Herkimer Diamond KOA

I can’t say enough about this gem in the mountains! Maybe it was the fall foliage, the air, the canal running through the side of the camp. Maybe it was what was left of the fresh herbs my daughter and I picked at the campsite. Could it have been the pancake breakfast on Sunday or the Zen garden? Even though no water ran through it’s small pond, I felt at peace.
Walking the grounds and looking at all of the different cabin themes, particularly the astronomy cabin was wonderful. The staff was helpful and very friendly. My daughter and I had fun at the playground. There’s even a doggie playground!
For baseball enthusiast, Cooperstown is less than 30 minutes away.
My family and I went mining at the mining site across the road and we had a fabulous time. Even my 3 year old daughter took her turn at whacking the rocks in search of Herkimer Diamonds. We were successful in our quest and left extremely happy.
Go. Breathe. Mine. Enjoy!

didn’t camp, just went out of our way to try the diamond mine experience. it was frustrating and disappointing to kids. After hours of pounding on rocks in the hot sun, we came away with a few tiny broken crystals, like grains of sand, that they had to scrounge for in the dust.
don’t bother. tourist trap with deceiving promotional material. Cranky senior at the check in desk.
Other mines I’ve been to have educated employees who help with finding, identifying, and understanding what to do. Their advice here was to ask someone in the pit who looked professional. Really? A 5 minute video they provided was not helpful.

I love this campground. Could there possibly be a better one? Our deluxe cabin had AC, a bathroom, a kitchen, patio set and grill. Call it «glamping» but we would have otherwise stayed at a hotel and this was so much better! Not to mention the creek was in our backyard, so if it had been warm enough we could have tubed down the river right to our backyard.
The grounds (and our cabin) were meticulous. They have volleyball courts, frizbee golf course, not to mention there is a mine across the street and another one basically right next to it.
I would definitely recommend their creekside lodges, ours was a great alternative to a hotel while we were in the area.

TOURIST TRAP!
I adore the picture someone posted below of ‘children learning disappointment’… that really sums it up.
You won’t find much, and they really nickel and dime you here. If you really want to check it out make sure to bring your own equipment, its rather expensive to purchase their equipment and they do not rent it– I believe Ace of Diamonds may be better rated if you’re looking for an experience with your family.

We stayed at the KOA at the Deluxe Cabin. It was 30 by 10, but was basically a micro-​home rather than a cabin. The cabin was gorgeous and clean. It had a microwave, toaster, coffee maker, and fridge; glasses, plates and silverware were provided. Also provided were: shampoos, soaps, linens, extra pillows and a light blanket, coffee (decaf and regular,) cocoa packets, and coffee filters. We had good wifi signal, cable, and the AC and heat both worked. There was a pool that was not opened yet (moot point because it was raining.) There was a nice playground for the kids. The ground was level. Outside the cabin (which was number 63,) we had a propane grill, a table with chairs and an umbrella, a swing for two, a fire pit and two reclining chairs, and a lovely view of the creek.
I had a great time. We joined KOA and will be camping with them again soon. I found the Herkimer diamond mine to be nice; the staff was very helpful and friendly. They evaluated our stones for free (about $ 100). While they didn’t have chisels available yet, we were able to get hammers, goggles, and bags for our finds. We only spent about an hour and a half there, and most of our stones were found as we were taking breaks and walking around. The café has a small selection of kid-​type fare (onion rings, hamburgers, chicken strips,) but the food was well priced and fast. We would certainly visit again.
ETA: I’m sorry, but I don’t appear to have the option of adding photos. :-(

just came for gem collecting and wasn’t disappointed. You really need a few tools to have a good chance at finding big crystals and pockets but for the kids you can just lok around the ground where others have worked and still find some good small crystals. Its actually easy to spot them on a sunny day after a rain.

My girlfriend (Milissa), our puppy (Mason) and I stayed here over the Labor Day Weekend. What a great kampground (everything is with a «K» as it’s KOA). We had tent site #95 right on the creek. It happened to rain every night (12am-​6am) but didn’t hinder our vacation. They have a wonderful K9 Kamp that is fenced in and has a complete agility course. The restrooms were clean, just a little walk from our site. Not a big deal except for when you gotta go at night (problem for her, but Mason and I just used a tree). The fresh water spout was two sites down, so getting water was easy. The staff was very friendly and helpful. You don’t have to pack much food as there is a Hannaford Market and Super Walmart just up the road. They do sell kiln dried firewood, which was convenient, just a little pricy for the amount you get. We will definitely go back and recommend the campground to everyone!
The Herkimer Diamond mine was fun too. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. It was Mason and I’s first time and Milissa’s third. Figured we’d try mine three as it’s the newest and possibly the least picked over. If you go, I definitely recommend bringing a wagon to carry tools as it was quite a hike from the car. We didn’t strike it rich, but did find some good gems. I probably won’t go back to that mine as the Ace of Diamonds offers a better chance of finding gems.
Thanks again to all of the KOA staff!

I stayed here during Boilermaker weekend and could not have asked for a better camping experience. Had a beautiful spot right on the river, everything was clean and overall it was very quiet and peaceful. I also loved the organic garden and thought it was a very nifty idea. I did not «mine» but would go back to just camp and tube down the river again!

Our family looked forward to staying here as we prepared for a funeral. We thought it would give us family time and the ability to be together… what we found at the KOA was the worst customer service EVER and we observed people who did not know how to handle situations, issues and a staff that could not COMMUNICATE without being JERKS. Tori was the worst, but we were treated poorly and we especially thought so since our family spent over 1200.00 to stay in this campground for 7 nights. Never again.

