We began our day trip at Done-Rite Tire & Auto on Carrick Street. We headed to the Harbour Expressway and hung a left. We continued on the Harbour Expressway until we reached Highway 11/17, at which time, we turned right. We stayed on Highway 11/17 for roughly 60 kilometres until we reached East Loon Road. We turned left onto East Loon Road and followed the signs until we reached the Mine.

Fun Fact: Amethyst is the birthstone for February, and the official gemstone of Ontario.

When you arrive at the mine, you will see the Welcome Centre. This is where you go to get the low down on how to dig, collect and pay for your amethyst treasure. It is also where you pay for your admission to enter the Mine. The admission fee is $10 per person, however children under 5 are free.

We paid our fee and headed outside. A guide named Tim gave us a tour of the facility and explained the basics about the formation of amethyst. He then set us free to prospect for amethyst in the digging area, which is a 5 acre area loaded with gems. You can keep all of the stones you collect for a fee of $4 per pound.

Another Fun Fact: Although we think of amethyst as being purple, it can also be lavender, red or black.

Our youngest daughter, who is seven, had the most fun. She filled up three buckets full of rock in five minutes flat. Every rock she touched was “the most beautiful rock.” It was really cute to see the excitement on her face.

Once we selected our rock, we went to the washing station to shine up our treasures. With a little bit of water and a hard brush, we made the amethyst sparkle.

Next, came the hard part. We had to decide which amethyst pieces would be coming home with us. That was hard, especially for our seven-year old who had already named most of her rocks. Seriously, she gave them names!

We placed the pieces we wanted to keep into bags provided by the Mine, while the “turn-away” pieces were returned to the pit. We then returned to the Welcome Centre to pay for our collection of amethyst.

The Amethyst Mine Panorama also sells beautiful necklaces, clocks, gem trees, pen sets, earrings, and bracelets. They have a Shop in Thunder Bay where they sell their handcrafted gifts as well. The Shop is located on Victoria Avenue, and you can find them online at www.amethystgiftcentre.com.

On the way home, we drove around East Loon Lake. Wow! There are certainly some beautiful camps in that neck of the woods.

We give this day trip a 10 out of 10!