points of access

FOREST SERVICE LANDS

PRIVATELY OWNED AND FOREST SERVICE LANDS

Watch this page for updates to collecting sites which are under private ownership or operated by the forest service. This will include improvements, road conditions, fees, accessibility, etc.

Abernathy Mica Mine: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:7a) The parking area at the Abernathy Mine that is listed in my book is now being leased by a local hunter. If you plan to visit the site, make sure to leave a note in the windshield of your vehicle stating that you are a rockhound parked there for the purpose of visiting the mine, if not, the property manager will have your vehicle towed!!!

Black Mountain Kyanite: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:41) 2-8-05, The Black Mountain Kyanite site listed in my book for collecting in Western North Carolina is no longer open to collecting. As with many locations located on private property, property owners change, land is bought and sold, etc.. While researching my book in 2000, I was always granted permission to access the creek to collect, many collectors I know have had permission to collect here for over 30 years. Times change and collecting status changes, please adhere to the "Rockhounds Code of Ethics" and respect the wishes of the current property owners, the area is now posted "No Trespassing".

Carter Corundum Mine: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:51) The Carter Corundum Mine is no longer a productive site to collect. The owner does not mind people coming to surface collect, but the growth of grass over the dump area makes it impossible to find anything.

Cherokee Ruby Mine: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:16) The Cherokee Ruby Mine in the Cowee Valley, N.C. was closed this season. The owner Effie McCrackine is no longer able to maintain and operate the mine. She has placed it on the market for sale and the price is $300,000. I will get her contact info and post it for those interested in purchasing the mine. 8-1-05: update: The Cherokee Mine is definately closed to collecting at this time.
UPDATE!!! Cherokee Mine Grand Re-Opening!!! Saturday May 20th, 2006
I am pleased to announce the Grand Re-Opening of the Cherokee Ruby Mine located in Franklin N.C., this mine has been known for years to produce some of the finest rubies from the Cowee Valley. It is listed as site 16 in my book, "Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina" The mine has been closed for the past two years, the former owner Effie McCrackin had gotton to old to manage the mine and put it up for sale, it was recently bought by Ray and Maria Montoya (who are also M.A.G.M.A. members), Mine hours are 9-4 p.m., prices are $7.00 per person to enter and $1.00 per bucket of dirt. MAGMA members receive a discount at this mine.

Copper Basin Tennessee: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:35) 8-1-05, This site has been taken over by new owners and is now posted "No Trespassing", adhere to the rockhounds code of ethics and do not trespass, someone was recently arrested and jailed for trespassing at this site!. Update!!!, it seems the so called "rockhound" that was jailed, was not jailed for trespassing, but for carrying drugs on her while on the property. The site is still off limits, and leave your pot at home!!!

Crabtree Emerald Mine: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:8) 5-1-06, This mine is now under the management of the M.A.G.M.A. club, (Mountain Area Gem And Mineral Association) The MAGMA club has done an excellent job of revitalizing the mine area by bringing in heavy machine digging equipment to dig deep into the dump material that has been buried for decades, many new finds have been made since the club has taken over. For details on how to visit the site, go to: Crabtree Emerald Mine

Grimshawe Sapphire Mine: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:39) The Grimshawe Mine is closed at this time. We had negotiated new rules for collecting at the site in 2004 only to have a few bad apples disregard these rules and ruin the site. The new ranger in charge has seen the damage caused by these people and has closed the site at this time.

Hackney Farm Staurolite: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:33) the Hackney Farm is now closed to collecting, the property has been sold and the new owners have posted the site, "No trespassing" "No rockhunting", no means no, sorry.

Hootowl Mine: The Hootowl mine is located in Mitchell County, North Carolina. The mine is owned by MAGMA member Alan Schabilion and his Wife. This site IS NOT to be accessed by individuals who just wander in to collect. It is located on private property and permission is required to collect!!!

Lake Chatuge: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", sites:25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31) posted 12-20-04, Hello all, especially the lake collectors out there. You may have noticed that the lake has remained unusually high this year compared to years past, usually by this time the lake is reaching its lowest point, around 1910-11 feet. When the lake is at this level there is over 100-150 feet of dry lakebed to collect on, several points normally underwater are accessible, you may be able to see the entrance of the old Behr Mine, also a couple of islands pop up, which, if you have a boat will provide some nice corundum. The lake level at its highest point is 1928 feet (but it is never totally full), today it was at 1920. At this level, the points are still underwater, the islands are still underwater, and some of the better collecting sites are inaccessible altogether, Elf School, the most common location has maybe 30-40 of lakebed showing and is producing little color compared to past years. I talked with the TVA yesterday to find out what was going on, they advised that they felt there was a need to re-evaluate the flood maintance levels that regulate how much water is drained each winter from the lake, translated, this means that the rich folks who live there have been complaining about lack of tourism in the winter, the fishermen have been complaining that the fish are dying because of the drastic drop in water levels, but, for the record it was a routine evaluation , the final word is that the lake will not be lowered lower than 1917 feet from now on, 6-7 feet higher than in the past 11 years that I have been collecting there and probably longer than that. 6-7 feet in lake level terms means around 80-100 feet in collecting area. There are a few places to collect out of the lake and some material can still be found near the edges, but I doubt it will ever be as nice as in the past, so to those who have been collecting there the last few years, I would hold on to some of your nice material, I know I am. (Featured in the June 2006 issue of Rock & Gem Magazine)

Little Pine Garnet Mine: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:1) Little Pine Garnet Mine located in Madison County is a favorite of rockhounds near and far. The owner Jackie Ball has recently made some improvements to the site by adding a porta-john restroom, and two cement picnic tables, payment is taken at the Davis grocery store (BP gas station) on Little Pine Road. $5.00 per-adult per day, children are free. Update: 8-1-05, The fee at the Little Pine Mine has gone up to $10.00 per day. Update: 7-30-07: New rules for the Little Pine Mine: Go to the Little Pine Mine webpage for more information!!! (Featured in the July 2005 issue of Rock & Gem Magazine)

Penland Point: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:25) Penland Point at Lake Chatuge in Clay County has been closed to collecting. The previous owner has passed away and has left the property to his son, who has closed access to the site. There are still several productive sites at the lake, so do not get discouraged!

