5/5
WOW what a way Spectacular way to spend my vacation! This place is the absolute best! The family that runs it are top notch and know how to make sure you have a great time. I was there for a total of 7 days, 5 of them being for a common dig operation. You work as a team (ours had 29 people) at 4 different mining stations to look for gold. This is defiantly not for the faint hearted as you actually have to work to get the gold. No standing around with a shovel hoping the dirt jumps into the sluice box, you actually have to make it happen. The gold is awesome but the experience and camaraderie that is built with your teammates is the real gem. At the end of the week the Roaring Camp team cleans all the gold found and divides it equally among all the participants. All the gold is then passed out using a double blind card draw system so nobody is favorited the gold is passed out by luck of the draw.
The camp itself has rustic cabins, beds, closet, a table inside and a place to store your clothes and camping equipment. This is like tent camping without the tent you are in a cabin. (they also have tent sites if you want to tent camp). The bathhouses and bathrooms are clean and a hot shower at the end of the day is such a luxury. There is no cell service for AT&T and limited service I think for other carriers. (I loved having no service)
The folks that work here are mostly family and repeat customers. During our stay Tony and Neil were our favorites while we were out mining and really went out of their way to make sure we had an outstanding time even while we were working our butts off. Tammy, Peter, and Patrick were also great as they made sure we were well fed and taken care of during our down time. They have an awesome "Great Room" that is the Trading post where you could buy ice, get a great meal, a cold beverage (the adult kind too). If you want a truly great place to take your family on vacation this is the spot. There are many activities for all such as fishing, hiking, swimming and of course gold mining. The other highlight is the steak dinner on Saturday night. You will not go away hungry. They have live entertainment and a great meal by the river. If you want to unplug and refresh your mind, body and soul this is defiantly the place. A special thanks to Kim and Ricky for sharing such a special place with the rest of us. Can't wait till next year!
