Crystal Gold Mine & RV Park — Attraction in Kellogg

TLDR: Skip the RV park and take the tour if you have $63 to burn on a 1 hour roadside attraction.

We made this a stop in our road trip and stayed overnight in our RV (45ft class A + tow vehicle), then did the mine tour in the morning.

RV park: 2 stars It's narrow, not terribly big rig friendly, tired, lots of road noise, and no amenities (no bath house, no playground, no patio, no picnic table, no fire pit, no landscaping, etc). We were charged $100 for the night - it was supposed to be $80, but they added an extra $20 fee upon arrival and the explanation was that a reservation only includes 2 adults. Children cost $10/ night per child extra, so 2 kids = $20 upcharge (despite me asking to book the tour for a family of 4 over the phone when I made the reservation). The staff were friendly and apologetic about charging the fee, which I appreciated, however now that I've experienced it, it's difficult to justify spending $100 (or even $80-90) for an overnight stay at this park due to the lack of amenities.

Mine Tour: 3 stars Also expensive (we paid about $63 for a family of 4 for a half hour tour), but the tour guide was knowledgeable and the mine was interesting. We gold panned afterwards and I appreciated that they added some shiny rocks for the kids to find. We did not find any gold.

All in, as a family of 4, we spent about $160 to take the tour and spend the night. At that price, I find it difficult to recommend. We didn't dislike our experience, just felt that the value equation was "off."

Edited to respond to the owner's reply: I'll never understand why business owners think it's a good idea to argue with a customer in a public online forum... But since you did....

I am aware that I reserved a spot for $72+ tax. That totals approximately $80. I expected to pay $80. You charged me $100 upon arrival, saying it was an additional $20 for my children, and also telling me I was unable to cancel because "we'll just charge the full amount even if you leave" (direct quote from your front desk). First, the "per child" additional fee to stay overnight should be clearly stated in your pricing. It represents a +12% upcharge. That's a lot. Second, if it was only supposed to be $10, then you should refund my account, JUST AS I REQUESTED YOU DO, WHEN I WAS ONSITE. YOU REFUSED. I suspect you will not do it now.

Finally, yes, the tour prices you quoted in your response are correct. For a family of 4 (technically a family of 3, since our 2 yr old was free), the total of that cost with tax is...

No frills campground. $70/nt is excessive for no laundry, no showers, no bathrooms, no picnic table (other than porta pots), gravel pads, long-term RV's are unkept eyesores and freeway noise. We agreed to the price so I realize it's not fair to complain about lack of amenities but after a couple of nights, they parked "Cousin Eddy" next to us when the park was nearly empty. Whaaa? The sites were so close together that if he would've had slides, they surely would've touched ours. There were no threads on sewer hookup so we had to place a rock on our sewer line to hold it in place. T-Mobile signal was spotty and weak. Stayed 4 nights in our 28' Class A with toad. Pros: easy freeway access, pull through, shady, friendly check-in. The biggest plus is that it's right across the street from the 73 mile Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. We rode to Wallace one day from the campground (34 miles round trip) and toward Coeur d'Alene the next day. We found another campground just a few minutes down the road where we stayed for one night and would choose that for our next trip. We wouldn't choose this place again. UPDATED RESPONSE TO OWNER: No disrespect intended aand I'm sure your mine tour and gold panning are lovely but they're not included in the price of admission. So yes, my husband, 17 year old son and I could've done that tour for an additional $66. OR, we could do that without staying at the RV park. It is not relevant to the review of the RV park and isn't necessarily a draw for everyone. If there's a discount for RV'ers at the mine, this was not mentioned to us. We travel full-time all across the country and it was merely an observation based on our experience that this park is overpriced for the "amenities" (water, sewer, electric and dumpsters aren't typically considered "amenities"). The price was more in line with an RV resort that has bathrooms, showers, laundry, clubhouse, and pool. We've stayed at many places similar to yours that were in the $40/nt range but they didn't have a gold mine that gave us the opportunity to pay an additional $22/person. The park was mostly empty while we were there and if the rate was lower, we would consider staying again and I would imagine it would be busier. It just wasn't for us based on the price and lack of amenities. As a business owner myself, I would think that drawing in RV'ers at a more affordable price point so that they could discover your mine and gift shop would be a more...

1/5 For RV Park reservation, if I can will be no star, is a ripoff. Big tip: on the website there is no cancel policy and any addition price, only pop up at the very last step of the check out. Don't don't don't complete the check out except you are 200% want to camp there, as soon as you check out there is no return, no matter what, you will be charge booking fee plus at least the first night. Is for my long trip 6 month from now, due to re-route I have to cancel the booking the next day within 24hour from the booking not the arrive date and the reservation have 6 month time frame. The new owner still charge me $25 booking fee & $71.50 for the first night, not refund the booking fee that's fair. Charge the first night I think is a ripoff, I been in RV camping 20 years, even some of the most expensive resort more than 14 day only charge booking fee, may be half of the day or $50. If it is close to the reservation day have to pay full price I agree, but 1-6 months ahead of time I total disagree. However he have my credit card info, he charge it right away. Specially after read though all the review, all the 4-5 star from the previous owner, since the new owner all 1 star and don't trust his response, there is no $50 per night only portable toilet also he will charge addition $10 per night over 37' RV with 2 or more A/C, which mention after the check out. Think very very clearly before final check out, only came there if you absolutely have no choice. I maybe only take the tour, will never never ever camp there. The last thing, the new owner Dirk Dole please please don't response to this review with your liar excuse and stop trying be a nice...