"Garnets---the Gem of the Adirondacks".

Gore Mountain, located in the Adirondack region of New York State, is the beautiful setting for the Barton Garnet Mine and Tour.  As we traveled past early fall foliage in shades of orange and red, then drove along the Hudson River close to its beginning, we could hardly wait to get to this historic location.  The Barton Garnet Mine's claim to fame are the huge garnet crystals found here, considered to be the largest in the world.  Beginning in 1878, the year the mine was established, the granite boulders were dynamited to collect the garnets for sandpaper, shattering all the crystals into bits.   Some of the boulders in the mine area display garnet crystals that are ten inches across, and are of a beautiful deep reddish-orange color.  At the Barton Mine Rock Shop,  you can buy  beautiful faceted gems weighing three to four carats, cut by a local artist there at North River, the small town located about six miles from the garnet mine.  Can you imagine the huge gems that could have been cut from these garnets, if they had not been dynamited?!!

The Rock Shop is the place to start to sign up for the tour of the mine. After you sign up for the tour, you are taken in a caravan to the mine site.  The original mine consists of eight pits, which are now flooded with water. However, only one of these pits is used for the tours.  There has been no commercial mining here since 1984, but people who take the mine tour are allowed to collect from the banks surrounding the flooded pits.  The tour is very short, and takes place on the hour during the summer.  For complete details about  hours of operation, pricing, etc. go to www.garnetminetours.com.  They also have a discount coupon available on the website to be used at the mine, so be sure and check it out.

It had rained the day before we got to the mine, so the ground was glistening with red garnet and black hornblende shards, making it really easy to pick up the larger shards.  You are not allowed to pound on the rocks or crystals, so leave your rock hammer at home!  You can take garnet-bearing rock home with you as well as pick garnet crystals off the ground, all for a nominal charge of $1.00 per pound.  This is a great easy spot to take children for their first collecting experience, as evidenced by the busloads of school students who come here each year.  The rock shop has a nice selection of garnet-filled granite slabs which have been made into such things as cheeseboards, coasters, and candlesticks.  These items are made from the trimmings leftover from the granite countertops which the Barton Mine Company produces.  They also have a  very nice selection of garnet and sterling silver jewelry, along with glass bottles filled with alternating layers of light and dark colored garnet sand leftover from the mine processing.   

While you are in this area, you can go rafting on the Hudson River, or take one of the many hikes that access the beatiful lakes and scenery this whole Adirondack Region is known for.  Be sure and take your camera--you never know when you may see a moose or bear!