Recapture the adventure of this bygone era with an authentic 1890's gold mine tour.
You learn about mining and gold panning from knowledgeable Black Hills Gold Mine Tour Guides. Big Thunder is a complete learning experience including an historic tour of the gold mine lasting one hour and two forms of gold panning plus gem panning. Claim panning experiences last 4 and 8 hours and you learn to pan on an actual claim in a creek. On site panning located at the main facility lasts is the faster way to pan. participants pan in running water sluices. Gold is guaranteed with both forms of panning. Big Thunder Gold Mine offers gem panning which includes finding all Black Hills native rocks.
Participants can learn to cut open geodes which they can take home.
Contact Info
- (605) 666-4847
- 604 Blair Street, Keystone SD 57751
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Open Daily
June, July, August, 8am – 8pm, Last tour @ 7pm
Apr, May, Sept – Oct 31st, 9am – 6pm, Last tour @ 5pm
Off-Season by Appointment
On-Site Gold Panning
Panning for gold is a fun and easy hobby. Anyone can do it. If you don’t know how to do it, don’t worry! At Big Thunder Gold Mine, we provide on-site gold panning for you and your entire group. Panning for gold is easy and fun for the whole family. Come experience our on-site gold panning and learn how to pan for gold at Big Thunder Gold Mine! This activity is fun for people of all ages. You’ll receive a hands-on lesson while you learn the proper technique of panning using the mineral-rich sand and gravel from famous Black Hills streams! This is a great hands-on activity for kids and adults alike. We do allow the pans to be shared among multiple people, so everyone in the group can be a part of the action. Our on-site gold panning is available all day. The on-site gold panning lessons take approximately 15-45 minutes, but there’s no time limit. Have as much fun as you want! Even if you’re not part of a group, we also offer individual on-site gold panning lessons.
Claim Panning
Spend the day (or half-day) exploring a genuine Black Hills gold claim while learning to pan for gold in the same gold-rich streams that brought early miners to the Black Hills in the 1800s.
Tour Our Museum
The Mining Museum is a replica of the Tycoon Gold Mill built-in 1895 on the Big Thunder Gold Mine property. The Mining Museum contains thousands of artifacts of Gold Mining in the Black Hills from three working mines in the Black Hills that were reclaimed and torn down. Professional guides describe how miners carefully extracted gold from the gold ore while Gold Mining in the Black Hills.
Tour Our Mine
Recapture the adventure of this bygone era with the Black Hills Gold Mine Tour at Big Thunder Gold Mine. Tour Big Thunder’s authentic 1890s gold mine. Learn about mining and Gold Panning from knowledgeable Black Hills Gold Mine Tour guides. Big Thunder Gold Mine is completely wheelchair accessible and fun for all ages
Big Thunder Gold Mine Pricing
Learn the basics of placer mining and gold panning with our on-site gold panning
Rates
$10.95 Per Pan
$8.95 when combined with a mine tour – Per Pan
$6.95 Gem Panning – Per Bag
We also offer claim panning. Spend a half-day or day on Big Thunder Gold Mine’s actual claim. You’ll head out with one of our panning experts and pan for real Black Hills Gold. Whatever gold you find on your claim panning adventure, you get to keep.
Rates
Children (ages 6-16)
Half-Day (4 hours) $35.00
Full-Day (8 hours) $55.00
Adults
Half-Day (4 hours) $45.00
Full-Day (8 hours) $70.00
*Reservations for claim panning must be at least 24 hours in advance.
**Tours book up fast, so we suggest making your reservation a few days in advance.
Rates
Adults: $10.95
Children 6-12: $7.95
Children younger than 5 no charge
Group Rates Available
Reservations needed for groups of 15 or more