Emerald Village, Inc.

05/25/2026

On just ten nights each year at the Emerald Village in Little Switzerland, North Carolina, rockhounds can take an after-hours, black-light tour of Bon Ami Mine—one of only two mines in the U.S. to offer such an experience. The tours kicked off today, with nine more dates, now through October.

One of our 250 places to celebrate America, find out what makes the mine glow fluorescent green: https://bit.ly/49jJsg5

📸: Emerald Village

05/19/2026

What if you could step inside a hidden world of glowing, underground fluorescence?
If you’re looking for something truly out of the ordinary this weekend, we are doing our first Blacklight Mine tour at Emerald Village in Little Switzerland, NC. This Saturday night, May 23rd at 9:15 PM.

For 45 minutes, you’ll get to witness rare minerals burst into a brilliant, colorful display of underground splendor that you can’t see anywhere else. It’s a photographer’s dream, so definitely bring your camera! Spots are limited for the season opener and sell out really fast. Head on over to our website to get your tickets (Link to our website will be posted as well.)

But the fun does not have to start at night, we have plenty of unique attractions to do in the day time, why not check out the Mining Museum, you can purchase admission to access the 2 levels of interesting displays, you can also walk down the ramp to the lower level of the museum and watch a brief video of Emerald Village. Then you can walk outside of the lower level and check out a stunning waterfall and walk inside the Bon Ami mine which is the same mine we do our Black Light mine tours!

Thanks for always supporting us, have a gem of day and hope we will see you real soon!
https://www.emeraldvillage.com/mines-activities/black-light-tour/

05/09/2026

On May 23rd at 9:15 PM, Emerald Village in Little Switzerland, NC comes alive at night with the first black-light mine tour of the season, and tickets are available at https://www.emeraldvillage.com/mines-activities/black-light-tour/
Explore the fluorescent Bon Ami mine at night and get amazing pictures! This photo shows a fluorescent mineral collection on display in the Discovery Mill. The 45-minute limited capacity black light night tour is by online reservation only and starts at 9:15 PM. Admission is $12 for ages 5 through 12, and $22 for ages 13 and up. In the mine you'll see lots of vivid green Hyalite Opal, along with deep red Feldspar and rare blue phosphorescent minerals. Experience the mountains from the inside out! Don't forget to allow time for gem mining, gold panning, the daytime mine tour, hand-dip ice cream and delicious homemade fudge! Open every day! Come make it a Gem of a Day!

Emerald Village is the premier place for NC gem mining with real gem mines NC offering gem mine tours in North Carolina with black light tours.

05/01/2026

Have you ever wanted to visit real mines and collect local gems? Emerald Village is open every day and while most choose to explore the mines, we also offer 2 dig sites where you can collect your own gems and minerals from real mine tailings. On site, the Mckinney Mine tailings are open for collecting. These mines, although primarily mined for feldspar and mica, are also home to over 50 types of gems and minerals, some rare and sought after. Also available is the Crabtree Emerald Mine tailings, not far from Emerald Village, where you can get permits. Once owned by Tiffany’s, this site offers a chance to collect local high-quality emeralds along with other gems and minerals.

Day permits cost $25 per person for either location, and you can bring your own tools or rent our tool kits which are available at Emerald Village shops. At the Flume at Emerald Village, we also offer native buckets, which are dug from the McKinney mine tailings with nothing added or removed. However, you choose to spend the day at Emerald Village we hope you have a gem of day and that you come see us real soon.

04/14/2026

Spring is here and its bringing new life and energy to the landscape. and We’re excited to share some recent highlights from around the property.

Over the past few days, we’ve had the pleasure of observing a family of geese that has made its home here. The arrival of their goslings has been especially enjoyable to witness. Watching them follow closely behind their parents as they explore their surroundings offers a charming glimpse into the season and the natural beauty of the area.

In addition, a groundhog has become a regular visitor. Initially cautious, it has gradually grown more comfortable, often seen enjoying the warmer weather and moving about the grounds. These small but meaningful wildlife moments add to the unique character of the experience here.

Visit us at Emerald Village and If you're lucky enough, you'll spot these animals and even some others.

04/11/2026

IT'S A NEW YEAR, with new chances to discover one of the most unique experiences in the mountains, the night-time underground black light mine tours at Emerald Village in Little Switzerland, NC! 2026 dates have been announced for the 10 special night tours, which are expected to sell out. Limited reservations are only available at www.emeraldvillage.com. Admission is $22 (Age 13+) and $12 (Age 5-12). The 10 tour dates in 2026 are:
May 23 ------------9:15 PM
June 20 ------------9:30 PM
July 11 - -----------9:30 PM
July 18-------------9:15 PM
August 1-----------9:15 PM
September 5-------8:45 PM
September 19 ----8:30 PM
October 10 -------8:00 PM
October 17 -------7:45 PM
October 24--------7:45 PM

04/02/2026

We would like to thank everyone that showed up on opening day! Day one was a fantastic start to this season. Without everyone's support we would not have gotten this far! I hope that everyone has a gem of a day and that we can see you real soon!

04/01/2026

OPEN FOR BUSINESS…OPEN FOR FUN! Emerald Village is now opened today, April 1st (no April Fool joke!). Visitors always enjoy touring the underground mine and searching for gems. Others explored the exhibits of Discovery Mill. Many preferred going through fun and easy gem buckets, while serious rockhounds can dig and collect rare minerals on the historic McKinney Mine dumps. Beautiful weather accented the day and the sound of kids (of all ages) having fun echoed in the air. Emerald Village is now open every day through October 31st. Everyone deserves to have some fun after the long hard winter, and Emerald Village is OPEN for business AND fun! Western North Carolina still has much to offer visitors, and your visit will be appreciated. Your visit will be appreciated here. Come have a “Gem of a Day” at Emerald Village, located one hour North of Asheville and 2,000 feet higher!

03/25/2026

Well we are officially one week away from being open. We wanted to say thank you. Thanks for our amazing employees working so hard as we get closer to April 1st. We want to personally say thanks to every single of our customers for always supporting Emerald Village. It may not seem like a big deal but to us we could not ask for a better group of amazing people. We can't wait to see everyone when we open and we hope we will see you soon

03/19/2026

We have been working really hard over the winter and we have some sneak peaks of what you could see. However we have to make it a mystery since we want to wait until we are open which is April 1st. Also we have a brand new Instagram account which we will link in this post. https://www.instagram.com/emeraldvillage/