Princess Sodalite Mine

Took a spontaneous trip to the Princess Sodalite mine to celebrate my wedding anniversary and was not disappointed. The rock farm was a unique and fun experience, the shop had many beautiful and interesting items, and the staff were super friendly and very helpful. Less than 3 hours from Ottawa we will definitely be making the trip again.

Interesting place. Lots of cool rocks in the store, not as many to be found. Rather small area to search, but not sure if bigger would have been better. I think the best time is first thing in the morning, right after a new load is dumped. Even so, it really is just luck as to what you might find. Still an interesting thing to do, not a common activity, being able to hunt for crystals.

What a fantastic adventure! We took our kids (12,9,5) here for the first time to rock hound. We found so many amazing rocks and minerals. Even if you came without any tools, you could just find a spot and turn over rocks until you came across smaller pieces that were chipped off larger ones.It is a must to wear closed toed and heeled shoes - ie no crocs! Otherwise you will be turned away. A hat and water is also a must as it can get very hot under the sun! There are some shady spots as well that you can work in.The best part is that you don’t have any admission fees to pay and only pay $2/lb for what you find. We were careful not to take large chunks and paid only $6 for our haul.Great way to introduce kids to rocks and minerals. We found socialite, appatite, amethyst (brought in from Thunder Bay), lots of quarts, mica and pyrite.I’m addition, there’s also a shop where you can buy all sorts of things like, rocks of course, smudge sticks, etc.

We came a long way to visit. Met Sonja who was very nice and her puppy.. Beautiful gift shop and a fun experience digging for gems. Wear boots and glasses. Great for kids too. A must when visiting or driving thru area.❤

My kid had a blast searching for treasures! The owner was absolutely lovely - so helpful. Everyone there was having a great time! We spent several hours hunting for rocks and minerals and left with about 15lbs worth. I felt like they were reasonably priced at $2/lb considering the free admission.We bought a hammer with us but would have found lots without any tools. My only mistake was wearing regular running shoes - you definitely need something thick soled with good grip - it's a bit unsteady to walk on.

I found the staff to be incredibly friendly. My wife and I went here for our anniversary, we checked out the rock farm and walked away with a large amount of beautiful rocks. We also checked out the shop, and couldn't help but buy a few more things. The sheer amount of incredible fossils as well as minerals and other incredible things there will surprise any visitor. When I found out what the prices were for certain things I ended up walking away with two of some of them. Attached is a photograph of two mosasaur tooth fossils. I don't know if I'm allowed to say the price in a Google review, I'll say is I ended up paying far less for two then I thought one would be.

Fun for a afternoon if you know what to look for. Great for the kids. Lots of great specimens for sale. We did find lots of great little stuff. Most of it small but treasures nonetheless.

This was a lot of fun with young kids who are rock-obsessed. It is a small facility and 'rock field' but we easily spent over an hour there and the kids likely could have stayed for hours. Many beautiful rocks to explore and collect. Pricing is very reasonable for your finds and the gift shop has an amazing variety of items for sale. Highly recommend popping in here if you're passing through the Bancroft area.

My kid had a blast hitting rocks with a hammer. Kept him entertained for over an hour, and we came away with some neat stuff too. Would recommend.

It’s a really great time rock hounding here.You’ll be walking on a rock farm, the ground is very wobbly so be aware of that. You need closed toed shoes and safety eye wear. And with good reason. You may want to bring a chisel, hammer or pick axe, though I saw some options in the gift shop as well as safety eye wear.The gift shop has reasonably priced gemstones and gifts stocked up, it’s lovely.NOTE: I’ve seen people bring their young kids but I’d advise against it due to attention spans, potential for hurt fingers from rocks, scrapes, shrapnel potentially flying around or rolled ankles. If they can handle all that then it’s all good and they’ll enjoy.Note 2: It’s a bit buggy there and it’s also 10 degrees hotter on the rocks. Plan accordingly.