Last Chance Mine in
Creede (CO)

Great experience and great staff. Our guide, River, was full of knowledge and an excellent communicator. Looking forward to coming back again and doing a different tour and digging for gems in the tailings!

If you pass through Creede and do not visit last chance mine, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. We are very grateful that Jack, the owner, took the time to speak with us about the history of the mine, and provided us with several very interesting stories. A genuinely good person. All of the staff was welcoming and knowledgeable. To top it all off, there is an epic view from the mountainside the mine rests on. We will definitely be back.

Really neat place. No wait for the tours. Watch out for the steep stairs. Be patient with the grumpy people (probably just had a bad day) and you will enjoy this place. Lots of rocks to check out and for purchase as well as a tailings pile you can collect your own from. Worth a stop if you have the time. Parking is limited and not marked out or signed very well. Lots to see and learn about though.

We did two different tours. Our guide, River was very knowledgeable. My family and I recommend them 100%!

We found this place out by chance and it turned out to be our most cherished experience here in Colorado. Our tour guide, River, had so much knowledge all across the board in mineralogy and was generally a fresh air to all this! I'm always super happy seeing young people involved in exciting fields like mining. Thanks a ton!

Love the story of this mine and the tours. River was our guide and did a great job sharing the history and answering all our questions.

This place is so cool and must see of you are in the Creede area! Our tour guide, River, was amazing! So knowledgeable and brought the tour to life with interesting and funny stories about the mine and its history. We had our 5 and 7 year olds daughters with us and he was great at answering their questions and adjusting as needed. You can do a tour, see the museums, see the beautiful views, even search through the old “trash gems pile” to find your own amethyst! The gift shop has beautiful jewelry made with gemstones from this mine by the owner! If you do a tour ask for River:)

We thoroughly enjoyed our short visit and plan on going back when we have more time. The staff is excellent. The drive up and the views from the mines are gorgeous especially during the fall with the aspens changing colors. Definitely worth a visit

super long review incoming: we travel on a budget and normally don’t spend money on tours, but after the kind lady in the creede visitor center suggested Last Chance Mine, we knew we couldn’t miss out on the opportunity! we are constantly in awe of the whole concept of mining and the tour was an absolutely fascinating visual look at what life was like for these guys from the 1880s-1980s. our tour guide, River, was excellent—he was informative, easy to listen to and provided amazing facts and stories of the history of this mine! we enjoyed chatting with him prior to the tour as well. when we arrived they had two tours available, we chose to wait an hour to do the 45 minute tour for $15, as opposed to the 1.5hr tour for $30 (which i’m sure is absolutely incredible as well). in that time, we got to explore the two museums and observation deck—the museums themselves are worth the cost of the tour! after the tour, we got to grab a hammer and bucket and go out and rockhound outside of the mine! we found some awesome treasures (that you’re able to bring home for $2/lb). the girl working the gift shop—was so kind (i’m sorry i missed getting her name)! and jack, the owner, was a pleasure to briefly chat with! they are dog friendly which is an extra win! all in all, we spent 4 hours there and definitely would come back to complete other tours as they continue to expand! *i found it helpful to check out the Mining Museum audio tour in town prior to coming on this tour! both tours help compliment each other in learning about mining, if you are kind of clueless to the process (like me)! note: i believe they’re open 9am-5pm daily, except for wednesday they get a day off!

Everyone please ignore the couple of wet towels that left poor reviews for this place, they very far removed from reality. 8-22-2024 We were greeted by River when we got onto the property and he helped get us parked which was super helpful since the lot is tight and we drive a big van and he gave us a quick rundown on the place. 2 awesome little museums that are chocked full of old school items from clothing to cooking to mining to household goods you name it. The collection beneath the gift shop is truly incredible we spent about 40 minutes just looking at everything down there. We signed up for a 45 minute tour that was $15 a person (dog friendly which is awesome) and it was well worth the money. River ended up being our tour guide and he did an excellent job at presenting information and answering questions that the group of 13 people had. Post tour we went over to the rockhound area and busted open some rocks for an hour or so and visited the second museum. We stopped by the gift shop and the young lady working the counter was super nice (we didn’t get her name unfortunately) and cool to talk to. Just as we were about to leave we got to have a quick chat with Jack, the owner, who is very knowledgeable and genuinely cares about giving people a one of a kind experience. We spent about 4 hours total here and it was truly so much fun. There was some mention of there being new tours being added on top of the already existing ones so repeat visits are certainly possible. River said it’s possible one of the new tours will be an old timer style and instead of the lights you will be guided by oil lamp (if I understood him correctly) which is one I would definitely come back for. Come out and support these guys as it’s worth the price and a very unique experience.

