ruggles mine

The website was out dated showing a closing date for 2013 so I called multiple times in late Sept 2014 getting an answering machine. My friend wanted to locate a winery nearby so I went to the mine and was 6 minutes past the 4 p.m. last entrance time. The gentleman in the office said they had phone trouble.

We took our 7 year old granddaughter to Ruggle's Mine in late September 2014.She could not believe how many different rocks she found there. We explored the caves and had a blast. We spent over two hours there.....so much to see. We can't wait to go back again next year and expand her rock collection. Melinda C

Nice nice staff ,was worth the $25. the caves were amasing .And mining for gems was fun. I love the place and would go back.

This attraction is not for everybody. I went with two friends from CT. Many feel the admission price is high and I would have to agree with that, which is why I rated it very good rather than excellent. It is also why I would think twice about going back again. That said, it was very interesting and we all enjoyed the visit. The view from the parking lot is great! So many places have do not touch conditions on displays. Here you can touch, hammer on and take pieces with you when you leave! Adults may find some rocks of interest to take home. Children may have a great time with a chipping hammer as they can hammer on rocks all over the place and take stuff home. We observed children having a great time hammering on the rocks. If you (and children) think you might be interested, it is worth a stop. Note:(limited food available)

If you love to look for rocks this is the place. The admission price I felt was a little expensive. I had a good time and my friends loved looking for special stones. The scenery was very pretty. It was a cloudy day so every thing was glisting. I'm glad I went but would probably not go again. My friends on the other hand would diffently go back.

Ruggles Mine is located in Grafton, NH, a very secluded quiet town with a small population about 40 minutes away from NH's Lakes Region. This was our fourth trip here, and I look forward to coming again. Yes, the admission isn't cheap, but neither is the admission to any of the NH tourist attractions these days. What you get here is unlimited access to the large mine (it runs a third of a mile!), and unlimited amounts of rocks and stones that you can bring home with you. Bring your own bag and hammer, and you'll save on having to buy theirs. Just walking through the mine is such a pleasure. You start by entering a cave, and then walk down a steep hill to the central area of the mine. There is a cave with a pond, another narrow cave that you'll have to crouch down to walk through, a longer cave-tunnel that takes you to the end of the mine, which has a spectacular view, plus smaller caves and places to dig. We spent over 5 hours here. Our kids would have liked to stay longer, but they were closing soon. This is one of the most natural and peaceful locations in all of NH--which is saying a lot because you go to NH for the peace and quiet! When we were sitting near the end of the mine and our kids were digging, we realized just how relaxing it is to be in such a peaceful environment. The ONLY sound you hear is of other people digging! Plus, the view from the parking lot on top of Isinglass Mountain alone is worth the trip even if you choose not to pay to go into the mine and small museum.

Great place to explore; however if you have young kids or kids uninterested they might get bored quickly.Slightly pricey:Adults $25Children (4-11) $13Children under 4 are Free with a paid adult.Note: they stop selling tickets and hour before close Tips: *Bring your own bucket, rock hammer and goggles (they rent some things but then you will be looking at paying quite a bit more) *hiking or tennis shoes are a must* if you or someone you are traveling with has a difficult time walking up steep inclines or through rocky terrain this might not be the best place to visit* start your search at the end of the trail that way you are not carrying your FULL bucket of rocks more than you have to* there are some areas with a little stream-that is where you can find the smaller pieces of garnet etc*is you are a novice like myself, they give you a paper with a description of the rocks (no pictures to take with you) but there is a display in the shop showing the different types of rocks you can find. *the road to the mine is a narrow, mostly unpaved gravel road* take a water bottle, you will need it*there is not much around so if you get hungry they have a small snack bar area or you can pack your lunch and use the picnic area

