indian valley mine national historic site

We had 5 in our party (3 adults and two teens) and all enjoyed the visit. The staff is very friendly and welcoming including the ducks and geese! Don't come expecting to sift for gold out of the river but rather with the intent to understand the process. We paid $55 for the five if us ($1each and we chose the $50 bucket to sift for gold). They had a $20, $50 and $100 bucket to choose from to try your luck. The $50 option was sufficient for our party and everyone found a few specks to take home.

Original miners cabin and workshop with many old tools and articles. We were given a tour and shown the old mine. People were there panning for gold. They also sell jewelry and other. Items in the gift shop.

The best part of this, is the tour of the place. I am terrible with names but the woman who is a part owner with her tour of the place its, chickens, ducks, geese, tortoise and rabbit and garden really made it worth the stop not mining for gold, really enjoyed it.

Was fully expecting this stop on the Turnagain arm to be a total hokey tourist trap. Wound up pleasantly charmed by the operators and had a fun time learning how to pang for gold. Found some flakes, a few small nuggets, some fool's gold, and even a few raw garnets. Worth checking out!

Indian Valley Mine is a hidden gem on mile 104! We visited on 7/8/14 and truly enjoyed our visit. Our family passed by it the first time and had to turn around before pulling into the lot. What may look like a run down shack is a true living history museum. We did not know what we were getting into as we walked up to the house. We rang the bell and were greeted by a man (I wish I could recall his name) and his dog Sofie who gave us a personalized tour around the property. The tour included many knowledgable facts, and information about the area. It was wonderful to hear someone who was born and raised in Alaska talk about his love for the area, resources and the history of Indian Valley Mine. My children (8 and 6) enjoyed following him around and listening to him.After the tour we purchased 2 $10 buckets and started to pan for gold. We were horrible panners and they noticed. They came over and helped our children several times while chatting, explaining and educating us on how it is done. We found several flakes and our children enjoyed the exotic geese, stories and excitement when others found gold.We stayed more than 2 hours and both of my children walked away with several pieces of gold flakes. My daughter decided to purchase a glass neckalace for $10 that holds her gold. She has been wearing it daily and has enjoyed showing our family and friends the gold she found. I highly recommend Indian Valley Mine for children, adults and anyone in between!

We spent a day at the mine, learning all about the history. The owners are wonderful and very informative. Fun day for the whole family.

We stayed 3 nights and had a great experience, you never know which of the many interesting friends you are going to meet, we got to have breakfast with Mike and Marge, Mike wrote the book Dreaming Bears (just started the book and so far a great read), visited with Gail and her very musically talented daughter Bailey, and Sandy who had living a year in Alaska on her bucket list (her year was almost up) and the mining friends that introduce me to Alaskan corn flakes. I also went down to the mine and got my gold panning lesson, they were all great teachers because I found gold. If we are in the area again, I hope we would be able to spend more time with Roger and Arlene.Diane and Scott

This is a great experience for adults and children! The owners personalize your visit with one on one tours and historical knowledge. Untapped from the electronic age, you'll get a wealth of knowledge about gold mining, panning, the local history, and even subsistence living! A great place to visit, immerse yourself into history and it's reasonably priced!

The family operated business was extremely enjoyable for our kids! We panned for gold and found some nuggets and flakes, which were made into keepsake necklaces for an additional $10. The kids enjoyed the tour of the mine (saw outside entrance embellished with a fun story), crossed the ropes the miners would have used, saw the pets including geese, baby ducks, guinea pigs, a rabbit, hens & roosters and even helped collect the hens' eggs. The "Tall Tales" told by the host was extremely enjoyable for all of us. We thought we were only stopping to pan gold for 30 minutes, but ended up spending a couple of hours just enjoying the tour. Another highlight was their 12-year old daughter serving coffee on her unicycle trying to raise money for her cello. Very fun!

The person that helped us was great. Very knowledgeable and very helpful. The mine was closed the day we walked up, but she saw us and invited us in anyway. The outfit down the road, Crow Creek Mine, turned us down flat just an hour before. Gold Panning was the #1 activity on her to do list, so we were very happy she accommodated us. We each got a little dirt to pan after a short tutorial and everyone came out a winner. There's just something special about seeing those little flakes of gold show up at the bottom of your gold pan. A great experience all around!

I'm not sure why they charge $1 admission. The museum is a waste of time. They show you the entrance to the mines and thats it. If you come here, just come here for the gold panning which is the best in Alaska that I found. Its right off seward highway.

We planned to call in for an hour on the way to Homer but ended up staying for 3! This was also due to us getting there early and the owner having time to spend with just us. We firstly had a look at the outside of the mine and the owner told us the history, looking at the tools they used. The boys also tried to cross the rope crossing as the miners would have had to years ago. We then had a choice of dirt bags to purchase, and taught to pan for gold . We really enjoyed it and found some gold!

I thought it would be fun to try my hand at gold panning and this "mine" is fairly close to Anchorage, so we decided to give it a try. The day we arrived was the second to last day of the season and at first we were the only customers. We were soon greeted and told there was a $1/person fee for the "museum". I didn't really learn much and the some of the placards were hard to read, as others have stated. The thing I did not like was that the owner had to give us her opinion of health insurance and medical care as we walked the grounds. I didn't engage her in conversation as I don't care what others think, and I was there to pan for gold. Fortunately some other visitors showed up and she left us to show them how to pan for gold. She was very helpful in showing us how to pan. The day we were there they had three sizes of buckets - $20, $50, and $100. The higher the price of the bucket, the more gold and semi-precious stones should be found. I opted for the $50 bucket and I was told I had found at least that much gold and I found quite a few semi-precious stones, including pieces of jade. You can have the gold you find incorporated into a piece of jewelry if you like. I opted to take mine in a small vial. There is a small gift shop that has some gold and semi-precious stone jewelry at good prices. There are beautiful views of the Turnagain Arm area.The gold panning was fun, but I could have done without the views of health insurance and medical care!

Initially I contacted this company who also owns the Turnagain B&B up the hill above the mine. They were booked but we wanted to stop and check it out for future reference. When I saw they had the mine decided why not check them both out. The mine was small but adequate. We didn't get a lot of gold but what I did get was put into a cute inexpensive keepsake necklace. We met the owner Arlene and she was so nice and informative. She didn't mind answering many of our questions about the mine and the area. She was very interesting and quite the character. We saw a unicycle on the porch and asked about it. Next thing we knew she was up on it giving us a demo. It was a fun stop and will be sure to stop again when going along Turnagain Arm. We also went to check out the B&B. We didn't see the inside but from the drive it was a gorgeous view down to the water. The B&B is newer but made to look rustic. Will definitely plan to stay there one day. Indian is a blip on the map but this location is great and would recommend you take the time to check it out! Just $1 to get in and then if you pan for gold whatever bucket cost you want. It's also not far from Anchorage and Girdwood so convenient. Would recommend getting there before dark to make it easier to spot since not many landmarks.

I wasn't expecting much but our kids (9 and 12) had a great time. The owner very patiently showed them how to pan for gold (after buying the bucket that came with 6-8 seeded gold flakes) - helped them with their technique and made it really interesting. Afterward, they were ready to mine at every river we ran across in Alaska :). Souvenirs were reasonably prices as were the gold panning items if you wanted to purchase. $1 admission wasn't a big deal. We also had 2 for 1 via Northern Lites coupon book so 2 kids panned for $10 (plus our $4 admission for 4 of us).