This was such an amazing experience! The owner, Jack, has such an incredible story as to how he came to own and completely restore this mine. Jacks desire is to share the history and his love of mining with others and he sure has us hooked. We are already planning a trip again for next year to try a different tour. It’s very kid friendly (my youngest is 3) although children need to be able to listen and be respectful of a tour guide for 45 minutes so keep that in mind. Bobby was an excellent tour guide. You could come up to the mine for the view, museum and shopping alone even if you don’t want to participate in a mine tour. There is a ginormous collection of rocks and gems for purchase at incredible prices. You can also “mine” for your own gemstones and rocks. We came home with a bag full of raw amethyst, quartz, sowbelly agate, pyrite and even found some chlorite and Galena from our own “mining”. You don’t have to know anything about rocks to enjoy this activity. Also, all of the jewelry for sale is handmade by Jack and it is all so beautiful. It was hard to decide what to buy and you just can’t beat his prices. Plan a visit here! You won’t regret it! Thank you, Jack, for showing us such kindness and generosity. I pray many blessings of favor, good health and financial increase over you. God willing, we will see you again next year!

What an enchanting experience! Bobby was our tour guide and he was fantastic! Learned a lot of really cool history about this mine and Jack has made this place a great destination if you’re in the Creede area! Bonus this place is super dog friendly!

What an amazing place to visit. Everyone is so nice and there is an abundance to see and learn. We had John as our guide for the 45 minute mine tour. So super informative and easy for all abilities to do. We were super impressed with the entire site. I bought earrings and a necklace that were gorgeous as well. Here I am the following day wanting to go back. So I am editing my review. This was seriously such a neat place. We drove almost 2 hours to get here from our Airbnb and it was worth it in every way. I honestly am contemplating going back today and spending the entire day. Such a great experience.

Great place for history, mining and rock hounding. We did the new, longer tour. John was a great tour guide and Jack has created an awesome experience. It was also very dog friendly! Excellent selection of rocks, jewelry and views. We will go back for sure!

Stumbled upon this place by complete accident. What an amazing experience. From the history of the mine to the backstory of the purchase to Jack’s personal story, it was absolutely incredible. Took a 15 minute mine tour because we were not prepared for the 50 degrees inside the mine. When you come definitely bring a jacket and DEFINITELY take the tour. Wish we could have done the hour and a half tour. They have 5 different tours available for whatever you would like. Then at the end you can go break rocks and find your own treasures to keep. Don’t miss the museums or jewelry store.

Beautiful historic mine with a uniquely interesting history! The tour guides are friendly and well informed. The museum is a portal through time, and the jewelry shop has handmade jewelry from the site, itself, crafted by the owner. Highly recommend this gem if you're in the area!

We had an even-better-than anticipated Saturday afternoon at the LCM. Super friendly and engaging staff in a beautiful and interesting setting. The mine is friendly to well behaved canines as well. Please come support this place, and plan to spend at least two hours onsite if you are doing a tour!

We came to last chance mine this year in September. I've lived in Colorado all my life, this is one of the coolest places I've been. The area has lots of old mining structures and these buildings are a well preserved look into history. You can tell that Jack, the owner, has a great appreciation for constant restoration of the area. The museum was absolutely amazing and some of the people in our group went on the tour of the mines. We were a little short on time on this visit but we can't wait to come back and see the mines too.

