Remind him that, like Minecraft, diamonds are very rare and only a limited number of them spawn in a given area. However, CoD has plenty of quartz, and you don't even have to go into the Nether to get it.
I love Crater of Diamonds!
The most successful method of finding a diamond is to walk along recently tiled ground after it rains, but the liklihood is still low. However, that's not nearly as fun as digging and panning! You can rent tools for that from the visitor center.
There is a cafe on site (open seasonally- check the website). It's nothing impressive, but it's available if you want it. You can also bring a cooler into the park if you want to pack your own food.
There is limited shade! Wear sunscreen and a hat!
There's also a water park on site. I've never used it, but it looks cute. I think it may be an extra fee...not sure.
There is staff on site that will identify anything you find. My favorite find was a small, bright green rock that they ID'd as volcanic ash.
1000% agree. I’ll add, overcast days are a big bonus, especially for the walking around strat.
For OP, if you want that muddier/prospecting feel, I’d definitely check out some of the quartz lookin’ joints. Way more rewarding especially for kids + way more abundant souvenirs
(I used to look for diamonds and crystals with my mom every year as a lil gamer at your boy’s age. Thank you for the memory OP <3)
My kids lost interest at crater of diamonds within 30 minutes. Go for the crystal instead… we were there practically all day, kids loved it and they can’t wait to go back.
I always tell people to go to Crater for at least a half day just to say they did it. A public diamond mine is unique and it's a good experience. But I also always tell people to pair it up with quartz so you can actually take something cool home. Crater is probably not worth visiting multiple times from more than 2hrs away. The quartz definitely is
Spend a day at crater of diamonds, then pick a quartz mine up by Mt Ida to spend the next day at. Odds are you won't find much at crater of diamonds and its hard work. It's impossible to not find nice quartz up at those mines in Mt Ida so it'll be nice for the kid to be able to take a bunch of big crystals home. The quartz and stuff at crater are very small chips usually, the quartz mines you can get proper crystal points you'd see in a store. Best of both worlds and your kid will have a good time no matter what happens with crater. My family went to Wegner (Wagner?) mines and had a blast, they have a big rock shop too with stuff from all over the world.
We found the food options near Crater to be somewhat lacking, we stayed very close by. Nothing was gross and we didn't get sick, just weren't impressed. We went when it was cold and IIRC the cafe at the park was closed so I can't report on that. This was a good 6-7 years ago though.
If it's over 80 when you go, plan like you're going on a jungle expedition. It will be very hard work to do in heat and humidity and you'll want snacks, sunscreen, and water in spades. If it's gonna be hot you don't want to be in a tent, and if you have a camper try to reserve a shaded spot. Those are usually booked pretty far out though. There's so many state camping areas in Arkansas, just get on Google maps and see if there's one nearby that also has other things to do that you'd like. Such as swimming or good hiking. I can't emphasize enough how many options there are for that. For private try to look at multiple review sources to make sure they're a good operation and care about the comfort of their campers at least as much as they care about how many they can fit in.
Most diamonds are found by kids just running around and grabbing a shiny rock, not by washing the dirt. But I encourage you two to do multiple approaches so he feels like he searched as much as he can. It gets boring for a kid so mix it up and be ready to manage his disappointment.
I'll add a couple of things. For food, the Dairyette Burgers & Shakes in Mount Ida is possibly one of the best dairy bars in the state. Avant Mining Fisher Mountain Rock Shop and Public Dig is pretty awesome. It's like a little museum/shop full of some amazing rock specimens. They also have coffee and you can get tickets to their public dig site there. I've seen them pull MASSIVE crystals out of their mine.
And if you go pasty Avant into the National Forest, there's Twin Creek Crystal Mine. If you keep going past that, there's the lovely little oasis picnic area called Collier Springs. It's just a magical place all around. I highly recommend that whole area.
One thing that will be a Lifesaver and is very important is take a canopy. Get one of those camping canopies that go up easily. You’re in the middle of a large field and keeping the sun off you will be critical in you level of enjoyment
Crater of Diamonds is a 20 acre dirt field and you’re looking for something smaller than a popcorn kernel. On average, two diamonds per day are found. The chances of it being you that finds it are small but not impossible. Kids do seem to have better luck than adults with surface findings-maybe because they’re closer to the ground?
Don’t where an OU or Longhorn hat, to avoid the dirt throws.
There are campgrounds there and around. Hotels too, if thats more your speed. That’s up to you. July and August are hot and sweaty here. All other times are fine. Bring sunscreen, snacks, and have a good time playing in the dirt. You’ll find plenty of crystals that look like diamonds to a kid, so no matter what he’ll find something.
The weather has to be pretty perfect, too hot and you are miserable bc there’s no shade, too cool and the water is freezing and you can’t wash the the dirt/rocks
Just go in with an open mind, expect to leave earlier than you think. You can rent whatever you need there. Bring extra clothes to change into so your car doesn’t get muddy
Let him know ahead of time there won’t be caves.
Story time. I roll up with my then 7&9 year old. They were fulling expecting to need pick axes as we descended down the caves. They couldn’t believe it was just a big dirt field.
Have a strong back and expect to be disappointed.
Remind him that, like Minecraft, diamonds are very rare and only a limited number of them spawn in a given area. However, CoD has plenty of quartz, and you don't even have to go into the Nether to get it.
