Eagle Mining Co

I was first sceptical, but it was really worth it. I could’ve spend all day exploring the tunnels.

I learned about this place on my first visit to Julian, CA. I was driving home, speaking with my father. He asked «Did you go down into the gold mine?» to which I replied «Wait…Gold mine? What?!» And I decided to plan another trip down to Julian to check out the Mine. This trip I got the opportunity too.
I arrived at the place early afternoon. I had followed the dusty road and it’s helpful signs to the Eagle Mining Company gold mine. I parked in the lot, and took a look around. There was one other car in the dusty lot, and a family sat at a table under an umbrella.
Taking a gander around the place, this place looks as if it hasn’t changed in about a century or so. Very old rusted out cars sat outside the walls of the gift shop, and more assorted decrepit equipment of all sorts sat along the walls of the aged warehouse.
The one modern item scattered amongst the metallic graveyard was a new-​ish soda machine sat in a protective cage, tempting the thirsty travellers with it’s bright displays of carbonated refreshment, and then quickly dashing their parched hopes to the ground with its broken condition.
I inquired to the family about the tours, and they informed me that there was a tour currently being lead through the mines. They also said that they’d been gone for quite some time and hoped that they’d be out fairly soon. There’s no signage showing times of tours, just the one with the prices for the tours.
Speaking of tours, the tours are ten dollars per adult. Emphasis on the word ‘dollars’, as there are no card swiper doohickies, nor I-​Pads/​cell phones with those swipy thingers. CASH only. Luckily I remembered that I’ve always have a wee bit of emergency cash in the ‘o-​shit’ bag in the trunk of my car. (Mental note: Replace the cash in the o-​shit bag in the trunk.)
Based upon the signage that was hung around the place, I was expecting a crotchety old man to come out of the cave leading a group of angry and upset tourists. However, what exited the mine was completely the opposite.
The guy was friendly and helpful and super eager to answer any and all questions posed to him. He lead his small group (and the new tour folks joined in) over to the great big rock smasher, where he explained the history and use of the massive device. He also explained how the gold was filtered using assorted chemicals and showed us the assorted devices and chemical catch basins that had been used over the past ages of gold mining. Needless to say, a great way to end, or start a tour.
After explaining the procedures, he collected payment from the new group, and set them up at the panning troughs, showing them first how to pan for gold, and then helping us to get started. Then he took a bit of a break to eat his lunch. After we all had panned for gold, and he had eaten lunch, he led us into the caves.
The caves were absolutely fascinating. It’s amazing what people can do when they set their minds to it. Mines are rated by ounces of gold per ton of rock and ore. This mine pulled out just a few precious ounces of gold per ton of rock pulled from the earth. Not as effective as some of the more lucrative mines in the north that pulled ten or fifteen ounces per ton.
This mine led thousands of feet deep into the ground. Using the original mining equipment when the mine first opened up in the 1800’s, each foot took painstaking days to mine. There are actually two intersecting mines here. The Eagle Mine and the High Peak Mine were connected when the ore got too difficult to carry out through it’s original path.
Inside the mine it’s super cool. Easily tens of degrees cooler than outside in the hot sun. It’s also dark. As the tour guide led us through the mine’s twisting and turning tunnels, when we got into the old foreman’s office, he turned out the lights for a little bit. It was scary and even a bit illuminating to see just how dark it gets in a mine.
Again, throughout the tour, the guide was informative, and answered all questions we thought up. Great guy.
If you’re ever headed to San Diego, and have a bit of time to kill, go see Julian. Visit this mine. Bring cash. This is a ridiculously awesome and neat trip back through California’s past.

The gold mining history of Julian a fascinating aspect of the area that I had never fully appreciated on my previous visits. I guess it’s easy to get caught up in the apple pie and antiques, but do head off the main drag up the hill to the Eagle Mine and check it out.
You will learn a lot about mining 1870 – 1930, how it changed over the years, how to pan for gold, and about the metal itself. You will be led on a tour through the mineshaft, taught how to search for a vein of gold, and you will learn just how hard the pre-​industrialization work used to be.
Really enjoyed the tour with Craig. Craig is an excellent storyteller and speaks about the mine firsthand because his grandfather owned and operated it. The grandsons honor his legacy by passing along the history.

Today we went for a tour at the Eagle & High Mine as a large homeschooling group. We fully enjoyed it! It was a great hands on educational experience. The Nelson family was awesome at educating the kids on their developmental level about gold mining. Everyone was fully enthralled and was captivated by the history to be learned there. The experience really helps you understand the day and the life of a miner as you walk through the mine. We look forward to returning next year for another gold mining tour.

