My husband and I went a month or so ago. It rained about all day so after about an hour I was soaking and not enjoying myself any longer. That said, I did enjoy being outside and playing around in the dirt. We didn't find any diamonds, but we did find some other pretty stones. If it had been a nice day I would have happily sat out there all day enjoying the fresh air!! I believe there is a camp ground there that should be opening for the season soon. We are in the beginning stages of planning on going back and staying. The area around it is pretty cute...there are some antique stores and some other places to go like a crystal place and an arrow head place.
We stopped at this Native American place and that I was dissapointed in. The books they sold looked interesting, but all the other stuff was cheap plastic gift shop crap. I think there was a little museum and something to "hunt" for there too, but we were cold and wet by then!
We also went into one antique store that had some cool stuff and one local store that was really cute.
Don't go expecting to become rich...go to have a nice time together as a family! You never know what you'll find!
As for what to bring: Camping...regular camping stuff, lol
For the park - nothing with a motor, nothing electronic. You aren't allowed to use them. They rent everything you need, but if you don't want to rent, bring a bucket and some digging tools. Then you really just need to rent the screens. Wouldn't hurt to bring something to kneel on too... They also sell snacks and drinks, but I'm sure it's Much cheaper to just bring your own bottles of water, etc. Also, sunscreen/hat - almost the whole area is open except for the water area where you can do the wet screen stuff.
