Poland Mining Camps

Poland Mining Camps is a real, long-running paid rockhounding operation in Poland, Androscoggin County, Maine — running guided digs since the 1960s.[1] Its business model is genuinely distinctive: it holds exclusive permission to bring visitors into active gemstone and mineral quarries that would otherwise be closed to the public, rotating groups among around a dozen mine locations in the area depending on conditions and access.[1] Each day trip runs about six hours with a guide, and the camps also offer cabin-style lodging for multi-day packages. If you want a genuine shot at Maine pegmatite gems — tourmaline, beryl, quartz — without years of relationship-building to get quarry access yourself, this is the established, legitimate way in.

Poland, Androscoggin County, Maine — reservation-based, with cabin lodging on-site for multi-day guests. Contact the camps directly to book (207-998-2350).[1]

Guided quarry access only — this isn't self-directed collecting. Guides lead groups to one of the partner mine sites for the day, where standard pegmatite-digging methods (hand tools, screening) apply under supervision.

Verified against search summary, August 2026 — confirm current pricing directly, as the operator's official site could not be reached during this research:

• Operating season: daily, June through August.
• Trip options: one-day, three-day, and one-week packages, each including guided quarry access.
• Day trips run approximately 6 hours with a guide.
• Contact: 207-998-2350.
• Exact current per-person pricing is UNVERIFIED — call or check the operator directly before publishing pricing as fact.

This is private, fee-based, reservation-required access — you cannot show up and dig without booking ahead. The camps' core value is legal access to quarries that are otherwise closed to the public, so respect posted rules and guide instructions.