It is a nice operation. A good location, nice staff and knowledgeable. This was our 2^nd time here. The first was years ago we were the only family taking the tour. This time we brought our 6 year old, there was about 30 people on the tour and we in the back of the group. So all of us in the back got kinda left out. My only suggestion is a limit on people for each tour. But we will definitely be back. We had a good day.

They let us bring our Boston Terrier, Maddy, along through the mine. I had to pick her up once and carry her up the ladder (stairs). Great of them to allow us to bring her.

Really cool and interesting your. We are glad we went. We were so impressed by all the work miners had done to find gold. I was also impressed by the antiques and collections for rocks and stones. We highly recommend this tour to anyone looking for something to do in Julian. It is only $ 10 per person. The parking is free but on a dirt lot. Wear comfortable tennis shoes because you will be walking around bumpy ground. Also bring a jacket just in case, we were really cold.

I’m glad I have taken the tour. The guide was extremely informative and parts of the tour is a bit hands on. I would park outside because the trail to the parking lot is made of dirt and rocks. Plus, if you walk, you get to see a small fake graveyard. The price isn’t too high. Another perk to this tour is that if you go when Julian is scorching hot, you’ll find a cool shade in the mines.

Went in the tour with the BF… Absolutely loved the tour. It was very informative and the guide made it very worth it. Very up beat and humorous while providing great facts. we both enjoyed it quite a bit.

What a wonderful, unexpected surprise this tour was! Our tour guide, Paul, was informative and funny. For $ 10 per adult, this tour is an awesome deal! Walking through the old mine shafts was a kick.
On Halloween, they have a haunted house in the mine shaft. If I liked being scared, I’m sure I’d love it.

$ 10 adult ticket for a tour. Guide was knowledgeable and friendly! Mine was an interesting step into the past and a good insight into local history. Definitely a good stop during a trip to Julian. It was our favorite spot during our day trip from SD.

On this walking tour you get to walk in the actually mining tunnels and get to experience of about two levels of the Eagle and High Peak mine tunnels. Great tour guides and knowledgeable staff. We went in December, the weather was just right with a warm jacket. It was cool to actually see and touch some of the original equipment on display. This place is a 2-​minute drive from the main street, we walked from the main street, it was easy to get to and kid-​friendly. There are a few parts that I had to lower my head to avoid hitting the ceiling but the guide mentioned this ahead of time. There is one level we had to use some steep stairs to get to so keep this in mind. We really enjoyed the tour, the staff and the history. I 100% recommend this place.

This place is legit.
It is at the top of «C» street above old town Julian. There is old mining equipment, carts, tools and a shop. You can pan for gold outside.
The tour inside the mine was amazing. The stories were rich with history, and the actual mine tour is about 45 minutes inside the mountain.
There are other tunnels through out the mountain. I would pay more if they would take us into those other mines.
I wish they sold T-​shirts there.

I was surprised how cool the tour was.
Had two guides with a ton of knowledge and the mine is the real deal.
I recommend the tour!!!

The best part of the Pasadena City College tour was the Eagle Mining.
Our tour guide, Tony was awesome — very informative of the gold mine’s history and how the miners from the old days survived on candles to keep them illuminated while working, the machines used back then, and how the miners took comfort in hanging out with their waitress aka school teachers when needing some TLC after a long day’s work ;)
The mine itself is super cool (not hot and soggy) and well ventilated, complete with electricity down there. We got to go to the deep levels as well as the high levels to see how much the miners digged. Tony even gave us a preview on what life was like mining down there when the candles went out — super dark!!! No ghost stories of the mine down there, aww… lol…
After our tour, we got to pan for gold for a bit. Sadly, we didn’t get to keep any flakes of gold we panned. Instead, I got pure gold 24kt flakes ($ 10 a nail polish size) jar as a souvenir.
Definitely, the best part of the trip :) Highly recommend going on this tour or panning for gold, woohoo!!!

I decided to bring my mom (and a friend) to Julian for a day trip when she was in town visiting. While we were walking around on main street we came upon someone handing out a flyer for this place. My mom was interested in it, so off we went. It’s a very short drive from main street and there is ample parking (it is a little bit of driving on unpaved roads).
We were greeted immediately and directed to where we could purchase tickets for the tour. Adults are $ 10 and children are $ 5. The tour started off outside of the mine showing us the machine used to crush the rock. We then learned how to pan for gold and got to even try it ourselves. The tour guide was great and very informative. We learned alot about the history of the mine, how it was found, how many are in the area, and how the mine ran when in operation. There were old tools inside that helped paint a better picture of what the miners had to do. This was a great and informative tour which I’m glad we decided to do!