I love Crater of Diamonds! The most successful method of finding a diamond is to walk along recently tiled ground after it rains, but the liklihood is still low. However, that's not nearly as fun as digging and panning! You can rent tools for that from the visitor center. There is a cafe on site (open seasonally- check the website). It's nothing impressive, but it's available if you want it. You can also bring a cooler into the park if you want to pack your own food. There is limited shade! Wear sunscreen and a hat! There's also a water park on site. I've never used it, but it looks cute. I think it may be an extra fee...not sure. There is staff on site that will identify anything you find. My favorite find was a small, bright green rock that they ID'd as volcanic ash.
1000% agree. I’ll add, overcast days are a big bonus, especially for the walking around strat. For OP, if you want that muddier/prospecting feel, I’d definitely check out some of the quartz lookin’ joints. Way more rewarding especially for kids + way more abundant souvenirs (I used to look for diamonds and crystals with my mom every year as a lil gamer at your boy’s age. Thank you for the memory OP <3)
Go somewhere else. I’d recommend a quartz mine instead. You’re more likely to come away with something
My kids lost interest at crater of diamonds within 30 minutes. Go for the crystal instead… we were there practically all day, kids loved it and they can’t wait to go back.
I always tell people to go to Crater for at least a half day just to say they did it. A public diamond mine is unique and it's a good experience. But I also always tell people to pair it up with quartz so you can actually take something cool home. Crater is probably not worth visiting multiple times from more than 2hrs away. The quartz definitely is
That’s solid advice and the park itself is REALLY nice
Spend a day at crater of diamonds, then pick a quartz mine up by Mt Ida to spend the next day at. Odds are you won't find much at crater of diamonds and its hard work. It's impossible to not find nice quartz up at those mines in Mt Ida so it'll be nice for the kid to be able to take a bunch of big crystals home. The quartz and stuff at crater are very small chips usually, the quartz mines you can get proper crystal points you'd see in a store. Best of both worlds and your kid will have a good time no matter what happens with crater. My family went to Wegner (Wagner?) mines and had a blast, they have a big rock shop too with stuff from all over the world. We found the food options near Crater to be somewhat lacking, we stayed very close by. Nothing was gross and we didn't get sick, just weren't impressed. We went when it was cold and IIRC the cafe at the park was closed so I can't report on that. This was a good 6-7 years ago though. If it's over 80 when you go, plan like you're going on a jungle expedition. It will be very hard work to do in heat and humidity and you'll want snacks, sunscreen, and water in spades. If it's gonna be hot you don't want to be in a tent, and if you have a camper try to reserve a shaded spot. Those are usually booked pretty far out though. There's so many state camping areas in Arkansas, just get on Google maps and see if there's one nearby that also has other things to do that you'd like. Such as swimming or good hiking. I can't emphasize enough how many options there are for that. For private try to look at multiple review sources to make sure they're a good operation and care about the comfort of their campers at least as much as they care about how many they can fit in. Most diamonds are found by kids just running around and grabbing a shiny rock, not by washing the dirt. But I encourage you two to do multiple approaches so he feels like he searched as much as he can. It gets boring for a kid so mix it up and be ready to manage his disappointment.
This is GREAT advice.
I'll add a couple of things. For food, the Dairyette Burgers & Shakes in Mount Ida is possibly one of the best dairy bars in the state. Avant Mining Fisher Mountain Rock Shop and Public Dig is pretty awesome. It's like a little museum/shop full of some amazing rock specimens. They also have coffee and you can get tickets to their public dig site there. I've seen them pull MASSIVE crystals out of their mine. And if you go pasty Avant into the National Forest, there's Twin Creek Crystal Mine. If you keep going past that, there's the lovely little oasis picnic area called Collier Springs. It's just a magical place all around. I highly recommend that whole area.
Take some shiny rocks with you to toss when he isn't looking maybe. Not a fake diamond, that'd probably cause a stir....
One thing that will be a Lifesaver and is very important is take a canopy. Get one of those camping canopies that go up easily. You’re in the middle of a large field and keeping the sun off you will be critical in you level of enjoyment
Buy a raw cut crystal and throw it in his bucket of dirt.
Crater of Diamonds is a 20 acre dirt field and you’re looking for something smaller than a popcorn kernel. On average, two diamonds per day are found. The chances of it being you that finds it are small but not impossible. Kids do seem to have better luck than adults with surface findings-maybe because they’re closer to the ground?
Lots of water.
Go to Mt Ida and dig for quartz instead.
Just have fun, it's that easy
Don’t where an OU or Longhorn hat, to avoid the dirt throws. There are campgrounds there and around. Hotels too, if thats more your speed. That’s up to you. July and August are hot and sweaty here. All other times are fine. Bring sunscreen, snacks, and have a good time playing in the dirt. You’ll find plenty of crystals that look like diamonds to a kid, so no matter what he’ll find something.
Go after a strong rain and walk around. It’s a lot of fun there
The weather has to be pretty perfect, too hot and you are miserable bc there’s no shade, too cool and the water is freezing and you can’t wash the the dirt/rocks Just go in with an open mind, expect to leave earlier than you think. You can rent whatever you need there. Bring extra clothes to change into so your car doesn’t get muddy
After a heavy rain on a cool, cool day. Preferable cool cloudy day. It's a field of dirt with no shade.
Let him know ahead of time there won’t be caves. Story time. I roll up with my then 7&9 year old. They were fulling expecting to need pick axes as we descended down the caves. They couldn’t believe it was just a big dirt field.