old hundred gold mine tour

This was my first Gold Mine tour. Surprising fact is that this is an abandoned mine so no more gold left. However, the tour guides still takes a lot of pride (and rightfully so) .. to show all the details of this mine. It was very well designed tour. If you are around Silverton and have couple of hours do come and visit. Also, the location of this mine is interesting: lots of scenic views while driving in and out.

I took the wife and teenagers on this Silverton tour. Fabulous! This is a DON'T MISS. I've never learned so much about how miners are able to do their jobs, especially "way back when" technology was not quite as advanced as today. You get to enter the mine via train car. The knowledgeable tour guide dresses the part and does a full blown presentation with a walking tour through various hollowed rooms. Historical data, geographical data, and the experience of being inside of a mountain - not a cave or cavern - but a manmade tunnel system - was incredible. My family will never forget it. Take a jacket because its chilly inside the mine. Take a camera. Take this one of a kind tour when you're in town!

This was a great gold mine tour with a Capitol "G". You ride in on this little wagon the when you get way back in you get out for a walking tour of the mine which included demonstrations of the various equipment. Some of it was quite loud but very interesting and informative.

The tour featured a train ride underground (complete with water drips) and was presented by a guy who had a lot of mining experience. He demonstrated many mining techniques and answered every question he was presented. Meeting him gave me a real appreciation of the toll that mining takes on a miner. Well worth the price of admission!

This mine tour is much better then I was expecting. I was coming in with the mind set of being in a cave tour where you can't touch and very dry tour guides. This tour allows you to experience what it was like being in a mine over 100 years ago. There are working demonstrations of equipment and very well explanations on techniques as this was a real working mine at one time. Our guide was an actual miner that has since retired and now does tours. He was very friendly and very patient with the children. I recommend going to this tour even if you "think" you know what happens in a mine.

Great mine train ride with good explanations of mining techniques. The scenery up the valley and the old mine works are worth the trip.

We had fun wearing our yellow raincoats and hard hats, riding the train into the mine, hearing the stories and looking at how they worked in the mines years ago. It is fun for everyone.

After donning a yellow slicker and hardhat, we loaded into one of two mine train cars and started into the mine, pulled by an electric engine. The little train moved swiftly along the tracks deeper into the mountain (the full distance in was about 1/3rd mile). Along the way, drips of water from the ceiling fell on our heads. The temperature in the mine was a dank 47 degrees, but it was not uncomfortable (luckily we had brought along our hoodies). The guide then began a very interesting introduction of "hard-rock" mining, from how it was done in the earliest days to what was done as the mining stopped in the 70's. We walked around the tunnels in a wide circle where there were 6 - 7 stations where the guide demonstrated drills and other equipment from different eras of mining. We then left the mine the same way we came in, finishing in just over an hour. The tour was very interesting and great for all ages. The spaces are small, and it is dark and dank, but we were very comfortable all of the time, and really enjoyed the experience.Before and after the tour you get to pan for gold, and there is a small gift shop with restrooms as well.The mine is about 5 miles outside Silverton, 2+ miles of which are dirt road.

This was a neat tour to see how mining was really done. I had called ahead to check we could get into the 2:00 tour as we had to get back to the train station to catch the bus back to Durango. When we got there, we couldn't fit so they gave us our own private tour with one other group who happened to be there at the same time. Our guide, Jake, was an actual veteran miner and was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic. My friend wore far too little clothing, so was freezing. The tour was very much worth the money and really added to our trip to Silverton.

The mine is located right outside Silverton and is a really cool experience. You take a short mine train ride through a dripping wet tunnel after being outfitted in jackets and helmets and learn a little about mining. The whole tour took about an hour. During the summer there are tours every hour and when we arrived back, they almost immediately started loading up the next group. Each tour is led by a miner (Ouray) or ex-miner, so they can offer a lot of personal insight. My kds really enjoyed learning about the mine and how things operated. There a few things for purchase at the mine, such as little bottles filled with gold, silver, copper, and iron pirate. There is also free gold panning; can't say my kids found much, but they had fun. Certainly a unique experience.

For the money you get about a three minute train ride in a dark dripping damp tunnel, then a short circular tour showing how the rock is blasted and removed, and you get some idea of the daily routine if the miners, then you go out again, all in less than an hour.personally, i would have liked to spend longer underground, walk further through the mine, and learn more, but this is perhaps a good introduction for children and other people with short attention spans.The guide was a former miner who was entertaining and knowledgeable.

The mine is located about 5 miles outside of Silverton. Tours run every hour during the summer so we didn't have to wait long. Even better, there was a novelty gold panning area for the kids that's included in the tour price, where they can pan for gold, silver and copper.The tour starts off on a small, open mine train where they take you a good ways into the mine itself. Be prepared... the mine stays a constant 47 degrees and you cross under dripping water at the entrance. Our tour guide was a former miner at the Old Hundred mine and walked us through it's history, geology and mining techniques and tools. Example: the quartz veins found in Galena mountain contained five minerals (gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc). Very interesting stuff. Our kids loved it and so did we. Definitely worth doing.

We visited this really out of the way but very accessible mine while vacationing in the mountains of Silverton. Our guide was a miner and so knew his way around the tunnels, trams, lifts, drills, blasting, and so much about the history of the area. We had been atving on many of the trails around the area and just wanted to know more about why lines were strung from top to bottom of the mountains, why there were so many many holes in the rocks, how on earth the folks got such massive equipment up a trail no bigger than 70 inches. Our guide gave us a geology lesson, a history lesson and little spun stories I am sure. He made it fun for the kids from 4 to 64 to take the tour. You actually go into the mine on a mine care, where the drilling and blasting equipment is still in working order and they show you how it worked, and the kids can sort of have a hands on experience (without the danger) of drilling and blasting the copper ore. Most informative and fun!

Set in spectacular surroundings and just a few minutes north of Silverton, the Old Hundred Mine is well worth a visit. The short trip underground in an open car is fun and not at all scary and once down to the old working level the guided tour is interesting and your guide knowledgeable. Temperature is cool but the provided waterproof jacket helps, wear a jacket if you feel the cold. Tunnels are spacious and airy so it isn't claustrophobic. Don't be afraid to ask questions, that's what your guide is there for.

After hiking for two days we took a side trip and found this great mine. Jake our guide was funny, smart, and wonderful with the kids in our group. After a short train ride into the mine we enjoyed a tour on foot, saw how equipment was used, and given plenty of time for picture taking. Getting to the mine involves a gravel road but keep going, it is worth the trip. We really enjoyed the tour.