It was a spectacularly beautiful and easy drive to the mine. We were SO thrilled that the mine was still open for tours (closes 10/7/23). It beat any expectations I had by a long shot. We were immediately greeted by a tall and friendly cowboy who helped us park and gave us a brief history of the mine and a run down of the variety of things to do there- tours, rock shop, rock hounding, museums, see the ridiculously amazing views, etc. My sister and I did the 15 minute tour with our kids (2 and 5 yo). Jack, the owner, was so kind and got us signed up. He even gave our kids a special crystal, which they have not stopped talking about. John gave us a great tour that everyone enjoyed. We took the kids to do some rock hounding. They give you all the tools and tell you what to look for and there is even a special kids pile with no shortage of beautiful rocks to find. The prices are super reasonable and they told us about all the things we found. We like the huge selection of other rocks too. We loved it so much, my sister and I went back later for the 45 minute tour, this time with Bobby. I’ve done plenty of other mine tours but this one is something special. There is so much love and thoughtfulness around this place and it is totally professional. This place is the coolest and I am so glad we went, we could not have had a better time. Wonderful everything. Thank you guys!

Stumbled upon this when doing the bachelor city loop drive on a whim and really enjoyed it. We actually did the underground mine tour in town right before and I would recommend this over that for the real deal experience; although the underground tour was a helpful pre-requisite. The Last Chance Mine has a fascinating back story, great guide by the name of Bobby and you can mine for your own minerals out of the very tailings pile they discarded which are rich in all kinds since they were focused on Silver. Would love to come back again and highly recommend.

Was definitely worth the drive up. Kids loved it. Everyone we talked to was super nice and Bobby was a great tour guide for the 45 minute tour. Lots of great history here. It was just my family on the 10:30 tour, so my recommendation is to go early. Was really hopping by the time we left.

Best mining tour. Highly recommend especially with kids. The rock collection that you can do is amazing, you only pay at the end per pound. They even let you know if it is a keeper or just a rock. Driving to the mine the direction they recommend for 2 wheel drive, even if in all or 4 wheel, especially if you are going to do the full loop.

The Last Chance Mine is a must visit when you’re in the area! They offer multiple cave tour options to choose from, and they have plans to further expand and include even more tours next season! My tour guide Bobby was very knowledgeable about the history of the mine, the miners, how silver is found, and his charismatic personality made my day. They also sell an impressive variety of rocks of different origins (at great prices) which make for great souvenirs or gifts.

Definitely a must see while in Creede. Scotty was a great tour guide full of historical facts. If you love antiques be sure to visit the museum. Jack, the owner, has acquired an amazing collection! Specifically old lanterns.

This place is definitely worth the trip. I've visited a handful of other mines before, and nothing comes close to this experience. You get to go deep in a mine and see what things were like 100 years ago. Jack was an amazing person to talk to. I was slightly intimidated at first seeing this genuine mountain man, but he was very nice and seems to care about his guests having a good time. Everyone there truly seemed to enjoy their job and keeping history alive for everyone else to see.

Great place, awesome people. Took a friend in a wheelchair who hadn't been out in over a year due to covid. It was great and wheelchair friendly. Truth be told, we surprised our friend with that wheelchair and we didn't really know how to push it and we still did alright. Jack noticed we were having a bit of issues with the feet holders and he grabbed a wrench and made sure my friend was comfortably fitted in his chair. We took the guided cave tours, Scotty was very friendly, knowledgeable, and very entertaining. The caves and property are very well maintained and very least expected. The gift shop was gorgeous and full of beautiful homemade jewelry. It was a great stop along the bachelor loop. Really nice genuine people and so glad they are sharing the history of this beautiful mine!! Highly recommend!

Great place to visit while in Creed Colorado. Really nice folks! Parking is a little cramped but they seem to manage it well. The hand made jewelry was my wife’s favorite thing about the place. If you bring your lady make sure you bring your wallet as well. My favorite thing was the mine tour. The tour takes you back in the old mine where you get to see the different ores in the rocks un mined. To see the conditions the old miners worked in is a real eye opener. Very educational. I highly recommend and assure you that you’ll be glad you visited. Easy on the brakes coming back down. They will overheat really quick.