The Lilly Pad Village

Katie O'Neill

2024-04

We were in the area from out of state and had marked The Lily Pad Village as an activity for our 4.5 year old daughter. She was excited to visit and our experience exceeded our expectations. The staff was friendly, helpful and went over and above to make sure our daughter enjoyed her visit. They were engaged, informative and thoughtful (supplying gem charts to reference, helping identify different gems and even getting her a bigger bag when needed for all her gem treasures). We would recommend a visit and would return if in the area again. We had a fun and memorable time. Plus one medium bucket supplies a generous supply of gems for mining:)

S F

2024-04

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Kaitlyn Davis

2024-04

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Geena Lindsay

2024-01

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Erin Hansert

2024-04

We recently visited Lilly Pad Village in March 2024. It’s was a chilly, dreary day, but the staff and experience were amazing! We had the best time with our group - kids ages 1-5. The staff went above and beyond for us. We only did the gem mining so I can’t speak to the other activities. Highly recommend stopping by after a hike at Fallen Creek Falls.

Shanah Bell

2022-05

The staff was really friendly, which was great. But the mini golf course could use a lot of work. The greens were all pretty rough and nothing was even close to level. It made playing on the course exceptionally difficult for the whole family.We did enjoy the gem mining. It was fun and easy for the kids. After that though, there wasn't much else for us to do. And the area was swarming with yellow jackets, which was an issue for the kids.This place was great in theory but needs a lot of work to get it up to par.

Kaitlyn Marie

2023-05

What a nice experience!! stopped in after seeing the sign advertising mini golf - they had the cutest little mini golf trail on kind of a slope which made it more of a challenge making it way more fun. We did not fish, but will be back to give it a try. We loved sitting on the porch watching the other visitors fish and admire the beautiful view. I did think the gem prices were a little high but after reading other reviews it seems to because they are a higher quality versus other locations so I would definitely try them out. I couldn't end this review without mentioning the sweetest guy ever ... Jasper! What a sweet bonus, calling him over while we played golf, watching him run up the mountain and climb trees. He is such a cutie!! Highly, recommend checking this place out. Nice for a family or as a little date. Looking forward to coming back in a few weeks :)

Levesque Land

2022-05

We had a great time here! The people who work here, including Jasper the cat, were so nice and made the place that much more special. My son was looking hard for amethysts and a lucky helper pointed him in the right direction and he found one and it made his day. He shows it to everyone! My daughter cried having to leave sweet Jasper. The mini golf was fun as well. Definitely recommended for families if you are in the area.

Amber Maxwell

2024-01

We had an AMAZING experience here!! 12/10 recommend coming here for your gem mining experience! We got the 4lb bucket for $68 which is a great deal because it’s as many gemstones as you can fit into four 1lb buckets. You are guaranteed to find cool gemstones and we even found not one but TWO rubies! Any review that says this experience isn’t worth the price or the trip would only say this because they did not immerse themselves fully into the adventure. We were there for an hour and a half sorting through dirt to make sure we didn’t miss a single worthwhile gemstone (every gemstone you find is worth it but specifically the rarer ones). The owner was extremely knowledgeable and helpful as well as his fluffy partner in crime Max:) You 100% will not regret coming here if you are truly down for the full experience. I also purchased a beautiful ruby necklace that was very reasonably priced. I will definitely be coming back to this location in the future (I’m a huge rock nerd) for not only the extremely friendly staff/supporting family businesses, but also for the amazing things that you can find. In the meantime I will be checking out their newly added online shop “Variety of Nature” which is still under construction, but will soon be filled with amazing gems and jewels as well as bee products!

Judith Ennis

2023-05

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Tiffany Swann

2023-11

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Nayelie Castillo

2023-09

Best experience ever! Tom was such an amazing person to meet. So kind and helpful. He’s very heartwarming and welcoming. Cookies in the shop are made by his wife and they were tasty. Felt like we were visiting their home. Gems were fun to dig through, Tom helped us name each rock that we discovered. Very knowledgeable! ❤️

Emily Banks

2022-05

This place is absolutely amazing. They have everything that you need for a great afternoon with the family. The customer service was fabulous. So helpful and so kind. They were patient with all of my children's questions and took the time to give us a short class on the stones and gyms we found while mining thanks again guys for everything. Cannot wait to come back.

J Taylor Moore

2020-05

Highly recommend stopping by the Lilly Pad Village when you are near Blue Ridge. When we visited we were warmly greeted by the gentleman who was polishing the gems. In the office we received exceptional customer service and directions on where the activities were located. Our assistant with the gem mining identified the gems the the kids found. The excitement and education from the staff was outstanding! Our family had a wonderful time and plan to visit again soon!

