pine mountain gold museum at stockmar park

I have lived in this area for about 8 years and didnt know it existed. They should make a larger sign at the road. My son's cub scout troup set up a tour last Saturday. The tour guide Al was excellent with the younger children. It was so informative and I learned many things that I didnt know about the forgotten gold rush in Georgia. We had a blast, it is inexpensive and great for children of all ages along with the adults. This should be on your map if you are traveling through West Georgia outside of Atlanta. Do allow a couple of hours if you want to take in the whole experience.

We visited the Christmas Train ride at the park tonight (Thursday) and loved it. Our 2 year old daughter wanted to ride again. It is not an extravagant set up or high end type deal, but for a local park they do a bang up job. Blankets in the train seats to keep you warm, very friendly folks running the place, and they even have Frosty and Rudolf in costume to great visitors as well as Santa. I would recommend this to anyone. Cheap night out with the family.

Pine Mountain Gold Museum and Scenic Railroad at Stockmar 1881 Stockmar RoadVilla Rica, GA 31080770-459-8455Went to the Pine Mountain Gold Museum and Scenic Railroad at Stockmar today (11/04/14). Location was on my GPS, however, the location indicate was fairly far off as the actual location was further out of Villa Rica than the GPS indicated. Cost for two seniors was $18.00 for both the Museum and train ride. Introductory film and museum was interesting but thought we would get to go into an actual mine. Just reread their web site and it does indicate “a tour of the intact ruins of Pine Mountain's gold mines” which appears we did not understand how/where ‘the tour’ was or if self-guided, where to find the entry. Did ride the train which was OK but feel it is more suitable for children. The seating on the open air rail cars is definitely ‘tight’ for adults. Train takes you on a 10 to 15 minute ride around the park area. They do have several large pieces of mining equipment on display outside and fairly comprehensive information inside museum. We walked up to see the ‘Glory Hole’ after the train ride, but all you can see is just a large hole in the ground. They also offer ‘gold panning’ where you can purchase ($5.00) and pan a small quantity of dirt for your own gold. Did not do the panning ourselves; however, we watched one of the personnel explain how to pan to two ladies. He was quite comprehensive and took time to show them just what to do.Note: Most of the trails and some of the grounds are not suitable if you have trouble negotiating steep and/or rocky walkways. However, you should not have a problem within the museum.

Got to try it. Some get it right away n some need practice. Jon n Pop where great. Awesome history here. Interesting on the ways of mining for gold. N yes, we really did get gold out of these mountains. The trails were good too. If your in town n have time go n check it out.

I took my 2 small granddaughters to the Pine Mountain Gold Museum on Saturday during the GoldRush Events in Villa Rica. We spent 1 1/2 hrs having a great time. We arrived in time to hear the VRHS marching band play several familiar songs. There were free crafts for the girls and our picture was taken in front of a western display, the jail and next to the mule hitched to a small wagon. The train ride rumbled through the woods passing abandoned gold mines and ending with a train robbery and "shooting match" with the sheriff getting the bad guy. The girls thought the robber was really dead until he wriggled his foot and I confirmed it was make believe.

My husband, teen daughter and I visited last week and had a blast. Gold panning was a lot of fun and the museum had a lot more than we had expected. John and Pop are great guides with lots of stories about the area. If you are looking for a great family activity, you can't beat this for the price and you can come home with a little gold in your pocket too!

This museum and the grounds are great! It's called the site of "Georgia's Forgotten Gold Rush" and the story is well-told in the 20-minute documentary that is part of the package. The museum is well laid out and the grounds are full of stamp mills and other gold mining artifacts. The 3/4 mile train ride around the mountain is pleasant and if you pan for gold or gem stones, you'll get a lesson on how it's done as well. This is indeed one of Georgia's hidden treasures.

