6 of the Best Mine and Mine Surface Tours in California

After gold was struck in California in 1848, thousands of people flocked to the Golden State in hopes of finding gold and striking it rich. Although initially mining was done in the Sierra Nevada foothills, it spread throughout the state.

Today, you can visit some of these historic mines and mining grounds to take in their rich history and get a glimpse into California's past. Got your hard hats ready?

1. Gold Bug Mine and Priest Mine

Located in Placerville is the Gold Bug Mine. The mine was originally opened in 1888 as the Hattie Mine and was a hard-rock mining operation. It is unknown how much gold it produced.

You can take a self-guided audio tour of the mine (which is the most popular), although guided group tours are available.

You'll be given a hard hat to wear for safety reasons, as there are times when the ceiling is low, and I've seen more than one person hit their head on the ceiling, so these hats come in handy. Also, there is dripping water from the ceiling above due to groundwater, so the floor of the mine is wet.

Although you have to pay for the mine tour, there are many other things to do here for free, including a museum, hiking trails, the Joshua Hendy Stamp Mill, a blacksmith shop, a gift store, and a covered picnic area. For a small fee, you can also try your luck at gold panning.

Priest Mine

At the same location is the Priest Mine. This hand-dug mine has a guided tour that takes you through the mine to learn both the history and the minerals of the mine.

Whereas you can just walk up and buy tickets for the Gold Bug Mine, reservations are required for the Priest Mine. In addition, you have access to everything that you have access to when taking the Gold Bug mine tour.

2. Kennedy Gold Mine

The name Kennedy Gold Mine Tours is a bit misleading, as the actual Kennedy Mine was closed in 1942. However, the location does offer surface tours, which are quite interesting.

Located in Jackson, the mine's history dates back to 1860, when it was originally prospected. Today, there's quite a lot to see here and a few different ways to do it.

There's a 90-minute guided tour that takes you all over the property, including the Underground Foreman's Office, Steam Boiler Building, and Paymaster’s Office.

You can also take a self-guided audio tour of the area. If you're on a budget, take the free self-guided tour of the property. You'll still get a wealth of information, as there are signposts everywhere with information about the buildings and displays.

Are you a fan of the paranormal? If so, you might want to take a paranormal tour of the property. This 7-hour tour is available on select days. Is this property really haunted? It has previously been visited by the TV show Ghost Adventures, and yes, the property is very haunted.

3. Eagle Mining Company

Established in 1870, the Eagle Mine in Julian was a hard rock gold mine that was mined until 1934 and shut down due to the drop in gold prices.

In the 1960s, the mine was bought by Ed and Ellen Sprague (the grandparents of the current owner) with the intention of restoring it and making it available to the public. The tour available today is due to their efforts.

On the tour, which is about 1/4 of a mile long, you'll learn the history of the mine, hear some amusing stories associated with it, and view quite a few artifacts associated with the mine. The Hoist Room is particularly interesting.

At the same time, you'll be able to see part of the High Peak Mine, which used to be completely separate but is now connected by tunnels.

At one point, the guide will turn off all the lights so you can see just how dark it really is in the mine. (If you have kids, warn them about this in advance so they don't get scared.)

The mine isn't the only interesting thing to see. There are numerous relics and antiques located on the grounds, which are very worthwhile to look at. I especially like the vintage vehicles on the property.

If you'd like to take a peek at the mine, check out the above video.

4. Empire Mine State Historic Park

In operation for over 100 years, the Empire Mine, located in Empire Mine State Historic Park in Grass Valley, was one of the richest gold mines in the state, mining out 5.8 million dollars in gold before shutting down in 1956.

For a small fee, you can enter the park, and once inside, everything else is free. There are three tours available.

Estate Tour

Tour the home of William Bourne Jr., who once owned the mine, and learn some of his family's history and involvement with the mine. The home has many interesting things to look at, as his wife traveled the world to buy items for their home.

Garden Tour

Bourne paid a great deal of money to have his grounds landscaped. You can visit the gardens and learn more about the flowers that were planted there. (There are a lot of great photo ops here.)

Mineyard Tour

On the mineyard tour, you can view various equipment used in the mine and how miners used them. You can also see a working blacksmith shop with live demonstrations.

If you don't feel like taking a tour, you can visit the gardens and mineyard on your own, although you can only visit the estate by taking a tour. You can sign up for the tours at the visitor's center when you arrive.

Although there are no actual tours of the mine, you can descend a flight of stairs and take a peek into the entrance of the mine, as seen in the photo above.

5. Maggie Mine

In 1881, silver was discovered in what is now known as Calico Ghost Town in the city of Yermo, and the Calico Silver Rush began. At one point, there were 500 mines at this location and 1,000 miners who made this area their home.

Approximately 20 million dollars worth of gold was mined. Today, the Maggie Mine is the only one still open and available for people to tour.

There are two ways to tour the mine. The first is a self-guided tour that begins with a mineral display before traveling 1,000 feet into the mine.

Along the way, there are several displays showing what mining was like back then. The tour is interesting and educational.

Another way to experience Maggie Mine is with its ghost tour. You'll experience this tour in darkness and hear first-hand stories about the hauntings, but with no special effects. Both kids and dogs are welcome. Reservations need to be made in advance.

The Calico Odessa Railroad

In addition to the Maggie Mine tours, Calico offers a surface tour via the Calico Odessa Railroad. This tour takes you to the old mining district, where you can see many of the old mines and where the miners used to make their homes.

Now, don't get too excited when you find out there are still millions of dollars of silver to be mined. It would cost more money to mine it than it's worth.

Do know that if interested in any of the above, each has an admission fee. This is in addition to paying an admission fee to Calico Ghost Town. (I personally feel it's worth it.)

6. Hazel-Atlas Mine

While most mine tours in California consist of gold or silver mines, the Hazel-Atlas mine tour in Black Diamond Regional Park Preserve in Antioch is actually a sand mine. The sand mined here has been used to make glass.

A one-hour underground guided tour is available. It takes you through the mine, where you'll learn about the mine and how it operated, see some of the equipment used, and see the foreman's office.

In order to reach the mine, you'll need to take a 1/4–1/2 mile hike from the parking lot. Part of the hike is paved, and the other part is gravel. If it's a hot day, I suggest bringing water with you as most of the hike is uphill and you can get winded.

Coal Mine Experience

Also at this location is the Coal Mine Experience Tour. The original coal mines are closed and not open to the public for tours as they aren't safe, but you can get a good idea of what coal mining was like back then, as well as what it was like to be a miner, view different artifacts used, and see a coal mine replica. This guided tour takes 30 minutes.

You can take each of the above tours separately or combine the two into one, which is known as the Black Diamond Hills History Tour. For any of the above, reservations need to be made in advance.

More Mines in California

As you can see, several locations in California offer interesting mine and mine surface tours. If you don't necessarily need a tour, there are other mining locations in the state worth visiting.

At Malakoff Diggins State Historical Park in North Bloomfield, you can see the cliffs that were previously mined by hydraulic mining and the old mining town.

See where John Marshall originally discovered gold in Coloma, sparking the California Gold Rush at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.

Enjoy an all-day gold panning tour at Roaring Camp Mining Company in Pine Grove. You can pan for gold, visit their museum, swim, fish, and hike.

Should you enjoy hiking, check out the Lost Horse Mine in Joshua Tree National Park. You'll see remnants of the mine as well as the old stamp mill and building foundations.

If you are planning on visiting anywhere you have seen in this article, be sure to visit their website to find out their hours of operation and any admission fees associated with them.