Gold Hill Mines Historic Park

The 70 acre Gold Hill Mines Historic Park is located at 735 St. Stephens Church Road, Gold Hill, North Carolina. It is privately owned by The Historic Gold Hill and Mines Foundation, Inc. and is open to the public seven days a week during daylight hours. The park facilities are available for private, formal/informal events, banquets, corporate events, educational events and weddings, etc…

Gold Hill Jail is located in Gold Hill Mines Historic Park. It was built circa 1845 of non gold-bearing waste stone that was discarded in mining operations. The stones were used to build walls, fences and sturdy structures in mining regions. The jail, rock wall and Powder House are great examples of English Dry-Stacked rock  wall construction, typical of other structures found in mining regions of Cornwall, England and other mining regions of Europe. 

Hiking the Great Outdoors

Visitors will enjoy the great outdoors as the park offers several miles of hiking/biking/equestrian trails, a regulation size softball field and soccer fields, playground and picnic areas. We are pet friendly and kid friendly. The picnic areas are first-come, first-serve with no reservation necessary. There are no grills provided in the picnic areas. You must provide your own grill and dispose of the charred ashes properly. Please be responsible and take all trash with you or dispose of it in the large container provided near the rear of the amphitheater.

Park Rules

• Please park in the gravel parking lots and not on the grass.
• Absolutely NO Metal Detectors, picks, shovels and/or other digging devices are allowed on park property.
• Absolutely NO Unathorized motorized vehicles/ATV’s,Dirt Bikes, etc... allowed on the trails.
• No ATV’s or other motor vehicles allowed on the green-way through the park picnic areas.
• While we also welcome horse back riding on our trails, we ask that riders follow the approved trails for horses. Due to wedding and private rentals, we do not allow horses on the main park area with the Log Barn, Amphitheater and Russell-Rufty Shelter area, and picnic areas. Please scroll down to view the Trail Map for more information on the riding and hiking trails.

Our Motto: Please take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints.

Entrance to Gold Hill Mines Historic Park.
Please Remember** Horses are not allowed on this side of the park or on greenway walkways through the picnic areas or near the Russell-Rufty Shelter, Log Barn, Gold Hill Jail or Amphitheater. Please download the Trail Map and follow the map legend to know where horses are allowed. Parking for unloading horses and tack equipment is at Miner’s Field. Entrance to the softball field is just north of the Main Entrance on the opposite side of St. Stephens Church Road. The map can be downloaded from the Hiking the Gold Hill Rail Trail page.

Russell – Rufty Memorial Shelter
The Shelter is available for private, corporate or civic organization events. The park is a very desirable destination wedding location. See the Wedding and Event Venue Page for more rental details.

Gold Hill Assay Office Museum
The museum is open by request and during scheduled History Tours. Tours can be arranged by calling 704.267.9439

Bernhardt Log Barn
Also can be rented for private events

Powder House
The Powder House is on the hiking trail. It was built circa 1845, into the hillside to house black powder , dynamite and blasting materials during the 19th century mining era.

Miller Mine Shaft

The Miller Mine Shaft reaches a depth of approximately 185ft. A tunnel at the 75ft level connects to the Johnson Mine Shaft located just beyond the Chilean Ore Mill. The bottom tunnel at the 185ft level is connected to the Barnhardt Mine Shaft located beside the current Amphitheater Stage.  Heavy rains during the winter of 2015-16 resulted in flooding of the Miller Mine Shaft, the Johnson Shaft and the Barnhardt Mine Shaft. The record breaking rains also resulted in the flooding of the Jail nearby.

Randolph Mine Shaft

Assay Office Interior

A museum dedicated to the Assay Trade. The building was located on a nearby farm and was donated to the Historic Gold Hill and Mines Foundation, Inc by Paul and Naomi Bernhardt of Salisbury NC. The museum holds ore specimens from the Gold Hill mines, an original 19th century safe from the Gold Hill Mining Co. along with displays and artifacts from the mining industry.

Chilean Ore Mill
This mill is original to Gold Hill and was used during gold mining from the early 1840’s through 1900. It is thought to be the only Chilean Ore Mill left in the US with all original gears intact and is operated occasionally during the Gold Hill Founder’s Day event. Check out more on the Chilean Ore Mill Page

Hiking and Riding trails.