Gem Valley Gem Shop and Museum
About
Who We Are:
Gem Valley LLC is a family-owned business just minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Founded in 2006 by Debbi Farmer and Harry Davis, Gem Valley is the only public panning facility in Ashe County, NC. We are located near the historical Ore Knob Mine that was in operation from the mid 1800’s to the mid 1900’s. Our creeks feed into the New River, which is the second-oldest river in the world! Please visit our Directions page for how to find us!
Our Mission Statement:
Our goal is to offer a fun, learning experience as you flume, and for you to take home something truly valuable and worth your time. Here at Gem Valley, each bucket is guaranteed to have valuable stones pulled from the mine just waiting for you to sift through and find!
What We Offer:
Gem Valley is a Seasonal gem mining, fluming and gold panning business. At Gem Valley you have opportunity to find and take home some truly beautiful and valuable gems of all sorts! The Appalachian Mountains of NC have a huge variety of precious and semi-precious stones in its soil! Our flume workers will be glad to assist you in identifying your stones!
Our Gem Shop and Museum offers a variety of jewelry, stones, souvenirs and information on geology, paleontology, and the lapidary arts. Our experienced gem cutters will be glad to take custom stone-cutting and jewelry setting orders.
The park has a picnic area with tables and grills if you wish to spend lunch. Restrooms are available inside the gift shop.
We invite you to browse our website for more information on our prices, services, and to answer any questions you may have. Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page for more detailed information on our business.
Hours of Operation:
Updates
Due to multiple issues beyond our control, we are operating at limited hours and reduced capacity this season. We appreciate your understanding and patience.
The 2022 Season for Gem Valley will be as follows:
The first day of the Season will be Friday, May 26th, 2022 – 10 AM EST to 2 PM EST.
The Flumes (for gem mining) will be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. No new miners are permitted after 1:00PM.
The Gem Shop and Gem Museum will be open on Mondays & Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, and Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
Due to staff limitations, we are not able to keep the shop and flumes open at the same time. This is the best compromise we can offer at this time.
Although the flumes will be closed on Mondays, we do offer our Buckets to Go and will still offer advice with gem identification.
We expect our last open day for the season to be Saturday, October 8th, 2022.
We apologize for any inconveniences this will cause for our loyal customers, however this is the only way we can continue to be open for this season.
Thank you for your understanding and your support!
We love you all and hope to continue to offer advice and support to all our fellow Rock Hounds!
Sincerely,
The Gem Valley Family
Please follow our facebook page for the latest updates regarding our business.
For any questions such as gem identification, please send an email with a picture to gem-valley@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to assist.
Thank you for a wonderful season, and Happy Prospecting!
Please note: in the case of bad weather, the flumes will be closed.
Phone: 336.982.5177
Email: debbi@gemvalleync.com