This place is great. At first it started out slow and we thought it was going to be boring but as soon as we got in the mine it was great!
Lots of fun, such a great experience and we learned a lot! Definitely recommend!

Wir haben die Eagle and High Peak Mine auf unserem Weg von Borrego Dessert nach San Diego besucht.
Ich bin ein wenig hin und hergerissen was ich von der Miene wirklich halten soll. Paul und sein Bruder sind mit der Miene groß geworden und haben diese dann später übernommen. Daher ist alles sehr authentisch. Heißt aber auch ein wenig «schmuddelig», die Miene ist eben nicht touristisch ausgeschlachtet und daher ist alles recht «ehrlich». Es ist eben was es ist (und war): eine Goldmine.
Es war auf jedenfall sehr interessant durch die Miene geführt zu werden und einen Einblick in die Geschichte zu bekommen. Da die beiden mit der Mine aufgewachsen sind und die Mine seit ihrer Kindheit kennen, können sie extrem viel Geschichten und Anekdoten erzählen — was sie auch tun… Das ist dann eigentlich schon der einzige Kritikpunkt: Es gab extrem viel Information und lange Erzählungen, denen ich bedingt durch den ungewohnten Dialekt selbst mit meinen relativ guten Englisch-​Kenntnissen kaum folgen konnte. Auch wenn die Tour dadurch ein wenig ermüdend wurde, müsste man dies gerechterweise als Plus-​Punkt werten. Wo sonst bekommt man Hintergrundinformationen aus erster Hand…
Highlight war dann das Ausschalten der Tunnelbeleuchtung und die Minuten in absoluter Dunkelheit.
FAZIT: Für jeden der in Julian und Umgebung ist und ein wenig Zeit hat, mag sich ein Besuch in der Mine lohnen (Zeitaufwand 1−2h). Als Hauptattraktion eher ungeeignet und für Kinder die nicht so gut englisch sprechen könnte jedoch der Besuch schnell langweilig werden. Die 10 $ Eintritt (nur cash!) mögen fair sein, aber eine Familie mit 2 Kindern sollte sich überlegen ob sie die 40 $+ wirklich lohnen…

The Eagle Mining Co is a great place for kids of all ages, including adults.
For $ 10, you get a little bi of history, a walking tour of a real underground gold mine, a tutorial on how to pan for gold, and hand’s on gold panning in a trough… so, it’s truly an interactive nostalgic experience.
If you’re looking to pan for gold and discover valuable treasure, this isn’t the place for you. When you’re given the opportunity to pan for gold in the trough, you’re doing it for fun and don’t get to keep any of the gold you discover that collect in your pan.
However, I’ve heard of many gold mining places where you’d left to pan with fruitless results after hours upon hours of searching which can be frustrating. So, this is a great place that’s entertaining.
It’s like fishing in a lake seeded with fish versus fishing in an ocean where there may or may not be anything. The shooting fish in a barrel model is great for kids who may lack patience as they’re instantly seeing gold. I found it to be fun, as an adult.
It’s a good price and a nice activity for spending a few hours in Julian doing something so retro-​throwback as panning for gold like a 49er in the 1800’s.
I think I can now take my newly founded gold panning skills I developed here at Eagle Mining Company and bring a pan to a river as I prepare to yell «Eureka!» as I discover treasured nuggets and flakes of gold in the future…

Didn’t get to do the tour, but the staff were very friendly.
The tour takes about an hour and it costs $ 10 per person.
Free parking. Their store is also nice to be checked out.

Stopped by the town of Julian to get some apple pie after camping in Lake Cuyamaca and glad we bumped into a guy from Eagle and High Peak Mine Tour passing flyers for the tour. For $ 10 (cash only) a person you get to experience an old gold mine. Not bad for $ 10!
The staff are friendly interesting people. They are knowledgeable of all things mining and are enthusiastic about any and every inquiry you have about it. It’s all great. A break down of the tour is a comprehensive explanation of the mining process, you see the machines they used, then you sift through gold, and then enter through eagle mine and from eagle mine enter high peak mine and exit through there. The mine is huge with 11 levels but they take you through 2 and you are shown original equipment used by the miners back in the day, and the the guide even turns off the lights to show how incredibly dark it was in the mine. Pretty neat. A great educational activity in the area.