This was something we have been meaning to do for years. Glad we went, but once was enough. A LONG, somewhat scenic drive from route 93 on route 4. Gorgeous views from parking lot, would be spectacular in the fall. Admission, as mentioned by previous reviewers, is steep. Certainly for the price they are charging, there should be detailed and frequent signage, tour guides, and/or an informative pamphlet. We were offered a simple photocopied sheet with some common minerals that could be found, and we saw one young employee roaming the mine chatting with some visitors. If you are not a mineral expert, you sort of just flounder around. I was craving some expert narrative! It was impressive inside the mine and the caves, and it was fun whacking rocks with our hammers. We didn't find anything out of the ordinary, but it made for an interesting afternoon. Bring hammers, picks, safety goggles if you don't wear glasses, headlamps or flashlights, and something sturdy to carry out your specimens.

The mine was an ok experience but way too expensive for what is there. Not what we expected at all and to pay $25 pp just to walk around rocks seemed a bit of a stretch. $10 a person is more like it

Great views, but a real clip joint! Just way too much to spend. You can find better rocks on the side of the road. And save yourself a hundred bucks. Their price is way too high, for what they offer. Not real safe either. While I was there a kid had a stone chip fly up from another person and hit him close to his eye. The younger staff is not real friendly or helpful. This is my last trip here to Ruggles.

Great fun looking for preacious stones, mining the rocks.Be sure to bring your hammer, chisel and a bag or bucket to carry your finds home. If you forget them no worries they will provide you with some equipment for a small charge.Bring some bandaids the rocks are sharp and you might cut yourself.Recommend this adventure for all ages as long as you can handle a lot of walking and steep grades.

Great morning adventure,beautiful sights but bring Band-Aids .also pails glove's hammers and chisels. These are needed as you walk through huge caves with rocks strewn take your pick to find some treasure. Need to be steady on feet as you are walking on loose rocks and store but great fun

OMG....There is sooooo much I can say. #1 Bring a camera. The views are really out of this world. I found some beryl and some quartz. I found some quartz points just on the ground waiting for me to pick them up. If you are a rock hound you will be in your glory. There were raw quartz rocks everywhere. It was just a fantastic experience. Bring some tools with you otherwise you have to rent them. Bring a bag, a hefty one, and a hammer or pick to break the rocks. You could also bring a spike of some sort to help you break the rocks. Wear good sturdy shoes and a hat, its hot up there, bring water. Its a pain in the butt to find and usually GPS doesn't recognize it. But I took Rt 104 to Rt 4 and then you follow the signs which come up fast. The road up to the mountain is half paved and half dirt so drive slow, but it is totally worth it. I had the most spectacular time.

If your kids loves rocks, go here!! We were there for about 4 hours and we still had to pry him out of there! You don't really find " amazing gems " but we left with a five gallon bucket full of treasures. I think we left with some smoky quartz, rose quartz, mica, pyrite, uranium and beryl. And a happy and very dirty kid!!! (If you want to really get into it, wear jeans, sneakers, bring tools, a bucket, safety glasses and a headlamp)

Short of it is there is nothing to mine at Ruggles Mine. The only thing you will find is lots of feldspar and quartz that are on the ground. Mini caves that the kids will like but only a few of them and all mined out. Bring a hammer and pail if you want but truth of it is you can bang all you want but unless you have a jack hammer or dynamite you won't get anything. Hammer versus granite and quartz doesn't do too well. The only thing you will find is what they seed in the little stream for kids to find. Rest has been picked over big time since it has been a year since they last blasted and now there is a problem where those who use to do the blasting quit for some reason and they need to find someone else. The staff is all older kids and they were polite and helpful. $25 each is a lot for what you get. Thankfully my 7 year old was free during the month of July or would have been $13 more. He said he liked it but would have had just as much fun and found the same stuff in the Pemi river. We did find an agate and rose quartz, both directly planted by the staff so since they sell that for $5 each guess we saved $10 ;-). Given the rose quartz was polished was kind of obvious. Wish they would plant more stones as the little kids would enjoy finding them. Go with an open mind and not expecting much and is good for about an hour but only if you have younger kids.