Well {{{ CALLING ALL ROCKHOUNDS}}} THIS IS NOT A DIGGING SITE! SLUTH PAN PREFILLED (literally a small scoop of ready mixed gemstones go in the water- 2 minutes and it's over) So not a good place for the serious rockhounds. BUT-- THE place is cool, young kids under 12 might be a little more thrilled about the train station and ride, the museum was informative and I enjoy watching the movie. ... we didn't get to do the walk due to a cat we had with us.... it was HOT and my cat wasn't wanting to be social for the walk tour so we missed doing it. I would gladly take small kids to stop in and see the happy faces I witnessed while I saw the group that was there. The men are really nice and are eger to help. A++FOR LOOKING FOR A WHILE TO KICK BACK AND ENJOY YOUR KID'S FUN. just not the place where you can dig and find your gemstones. Take care and have a great time. .oh don't forget the animals, they have a feed to buy and petting area.

My sister and I went to Villa Rica for a gospel concert. We were a day late. So we used an app to see what else was in the town and found this museum. It is very close to the downtown area, just next to the local airport.The cost was $4 for senior (over 55). They had a 18 minute video about how this part of Georgia was one of the first gold finds. It candidly, mentioned how the land were "ceded" (nice word) by the Native Americans so that prospecting could take place. Then you walked into a small museum with lots of very interesting artifacts related to the gold mining industry. The extra cool exhibit, seen just before departing was a display of an old coca-cola bottling operation. The people in the place were real nice and very friendly. I know there was a small gauge train ride, but we didn't do that. I personally love finding these types of small museums, hope more people will find their way to it as well. We loved it!

My daughter, wife, and I visited PM Gold Museum this past Saturday for my Father's day present. I have been wanting to go b/c I'm a nut for history and small museums. I found the 18 minute movie to be a great start. Then we went into the small museum which was full of local gold mining information. There was also some local coca-cola information as the founder was from Villa Rica. Overall the museum was a good experience.Then we went onto the train. They have a train that you can ride every 30 minutes around their 20 acre lot. My daughter really enjoyed it. It lasted maybe 10 minutes.They also have some gold mine/house ruins and a remake of an old grist mill and some other time-period exibits on property which were also interesting to see.Finally, they have a small area on the side of the campus for farm animals. Two huge bulls, a donkey, some sheep, and some goats were there on the day we visited.The staff there were all friendly and they gave us some fish food to toss into their pond as well. They have those really big gold fish...I think they are called Coy, but I'm not a fish-expert so don't take my word for it. I'd go there again in a heart beat.

I've seen the sign on I-20 for this museum a lot and finally decided to go. I was not disappointed. We did the Gold Package, which included the documentary, museum, gold panning, and train ride. There is also a petting zoo and trails on sight. It was only $12 a person. I learned so much about America's First Gold Rush and the Trail of Tears - yes they are very much connected. Everyone who volunteers or works there was great and so nice. I would go back again.

Villa Rica is not a vortex of museums and culture. This tiny museum actually has some really nice displays. Those won't capture the attention of children. (Take a towel and another set of clothes.) panning for gold is where the action is. Don't even try to keep the kids dry. Just let them go at it. Personnel and volunteers take time to demonstrate and tutor kids about the process of panning. They even have little bottles to put your real flake or two of gold in so your child can prove they have panned for gold. Villa Rica has some interesting history. If you are driving by, stop for an hour and let the kids go wild before getting back on the highway. History fiends will enjoy the self guided tour. It is not expensive and it is educational, and for kids under the age of 12 it is a blast panning for gold. Older kids will like it too if they are not focused on being "cool." I am in my 60s and the six year old inside of me thought it was nifty. It is a good place to stretch for a while and break up a long trip. It is also great for locals to peek at historical happenings with loval flavor. If you are going to Dalonega, I encourage you to take an hour to go through here too. It will start, hopefully, students asking questions. Learning how the land here was obtained, where the miners went after the rush here, and getting an idea of various mining practices will put some American History into perspective.

Museum is a little dull for small children, but there are hiking paths and a small petting farm that are free. You can purchase feed for the animals or fish for fifty cents. Mining for gold or gemstones cost five dollars. All of the people there are friendly and helpful. A 15 min. train ride around the mountain is also five dollars. Nice picnic area and very clean restrooms.

If you plan on being near Villa Rica, make sure you stop here. Besides the train & Gold Mine, they have cows, horses, pigs, chickens & a mule.

We had our grandchildren come from Texas and they had a blast panninng for the gold and nuggets, and really enjoyed the walk around the pathways in the back of the Museum. For the price you cannot get a better Deal for the family memories