Winter hunt in southeast FL GA AL MS

[Panhandle001]

Good morning ladies and gents. I am looking for a few places I could take my daughter in about a week for some fossil /gem/ artifact hunting (not in Florida for the artifact hunting).    My daughter is 9 and fairly experienced in gem and fossil hunting but has never found an artifact .  I would like to stay in the southeast within a few hours drive and a semi winter friendly location (we do have waders for shallow water). Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, or north Florida is where we are looking. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!  Y’all have a Merry Christmas!

[digit]

I too do love the idea of finding artifacts made by much older versions of our own species and it does provide a different type of activity from fossil hunting. Fascinating to hold something that another held (and created) thousands of years ago--really pretty mind blowing.

 

Unless you have contacts in Florida where you can artifact hunt on private property you are correct in looking elsewhere to fulfill that activity. I researched places to go to satisfy our desire to find artifacts (legally) and came up with some pay-to-dig sites in Texas. Don't have that information off the top of my head at the moment but I'm sure some internet searches would likely turn up some possibilities in that state. Texas may reasonably winter friendly and at least you won't get heat stroke this time of year.

 

There is also a somewhat cheesy place where you can "hunt" for gems in northern GA. Don't recall the name of that place but basically you can buy "salted" bags of "gem" material and run it through their sluices to reveal your finds. Guaranteed to find pretty colored rocks (which they will then offer to set into jewelry for you for an added price). You can also pan for gold there as there is a working mine nearby that has produced for well over a century. It was rather annoying in that the pile of "gold bearing" material that they truck out to a nearby river for you to attempt to pan out some gold flake was also liberally salted with a wide range of non-gem-quality minerals to relieve the boredom when you are not finding much golf flake. Chunks of minerals not native to GA don't belong in a pile of material trucked in from a gold mine in my humble opinion. Contact me by PM if you'd like to know more about this place.

 

 

Possibly others can provide some thoughts--though none are going to give up any honey hole locations and would only clue you in to public places for your family activity.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[goatinformationist]

Your daughter will bless your heart if you take her to the Hogg Mine, in Lagrange GA.  The dig is open and @ $35 per digger it is a steal.

Sounds like a lot but it is the only star rose quartz resource that I know of in the US; also you can fill your bucket (or truck) with large mica

books, black tourmaline and aquamarine or beryl.  My son is probably the only one to find a small amethyst there. The guides love kids

and you will be very satisfied.  Note that I have no vested interest in the mine.  It is just a very popular place that I enjoy visiting.  Take a

look at the dig schedule before you go: http://hoggmine.com/ .  Best.

[digit]

Thanks for this tip--it's on my bucket list now.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken