Herkimer Diamond Mines, Herkimer

This was a family trip for spring break. WE LOVED IT. My child is a outdoorsy loves collecting rocks type. We spent the whole day there. The staff were amazing. It almost didn't happen due to snow but it melted enough by noon to let us in. Patience is important but if you spent the day there banging and digging you'll find plenty of small stuff. We plan on coming back with better tools. A hammer and chisel is great but the standards they supply is just enough to get a feel. This is a great place for a day trip especially if you are into this type of thing. You will find something and those more dedicated will find even more. Worse case if you can't d the mining yourself the sluice bag thing is still fun.

I was pretty surprised by The Experience here. In your mind you kind of think that you are really not going to find much especially when you get out into the mining area and see rocks everywhere. It truly is an awesome experience to crack a big rock in half and find a nice size diamond in the middle of it by chance. Would definitely recommend others to try this out!