I took my son’s scout pack here to strike it rich at the mine and we did but at the campground instead. This KOA is awesome. Even if we had nothing planned for or boys to do they had a whole itinerary planned most of which was free or low cost. The tent sites were clean, staff was very friendly and value was phenomenal. We would definitely come her again even if we did not go too the mines.

Came on a rainy Saturday afternoon, not very crowded when we got there. A few more folks showed up after the rain stopped. I think the rain kind of made it harder to find Diamonds– all the rocks looked like the same muddy color. We did manage to find a few gems each. Happy that we brought gloves and decent boots. Fairly priced, would like to come back and search again!

Not a whole lot to do here. The lots were nice and quite spacious. It was quite clean. There were not many activities in or around the campground. The staff was friendly. There appeared to be no one around to manage the place after dark. Our neighbors were up until all times of the night however no one was there to assist us in reminding them the quiet hours.

Great affordable Fun. This is a wonderful treat for
Young and older folks. The quest to find the diamonds spurs excitement. When you find your first gleaming gem you will be hooked. Some items wise to bring on your own are gloves, garden trowel and chisel. It is a dirty a job banging rocks and sifting through the dirt. Be sure to wear durable closed toe shoes. There are rocks of all sizes to walk in, and they can be unstable. A few plastic bags for your dirty shoes and clothes would be good too. There are restrooms nearby but a some baby wipes also can help.
We worked the mine for three hours and found about twenty small gems. They are beautiful showcased in a small plastic case with black surface. You can purchase the cases at the gift shop. Before Memorial Day the snack shop or adjacent Crystal Restaurant and KOA are closed. A few miles down the road we had lunch at RJ’s. The place isn’t anything special in décor but have cold softdrinks and quite good pizza.

We came to mine for the Herkimer Diamonds.
We reserved a «Kottage» which had a bathroom and small kitchen area. It was pretty expensive but the ability to make breakfast and lunch there did cut down food costs and because we came to mine, we were close to what we wanted to do.
We arrived late but they left the key for us. We officially checked in the next morning and it was a quick process. We visited the gift shop/​jewelery shop/​museum/​pay to mine building. We mined all day at mine 3 with limited luck in the cool rainy weather. Overall we went for the experience, but you did get the feeling it was a tourist trap. We spoke with some people who said the KOA mines were designed for things like families, tour buses, field trips, boy scout troops, etc.
We were there off season which is a better time to do the mining because you aren’t pounding rocks with hammers in blazing heat. The drawback is most of the camp ground is off season, too. None of the camp activities and programs were available — limited hours, no movies, etc. The off season price is not much of a break so you feel like you’re saving a few bucks for nothing.
If we were to do it again off season, we’d stay elsewhere to save quite a few dollars and go directly to the Ace of Diamonds mine (right up the street) where the crystals are much easier to find.
Another of my pet peeves. When I went in there filthy dirty from the mines and soaked from the rain — with my hair a disaster and my make-​up half washed-​away. .. they ignored me when I asked questions about their better jewelry. When I showed up the next day, showered and appropriately coiffed, they were very interested in taking my money. I did buy a pair of earrings — totally overpriced — but you don’t find Herkimer «Diamond» jewelry on every street corner and it made for a nice souvenir I can use for years.
While hubby was inside paying I took the kids outside since they were bored. One of the women in there yelled at my kids for playing in the «Sluicing Station» water. I wouldn’t let my kids sluice a $ 10 bag of almost worthless minerals but I did let them pick up the ones next to the station where others had dropped them. We found some rough ruby, some tiny garnet, some bits of citrine, and three shark teeth.

Camped here Memorial Day weekend, bathrooms dirty all the time. NO WATER presure on Saturday morning for showers, I mean NO WATER PRESURE, they were filling the pool !!! which should of been done BEFORE the holiday rush. I have contacted KOA headquarters which they are really no help either and the campground has not responded to me either. At $ 50.00 /​night for the holiday weekend it was ALOT of money, and this campground was KOA campground of the year for 2010 !!! who got paid for that one ??? I do NOT recommend this campground. Your also on top of each other too when camping.

We did not «mine for Diamonds» however had a great time at the KOA campgrounds. Some sites are a little tight however the campground is VERY clean and well maintained. Owners were very friendly and all of the staff we interacted with were nice.
If you like the water get yourself a tube and enjoy tubing down the West Canada Creek. A mix of very mild rapids and calm water make it an enjoyable way to spend the day.
There is a restaurant (Crystal Chandelier) across the street that we took advantage on our first night there food was rock solid.

The Campground was well kept up, the staff was friendly and the store and laundry facilities were clean and organized. I can’t ask for much more from a Campground.

This establishment consists of a gift shop, jewelry store, museum, snack bar, and diamond mine. It is indeed the touristy stop for your diamond mining needs.
The staff is split between those under 20 and those over 60. The kids are all helpful and friendly, while some of the elderly staff were downright rude. After mining for a few hours in the hot sun, my party returned to the store to see if we could clean off the small number of diamonds we managed to procure. An older woman stated that the Sluicing Station (where you place rocks/​dirt on screens and water runs over it, removing excess soil) was only for people who bought $ 10 bags of soil and «You can’t put Herkimer Diamonds in there! You’ll get too much dirt in it!»
They are selling bags of dirt for the exact same purpose!
Unfortunately, there are basically no diamonds to be found here.
We had much better luck almost immediately at the Ace of Diamonds mine, just 300 ft. down the road.
The KOA Kampground here is fine, but a little cramped. The best part is the river which runs alongside the campground. The camp store sells inner tubes for those willing to brave the shallow rapids, and the river bends in an arc around the sites, so you can start upstream and enjoy a 10 minute ride to the other end of the campground — it was really fun!