulous! Not only knowledgeable about the mine, earth he was mining, and operations, but he is extremely passionate about what he does!! He isn’t giving tours simply because it’s his job, he is excited to educate and share! We have a toddler and Dave was extremely caring and gentle with instructing him once in the mine. We walked away from the tour having learned a lot of cool facts and a new found genuine interest in the operations.

We panned for gold and yes, we found some!!! Dave told us to be patient and he was right! I was expecting a larger “river” but the area to pan is a gentle creek and fun for the whole family!

The property offers a concessions area and souvenir items. They provide each guest with a pan for panning gold, but also offer for purchase tools and several options of supply packs at very reasonable prices.

The chipmunks were so fun to interact with. They are not timid whatsoever, and all three of us got laughs out of feeding them.

We highly recommend planning this attraction on your vacation and allow several...