The Pigeon Forge Gem Mine, beside the Three Bears General Store and run by the same owners, is the Parkway's sluice-and-sort ritual: buy a bucket of dirt, work it at the covered sluice, keep what the water gives up. The covered setup makes it a genuine rainy-day option, and the films here run the full price ladder — from everyday buckets to the biggest swing in the Smokies.

Watch: first looks

3 videos · summaries from the actual guides

Gem Mine Pigeon forge Tennessee / Our First Time What Did We Find? / Three Bears General Store 2024

Yankee in the South finally gem mine at the Pigeon Forge Gem Mine — a fixture beside the Three Bears General Store (same owners) since Will was little — buying a bucket, working the sluice under cover, and taking stock of what they found; the covered setup makes it a rainy-day option too.

Key takeaways
  • The Gem Mine is owned by the Three Bears store folks
  • Covered sluice = a working rainy-day attraction
  • Buckets of dirt are the whole game: buy, sluice, sort

WE DID THE $2,500 BARREL @ PIGEON FORGE GEM MINE Rubies, Megalodon Teeth, Squid Fossils

Smoky Mountain Family go all in on the $2,500 barrel — billed as the only one of its size in the Smokies and a couple of hours of work — and sift out rubies, megalodon teeth, squid fossils, fluorite and a crystal big enough to turn in both hands.

Key takeaways
  • The $2,500 barrel is billed as the Smokies' only one
  • A barrel takes about two hours to work through
  • Finds: rubies, megalodon teeth, squid fossils, fluorite

Gem mine store pigeon forge TN.

Life With Louie & Tammy bring the kids to the Gem Mine's dinosaur-guarded entrance and put them to work at the sluice, panning bucket by bucket. Mostly family audio rather than narration, so it is cataloged as watch content.

The $2,500 barrel

Smoky Mountain Family go all in on the barrel billed as the only one of its size in the Smokies: about two hours of work, yielding rubies, megalodon teeth, squid fossils, fluorite and a crystal big enough to turn in both hands. Their Halloween film breaks down the rest of the menu as displayed — $500 and $1,000 buckets on the shelf, $25 Halloween add-on buckets, a family package pairing a $100 bucket with four Halloween buckets.

What a normal bucket yields

The worth-it films are the honest measure. A sapphire-and-ruby bucket produces peacock ore, strawberry quartz and a ruby, with the on-camera price list running to $500 and $1,500 tiers. A rockhound host's bucket turns up quartz, agate and a geode his wife spotted in her share — cracked open on camera, the prize find of his film. Yankee in the South's first-time visit is the baseline: a fixture Will had known since he was little, sluiced under cover.

Watch: more views

3 videos · summaries from the actual guides

PIGEON FORGE GEM MINE Halloween Buckets!

Smoky Mountain Family's Halloween-season visit breaks down the bucket menu as filmed — $500 and $1,000 buckets on display, $25 Halloween add-on buckets, a family package pairing a $100 bucket with four Halloween buckets — then mines a fossil specialty bucket.

Key takeaways
  • Halloween add-on buckets run $25 with any bucket
  • Family package: $100 bucket + four Halloween buckets
  • $500 and $1,000 buckets anchor the high end on display

Is Gem Panning Worth It? Pigeon Forge Gem Mine Review

Disney Vacation Family ask the title question with a sapphire-and-ruby bucket: peacock ore, strawberry quartz and a ruby among the finds, and the on-camera price list running from everyday buckets to $500 and $1,500 tiers.

Key takeaways
  • Bucket tiers run to $500 and $1,500 as filmed
  • Sapphire-ruby bucket yielded peacock ore and strawberry quartz
  • Right on the main strip in Pigeon Forge

Gem Mine: Pigeon Forge Tennessee

The N.D.T. Show head into the Pigeon Forge Gem Mine in the heart of the Parkway to see what the sluice gives up. Filmed and narrated in English; only an Arabic auto-translated caption track was available, so it is cataloged here as watch content.

The setting

The dinosaur-guarded entrance and the rock shop get their own short films at the end of the page. The mine is a small stop done well — the films treat it as an hour's pleasure, not a day's plan, and price it that way.

Sources: the 8 videos on this page, filmed at the Pigeon Forge Gem Mine between 2024 and 2026.

Watch: the full set

2 videos · summaries from the actual guides

IS THE PIGEON FORGE GEM MINE WORTH IT?

Spud Finds A Geode turn the camera on the finds: quartz, agate and a geode his wife spotted in her share of the bucket, cracked open on camera — a rockhound's-eye verdict on whether the Gem Mine is worth it.

Key takeaways
  • A geode in the bucket is the prize find, cracked on camera
  • Quartz and agate turned up in a standard share
  • Rockhound hosts give the worth-it verdict

INSIDE THE GEM MINE - PIGEON FORGE TN

TicTacGo step inside the Pigeon Forge Gem Mine for a quick look at the sluice and the rock shop. Watch content only.

More Pigeon Forge essentials

Start from the Pigeon Forge hub for the full directory, or keep exploring:

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