W Zee

2024-01

I hate to leave a negative review on a small business but after visiting here today and spending over 200$ on this experience, my family and I left shocked and feeling ripped off, to be honest.The “gems” are mostly rocks, very very minimal amount of actual gemstones to be found. I’ve been to many, many other gem mining places, as we go once a year when on vacation during this time of year, and even went to this one about 3 years ago and had a great experience.There was no staff, the owner was the only one there and was mostly in the “store” area. everything was filthy, and there was no where to clean up after the “mining” experience. No paper towels or towels for drying your hands after being in the water. Do not come here unless you plan on getting filthy and going straight home after.Just not a good experience for the amount we were charged. If we had paid maybe only 20$ it would have been okay and worth it.Also, there are signs for “hot cider” but it’s just instant cider that they mix with water and pop in the microwave right in from of you.

Susie Rhine

2023-05

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Kristy Varga

2022-05

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Brian Schoedel

2020-05

Our family had a wonderful time playing putt putt, fishing on the lake and mining for gems at the Lilly Pad Village in Blue Ridge, Georgia. The kids said it was their favorite place and want to come back again tomorrow. The people are great with the kids and we highly recommended them!

Happily Hutson

2023-05

We took our family here and they Al had a wonderful time mining for gems and fishing. My daughter even caught her first fish. Such wonderful memories and beautiful property. Thank you all!

Naomi Freyder

2018-05

Fun, friendly staff. Covered gem mining area. Lots of treasures to be found for kids from 1 to 100 years old. Also a putt putt area, fishing. The cleanest, best smelling pot a johns I have ever used. Recommend this attraction if you are near the Blue Ridge area of GA.

Ashley Oconnell (AshKo)

2023-09

Fun little joint off the beaten path. Mined for gems, played a quick round of mini-golf, and used a hot dog as bait to catch ourselves some fish from the pond. Fun little family outing ;)

Holly Davis

2020-05

We had a wonderful time at Lilly Pad Village. Staff was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. My 5 and 8 year olds LOOOVED it. The gem mining prices were reasonably, we got the smallest bucket for $15 the kids shared it and they were satisfied. My 8 year old is now soooo intrigued by rocks and gems!! Thank you for a great time, the kids are still talking about it :)

Taylor McCullum

2022-05

This is such a cute little place. The rain did rain us out :( but we still were able to do some gem mining. The owners were SO very sweet. If you're looking for a nice relaxing cool fun to do family activity definitely recommend them. 💕 we definitely enjoyed our time!

Autumn Stosick

2023-05

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Richard Nevils

2023-08

Fun place to visit! Mini golf, fishing, hiking with a beautiful waterfall and gem mining definately worth checking out

A Treat

2023-05

Nice little tourist trap along Aska road near Blue Ridge. $20 minimum for some dirty rocks to entertain the kiddies ;) If you miss this one there are a couple more along the way and they may have more entertainment options too.

John T

2023-11

If not for at least getting a tiny bag of overpriced gemstones the trip would’ve been a waste. The mini golf course is on a hill and seems unmaintained. Bugs swarming in your face the whole time. The run off has slanted the greens making it unplayable. The gem mining was a fine experience $20 for a tiny kids cup of rocks. No fish were biting the whole time we were there. 70 and cloudy.

Jennifer White

2022-05

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Michelle Peck

2021-05

What a cute and fun place! About 15 minutes outside the town of Blue Ridge. Nice little winding drive through the mountains. We went and played miniature golf, but there is also gem mining, fishing, and a little gift shop. Looks perfect for family outings.The gold course has only 9 holes but it's super fun. It's in the trees so that makes it extra fun. If you have little kids, they need to be careful of the tree roots...the course is adventurous!We were greeted with a smile and and the owner was very nice and friendly. Positive experience! Would recommend!

Christine Sharpe

2023-12

We attempted to visit today after seeing their website online. We paid online as well. Our kids were so very excited! When we got there, right at 11am (website states hours 11-4 everyday!) to find out no one was there. No sign. All chained up. We called the number with no response. There was also another family wanting to come as well. Place looked pretty run down but we were willing to give it a shot. We actually waited about an hour to see if any one would show up. I checked their Facebook to make sure we didn’t miss anything but nothing noted. We were quite disappointed as were our kids. We will be contacting them for a full refund asap.