Collect Your Own Gems and Minerals at Ruggles Mine in New Hampshire

Known as "The Mine in the Sky", Ruggles Mine is located at the top of Isinglass Mountain, but the drive is not extremely steep.  It would be treacherous in winter I imagine, so it's open May through October only.
My first trip was as a chaperone on a field trip with my son.  He was in fourth grade.  We drove out though the countryside for miles it seemed, and then up an incline - where the bus actually got stuck!  When I drove myself, we had no such trouble.  This is a photo of my boys standing at the edge of the parking lot.  If you visit on a beautiful day weather-wise, you will enjoy some lovely views of surrounding Mt. Kearsage, Mt. Cardigan and Ragged Mountain.

You will enter the mine area by walking down a fairly steep slope. It opens up to a large area of rock piles and carved walls, scattered with caves and tunnels. Most of the dug out areas are small and there is no chance of getting lost in a cave. Kids will love to explore the site, and it's a fairly safe place to roam and have fun.

One of the caves had water in it. Another had a very short ceiling so standing upright was impossible for adults.

Using a pickaxe is allowed in certain areas, but as I recall, chipping away at the walls is NOT allowed.

Walk all the way to the back of the mine for more scenic views of area mountains.

Hunt for your own collection of mica, feldspar, beryl and over 150 other minerals in these rocks and caves. Explore the tunnels and dig through the boulders for special gems, and you get to keep what you find.   (The staff sometimes hide little treasures for you to find.)

Bring a hammer or chisel and protective eye wear if you have them. Also a flashlight is helpful for exploring the dark caves. Be sure to bring a backpack or bucket for carrying your treasures home!  There is equipment for rent, I believe, but bringing your own is fine too.

Adults can enjoy the scenery while kids run and climb and collect treasures!

Sam Ruggles, the mine's namesake, was very secretive about his new found mica mine, and with good reason.  In the early 1800's there was a limit as to how much land could be "claimed" by individuals on a yearly basis.  

It is believed that when Sam discovered mica on his parcel, he had no idea at first how widespread it was.  So he mined it, and claimed the land as he was allowed over the years.  If anyone else had discovered his secret spot, they could have claimed it as their own!

Mica was used in the early 1800's in place of glass. It forms in large sheets, which can be peeled apart. The heat resistant and transparent properties made it a very useful commodity.  Mica was in high demand, and Sam knew he'd struck gold (so to speak) when he found his mica mine.   He and his family were the only ones to work the mine.  They hid the pieces in wagons and moved it in the middle of the night so no one would see what they were doing.  He took the mica sheets to Portsmouth, on the coast.  Then he shipped it off to be sold in England which would not arouse suspicion as to where it had come from.

Others have mined here, after Sam Ruggles was gone, and in the 1930's the estimated dollar amount of the total haul of mica from the area was twelve million dollars!  With still more mica to be collected there today.

(Photo: White and black mica we collected on our visit.)

Mica is semi-transparent and each piece is made up of thin layers which can easily be peeled apart into very thin layers.  It's easy to see why it was used in place of glass in lanterns, stoves and windows.

In my photo here you can see black, white and pinkish mica as well as a chunk of white feldspar.  Rocks like this are readily available to collect at Ruggles Mine.

Our mica specimens are small, but the mica Sam Ruggles pulled out of his mine were huge, weighing over 100 pounds and as large as four feet across!
At the entrance to the mine, there is a little building with specimens of some amazing rocks and minerals that have been taken from the area.  The video of the history is also very interesting.

In the mine explorers can find white and black mica, feldspar, amethyst, garnet, and quartz - smokey and rose. But other, more unusual and prized uranium minerals have been found.

Radioactive minerals found at the mine include:

• Uranophane:  A radioactive mineral, yellow in color. Should not be handled!
• Torbernite:  Is also radioactive and green in color.
• Autunite:  Greenish yellow
• Gummite:  Has a gum-like consistency.

If you don't find any interesting gems or minerals, you could always buy some at the gift shop.

Any child who loves to explore and climb will enjoy the mine.  Adults should be in fairly good shape and be able to walk on uneven surfaces.  There is a fee to enter the mine, and as in most tourist attractions, there is a gift shop.

None of the caves are large enough to get lost in, but it's a good idea to keep an eye on the kids.  Make sure to go all the way to the back part of the mine where it opens up with a pretty view of the surrounding mountains.