Piney Flats Mine: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:10) The Piney Flats Mine, also known as the Lawson Mine, has changed hands and is now off limits to collecting. The mine is owned by K.T. Feldspar/Unimin Corporation. Per the Unimin Corp., no one except authorized personell are presently allowed on the property or allowed to remove any materials from the property.

Propst Farm Corundum: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:48) After visiting the Propst Farm yesterday 1-5-04 and talking with the owners of the property, I have learned that the mine will no longer be open to collecting by clubs or large groups, individuals may still collect here at this time, the owners have hired a man to come in and tear down the old metal sheds on the property and fill in all the holes and level the field, after this work is started all collecting will be stopped and no longer permitted, sad that another site is now closed. 25 years ago this site was opened by the owner to allow local rockhounds to collect, the rules were simple, fill in your hole at the end of the day, soon the diggers complained of having to uncover their holes each day and promised the owner that after they had finished collecting in each hole they would fill it in, of course this never happened and after 25 years the site is overgrown with briars and brush and is unmanagable by the owners, I am glad to have had the opportunity to collect at this site over the last 10 years or so and have a fair collection of specimens from this site, it is sad that many new rockhounds will not get the chance to collect at this classic locale, in the end it was the rockhounds who got this site shut down, if they had followed the rules to begin with, the field would be easily maintained and there would not be a problem, i'm suprised it was kept open this long. Remember this site when you visit other private property that is still open, follow the rules and respect the owners wishes and they will continue to let us collect, ignore the rules and sites will be closed to everyone ! update 12-20-04: The Propst Farm is still open to collecting at this time, no clubs are allowed in, but individuals may still come to collect. update: 8-1-05, Propst Farm is closed to collecting. Update: 1-27-06, most recent reports for the Propst Farm show that it is OPEN to collecting for individuals, but the owner still does not want club trips to the site.

Rattail Corundum: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:46) Closed to collecting!, I have not been able to confirm, but I have heard that the property owner has passed away and his daughter is now in control of the property and is no longer allowing collecting at this site.

Ray Mica Mine, Little Ray Mine: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", sites:5a and 5b) Longtime resident and former miner at the Ray Mines, Bassey Bennett has passed away. Folks would usually stop to give Bassey a couple of dollars to park at his house when collecting at the Ray Mines. Today, when you visit the site, if you park below the forest service property on private property, stop at the last house on the left and give a couple of dollars to Basseys brother that lives there. (Featured in the June 2005 issue of Rock & Gem Magazine)

Rocking Chair Rutile: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:24) This site is now closed to collecting.

Sheepcliff Aquamarine Mine: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:40) The Sheepcliff Aquamarine mine located in Jackson County N.C., is no longer open to collecting. The site has been developed and a house is being built over the dump area. To learn more about the demise of this mine, it is featured in the December 2003 issue of Rock & Gem Magazine.

Walker Creek Kyanite: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:4) Walker Creek is closed to collecting at this time. A renegade digger has dug a large hole at the site and left it open for the forest service to find. They have closed the site at this time while they do a damage assessment and possibly reclaim the site.

Woodlawn Quarry Quartz: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:43) Woodlawn Quartz Quarry is only open to collecting on weekends, when I inquired about adding this site to my book, I was told that people interested in collecting should ask permission at the office before proceeding to the collecting area, it seems they have had a lot of people showing up during the week to collect, they now only allow collecting on weekends so keep this in mind if you are planning a trip to this site.

Wood's Creek Sapphire Mine: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:12) As of May 10th 2005, I was informed that the Wood's Creek site was no longer open to collecting, I have visited this site within the last month and the overgrowth and total neglect of the site make it unproductive to even try to continue to collect there.

Yates Brook Farm: ("Rock, Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina", site:49) I got a call from Greenville recently from a member of the club there, they had made a trip to the Yates Brook Farm in Shelby, N.C. to collect recently and talked with the owner Ken, he told them that he was considering closing the site and had posted it as closed within the last few days so I thought I would give him a call and find out what was going on. He said that certain individuals were visiting the site about three days per week and not paying to collect and at the same time digging huge holes and basically raping the site for whatever they could get, he knows this because his relatives have been watching the site and telling him who was coming and going. This is typical behavior that has been seen throughout the last years that have closed so many locations, greed by some rockhounds ruining locations for us all, I recall our club visited this site about four months ago and we got into a hole and collected many nice specimens, we all left happy and there was still plenty to be had, none of us returned to finish digging out the area, we left it for the next collector who comes along, we could have easily returned several times and finished off the vein but we did'nt, how many of the same specimens does a person need? After talking with Ken for a while he said he would continue to allow people to collect under conditions:
1. You will need to call him to make arrangements to collect, he has given me permission to post his number so people can get in contact with him. 704-434-2780.
2. He no longer wants individuals collecting at the site, he only wants clubs to visit where they can supervise their members, it seems some have decided to go and dig on his neighbors property, the fieldtrip leaders should know the property boundarys and be able to keep their members within the specified area.
3. All persons will now be required to sign a release form before collecting, Ken will provide this when you stop at his residence before going to the site.

Not bad rules to follow in order to keep a site open, but as Ken said, any more of what has been happening the last few months and he will close the site for good.

Stay tuned for more updates!