Location: Spruce Pine
Top Things to do in Spruce Pine
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Top 5 Budget-friendly Things to do in Spruce Pine, North Carolina (NC)
Spruce Pine is a town in Mitchell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,175 at the 2010 census.
Restaurants in Spruce Pine
1. Rio Doce Gem Mine
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 50 reviews
Gem Mine we have the finest buckets of Gem material available for you to hunt through, in the safety and comfort of our flume line. Your stone will be turned into jewelry by expert cutters Bob/Elaine in house. We Offer a Lapidary School for those interesting in learning to Faceting or Cabochon. We also have Lapidary supplies. Gift Shop, Speciemens and Fine jewelry in Gold and Silver. We are Veteran owned and offer our fellow veterans a 10% discount on all our Gem Buckets.
Reviewed By 166russs
Bob and Elaine are some of the most amazing people EVER! They were beyond hospitable to our group of 6. Friendly, educational, patient, are just a few of the words to describe them. The material in they buckets are, by far, the best in the area (I know this from many years of experience gem grubbing in the area). We left several stones to be cut that we know are all going to be amazing stones from good quality facet quality rough. THANK YOU for a fantastic experience that my friends will be talking about forever. We will be back at our earliest opportunity.
2. The Orchard at Altapass
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 175 reviews
The Orchard at Altapass is a not-for-profit working apple orchard, educational and entertainment venue now in its 26th year and open May through October. Activities, open days and time may vary due to the pandemic.
Reviewed By debbiewV6396UU - Fayetteville, United States
A really neat place to visit! The have live music every Saturday and Sunday afternoon and encourage everyone to join in on the dancing. The music is great and really puts you in the mountain spirit! There are several trails that take you not only around the orchard but also into the surrounding area. The scenery is beautiful and we even came upon a group of wild turkeys! The orchard sits on the side of the hill and the views are amazing! We had already eaten lunch but wish we hadn't because the food looked delicous. You have to try the homemade fudge and ice cream! We ended up spending about 3 hours there and enjoyed every minute!
3. The Blue Ridge Soap Shed
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 37 reviews
We are shipping web orders every day, and welcome phone orders for Front Porch Pickup, with your soap pulled by Karen and TIm. Sad to say, visits to our retail shop are not an option at this time, and soapmaking workshops have been postponed. Wholesale orders are always welcome, call or email for info. Established in 1998, The Blue Ridge Soap Shed offers one of the largest selections of handmade soap made in the USA. We make it all, with 150 varieties ranging from good-for-your-skin goat milk soap, shea butter and 100% Olive Oil Castile soaps, to Grandma's Ole Lye Soap, an Appalachian tradition. Each 140-bar batch is handmade and handpoured, with each resulting block cut into logs, then bars and packaged by hand. The small differences from batch to batch and bar to bar celebrate the handmade charm of our craft. If you can't stop by in person, we hope you'll enjoy visiting our web store where our soaps can be conveniently ordered year round.
4. Museum of North Carolina Minerals
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 91 reviews
Museum that displays spectacular emeralds, rubies, amethyst and quartz that were found in the mineral-rich Spruce Pine Mining District.
Reviewed By mndw
This is a small museum that is easily accessible from the Blue Ridge Parkway. It si very interesting and easily seen in an hour. It focusing on all of the mineral and mining in NC. Staff is very friendly and helpful. There are lots of information on NC sites. Nice restroom stop as well. Although we did not have children, it would be interesting to many ages
5. Gem Mountain Gemstone Mine
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 140 reviews
We offer gem mining at it's best! You can mine the buckets here at the flume line or you can take the 4-hour trip out to the mine to dig your own. The mine trips do require a reservation. You can do the mining at the flume rain or shine. We also have a General Store/Gift Shop, Jewelry Shop, a free fluorescent mine display, a picnic area to go along with the gem mining. We are located one mile off the Blue Ridge Parkway so there are lots of places to do hiking if you like. Come and enjoy a fun-filled day with us!
Reviewed By KurtRB
We took the Hoot Owl mine tour on 3/30/21. My son and I boarded a van with five other folks for about a 30 minute ride (including ~15 minutes of VERY rough "roads" on the way to the mine) to the Hoot Owl mine. Mining here began in the 1800s, primarily for feldspar and mica, but it is not currently an active mine. It's cool to walk through the large caverns and see the veins of different materials running through the rock. Your actual mining experience takes place outside of the actual mine, in a large pile of material brought to this location from a different mine (that is not open to the public). You are given buckets and shovels to dig through the pile, looking primarily for emeralds. Screens are available, but unfortunately the flume does not work, so you have to wait until you are back at the shop to clean up your findings. We found a large number of emeralds buried within black mica. After we ran all our material through the flume at the shop, the experts there identified three of our samples as containing emeralds of high enough quality to have cut into stones - the other samples were just pretty green/black rocks. We didn't elect to get them cut (price range shown to us for this was $115-$285) but may in the future. Overall, a great experience for my son and me. I have to admit I was slightly disappointed to learn the material we were digging through came from another mine, but I understand why. Our guide was not very engaging, but would answer questions put to him and would dig through the pile himself, giving his finds to the kids on the tour. The experience is a bit pricey at $90/head (kids younger than 11, I think, are half price) and I wouldn't do it again, but I'm glad we did it last week, as it was something my son really had on his bucket list.
