To: BentleyBoy Mount Dora, FL I think you may have went to Mason Ruby Mines instead of Mason Mountain Mines from the pictures and your description. Check both sites and compare. Mason Mountain has clean restrooms – not porta potty, you sit under the cover, buckets are salted with some items, and the finds are really good. We went to... more

Unlike the two other Mines I wasted my time and money with during my trip to Franklin. This Mine made up for every let down I had experienced! The staff are completely knowledgable about every stone you find, from the stones beginning to how to get it cut and mounted right there in the Gift Shop. I just can't begin... more

I took my 13 yr old son, 11 yr old daugher to the mine this past weekend. We had a blast. Yes, our nails were destroyed by the end of the day, and we were tired but we walked away with a good amt of gems. My son found a 6.8 ct sapphire! The first few buckets we had no... more

If your idea of 'fun' is digging in the dirt in 95 degree heat, carrying 25-30 pound buckets of dirt 250 ft. to the sluice, sitting on a rock hard bench for 3 hours slooshing through mud for "a box of rocks"- you're going to have A Wonderful Time. I took my entire adult family of 8 all the way... more

Mason mtn is the best mine in Franklin. My wife ,granduaghter,12, and I spent the week in Franklin NC starting June 9 08.We liked Mason's Mtn because you could dig your own dirt that they bring down off the mountain in a dump truck and dump it out and you load your own 5 gallon bucket and take to the... more