Rockhounding- Herkimer, New York
Quartz crystal, or Herkimer Diamond, found in New York state.
Herkimer, New York, famous for its “Herkimer Diamonds,” which are actually double terminated quartz points. Ever since meeting my husband, we have been going out to Maine most summers. On our way home one year ago, 2018, we passed through Herkimer. I exclaimed, “Oh my gosh! Herkimer? Like, Herkimer Diamonds?!” He looked at me with utter confusion as to why I just became so excited. Indeed, Herkimer, New York was the very place the double pointed quartz was named after.
This year, 2019, we went back out to Maine to get married. I went out there a week ahead of my husband, with my dad and my two kids. This time I wanted to actually stop in Herkimer and check out the rockhounding available.
Almost all of that region of New York state is privately owned, or government owned, so finding a location to look for the famous Herkimer Diamonds leaves the searcher going to the tourist locations. There are a few locations off of New York State Highway 28, and two of them can be camped at. After looking at the prices and options, we ended up going to Ace of Diamonds mine.
From Wisconsin to Herkimer, took just over 12 hours to drive there. We pulled in at 9:30 at night, and tried to find a hotel to stay in. The first we stopped at, the Red Roof Inn, made us feel really uneasy when we pulled in. There were people hanging out on the balconies, and an ambulance was just pulling in as we left the office. There was no availability so they recommended us to go the Inn Town Motel, of all places, in the middle of town.
West Canada Creek, directly across the street from Ace of Diamonds Mine
We rang the bell to the lobby, and a woman unlocked the door and let us in. There was one room available, because there was a cancelation, so we took it. Heading back to the van, we grabbed our things for the night, and went to the room. The room was very outdated, and looked like the place hadn’t changed since the 60’s.
Attempting to deadbolt the door, we found we couldn’t, because the bolt didn’t line up with the opening in the doorjamb. I always carry a toolbox in the van, so I grabbed it. My dad and I spent a good 20 minutes trying to get the door locked, but we finally did. We were already feeling insecure about our new surroundings, so not having a dead bolted door would have rendered that night a sleepless one. What did make that night sleepless, for anyone who didn’t have earplugs, was the paper thin walls, and the “dinosaurs” (as my dad put it), roaring and groaning in the room next to us.
The following morning, after breakfast, we went to the local Ace hardware store to pick up a few chisels and a hammer. The mine was about 15 minutes away.
Once out of town, the drive was beautiful. The West Canada Creek flows along State Highway 28, and coupled with the perfect blue sky and fluffy clouds, the view was breathtaking.
Entrance to the mine along State Highway 28
Driving into the entrance of the mine, there’s a hairpin turn up a hill to get to the parking lot. The mine is an open pit quarry, with a sluice, a huge pile of boulders in the middle, and a large pile of dirt on the side. There’s another pile of rocks behind the main building as well. You go into the main building, purchase a wristband, and you have free access to the whole pit area, as well as the quarry face.
My dad and daughter at the sluice, with the large pile of Paydirt in the background.
Ace of Diamonds is $10 a person 8 and up, and you can keep everything you find, no charge. They have tools you can rent, if you don’t have your own, and rental costs were reasonable. If you really get into rockhounding, you also have the option to purchase tools from their store.
My son on top of the huge rock pile.
This mine was truly fun for the whole family. We showed up at opening, at 9 am, and didn’t leave until 2 pm.
My son was having a tough time, at first, because he really wanted to use the hammer to break open rocks. As fun as it seemed, he wasn’t finding anything, and he was barely able to chip away the hard rock that surrounded the crystals.
My dad was over at the dirt pile, digging small batches and sifting it out in the sluice. After all the loose dirt was washed out, he dumped the pile onto the provided tables, and I would spread it out with a trowel, and pick out the loose crystals.
I got my son, to help his grandpa with the sifting. My son had gotten the rock sifter as a birthday gift, and he found out that day just how cool of a gift it was. He had so much fun picking out all the crystals he could find, which was enough to fill a few small glass bottles, purchased at the store for $1.
My daughter, Kaylee, proudly displaying her bullfrog.
Eventually, my daughter got tired of looking through the table of rocks, so she went over to a small pool of water on the ground to see what kind of critters lived there. It wasn’t long before she found something. A large bullfrog.
While she was in the pool of water, she saw something gleaming on the ground. She ended up finding the largest and clearest Herkimer diamond anyone found the whole trip, just laying there, on the ground.
Yes, you don’t even have to mine. If you just walk around, looking at the ground, stop if you see something sparkle. It’s probably a Herkimer diamond just laying there, waiting for you to claim.
Camping is also available above the pit. I’m not sure how easy it would be to drive a trailer up the steep hill going out of the pit, so I would recommend the camping for tents or possibly small trailers.
My dad, kids and I didn’t camp at the mine, but my husband, his two kids and I did on our way back home from Maine.
The view of the steep road down from our campsite. The road then curves off to the right.
I had so much fun searching and finding the little crystals, that I wanted to come back again on the way home. My kids had gone back to Wisconsin with my parents, and my husband’s kids went to his former inlaws house in Maine, so the two of us could enjoy a honeymoon to ourselves before we went back to Wisconsin. So, driving home, we had his two kids.
As far as location goes, the views camping at Ace of Diamonds, were gorgeous. The facilities were minimal, so I couldn’t see camping there for a more than a day or two. There was no bathroom above the pit, just a porta-potty. You can walk the steep hill down to the bathrooms by the mines, but it doesn’t look like they take too much time cleaning the bathroom. There was unknown substances splattered all over the wall, probably some dirt from people washing their hands after mining, but it didn’t appear that was all that accounted to the mess. And in that bathroom, are the showers.
The showers required 4 quarters to start, and it wasn’t specified what those 4 quarters got you. There were lights on a timer, that only ran for 15 minutes. So, you’d have to start the timer to get out of your clothes, and get your toiletries in order, and make sure to turn the timer again after you start the shower, or you are likely to be showering in the dark at the end. I never managed to get a shower, because I didn’t know they were paid showers, until I walked all the way down to the bathroom, and saw the coin machine. There was no clear signage within view of the entrance to the shower room, so my two quarters I had, that was substantial at most campgrounds, wasn’t enough. There was no change machine anywhere, and the store was closed at 5, so there was no way for me to get anymore quarters without leaving.
I would say, if you’re looking to stay and mine for more than a day or two, you may want to check out the KOA just south of Ace of Diamonds. I haven’t been to that particular location, but I do know that KOAs are set up with the traveler in mind.
One of the benefits of camping at Ace of Diamonds was that you could see the night before, exactly where they dumped the fresh rock, and have first access to it in the morning. Also, there is no mining allowed after the mine has closed at 5 pm. But, as you can see in the picture of our camp site, we could walk around the giant rock pile, above the pit, after mining was closed.
I would definitely go back. I would even camp there again, but only for one night and I would make sure to bring a roll of quarters.