smith ranch - julian train & gold mine

The train ride and tour of the mine was very cool and fun. You get to see where the gold veins were and his collection of artifacts gd found when cleaning out of the mine. My kids loved it. It was also very educational. The people that run the ranch and farm were super nice. We never got any Mormon pitches!

The Julian Gold Mine and the Julian Museum are sites one should not ignore. The gold mine is an actual trip into another big gold strike in American history. The Museum has the largest collection of period lace in the US. The museum artifacts are clearly labeled and easy to understand. The docent is a wealth of knowledge. As you explore the California history, you will gain a great amount of US history with connections of Massachusetts and New England. Worth the time to read all documents and ask questions.

I have experienced the Smith Ranch - Julian Train tour on two occasions. The first visit included three grandchildren (ages 5 - 9) and their parents. We all thoroughly enjoyed the tour. The children especially liked the activities, but also learned from the narratives which we all enjoyed.My second visit included a couple of long time friends who have collected mine train equipment for many years. They found the tour very interesting from a historical perspective and were inspired by the patriotic theme presented throughout their visit.The Smith Ranch - Julian Train displays a bit of the past in a beautiful setting and a marvelous way. It is a wonderful experience. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the San Diego area.Visited 2011 & 2014

My wife and I took our 3 year old son and my mother (who was visiting from Indiana) to Smith Ranch last Christmas. The experience was strange and awkward and the veiled attempt at pushing the LDS robbed it of any fun. While it was advertised as a train ride with family activities and a tour of the gold mine, mostly we found it to be an extension of the nearby LDS church. The ranch is run by a single family, who were very nice. Before the ride started we enjoyed chatting with them about their family and the history of the property. Unfortunately this all changed when the ride started. The ride itself was supposed to take an hour with two stops. One stop for doing family activities like panning for gold and one to tour the mine itself. In reality there were 4 stops. The first was 10 minutes into the ride where we were literally told that Joseph Smith and the Mormon Battalion "discovered" San Diego. At the second stop we were prevented from doing any of the activities until we watched a presentation that included letters home from some Mormon settlers in Julian. The take home was how wonderful it was that these lonely settlers had the word of "Heavenly Father" to guide them. And our final stop, two minutes short of the "station," was to get a sermon about Jesus, Joseph Smith and the real meaning of Christmas. This was made even more awkward by the fact that a Hindu family from India was stuck on the tour with us. Now, I have nothing against religious themes entertainment if that is your thing--it isn't mine; however, springing an attempt to convert people to your religion during the middle of a tour when your clients cannot escape is extremely uncool. So if you aren't a Mormon, or you just want to save being sermonized to for your actual church/temple, stay away!

My children, ages 10 and 10, and my husband and I really enjoyed this tour. I had to call to make the reservation, and bring exact cash to pay. It was a very informative tour with things for the kids to do. It was outstanding and am glad we were able to go on their tour.

The Smith family have worked very hard preserving some of Julian's gold mining history and did an excellent job. My familly and I got a private tour and learned alot not just about Julian but also about the grounds and the family history.

We took the train & gold mine tour in June 2014. The tour was run by several members of the family that has been excavating and restoring the gold mine. It is clearly a labor of love for them, and they are still exploring and making new discoveries. Their passion carries throughout the tour. Instead of a bored tour guide droning on, we listened to guides who had worked hard to create what we were experiencing, and were clearly excited about new developments and discoveries at the mine. They have built a number of kids activities on site that relate to aspects of mining, and the gold mine itself is just part of the experience. My 7 and 11 year old boys loved it, and so did my wife and I. Do call in advance to be sure the tours are running on the day/time you are going (as suggested on their website).

This is more than just a train ride, it is a history of Julian and the gold mining era of San Diego. The Smith's make it educational and fun and interactive! Very good for children especially if studying California history.

The Train and Track was very impressive. What a massive undertaking to build. Overall the train ride was about a mile long both ways. The mine cars were pulled by an actual gold mining train and the mine cars had been retrofit to seat passengers. The gold mine was an actual hand dug mine from the 1870's so it didn't go back any more than 80' but it was more than enough to get the feel of being under 30' of dirt. Quite impressive. The staff was very nice and very entertaining. Highly recommend the tour for people of all ages.

The train ride was quaint and fun; the actual gold mine was interesting. This was an original 1860 gold mine that is being reopened by the owners since 1991. Their exploits are interesting and they make it fun for kids and adults, even if you didn't bring the kids. You can see the discoveries of the mine that were found since they begin digging it back out and working additional shafts. Very interesting and exciting that there may be more gold in them hills. As time goes on, I'm sure the stories will improve but now they focus on the family tour which is exquisite.

The train ride was not exactly as I pictured it to be as it seemed to wind up the property at a distance that could easily walked up in less than the time on the train. Regardless, it was a cute entertaining train with some history to go along with it and what it runs on was an interesting story in itself. Note that the gold panning is just to get your kids going with the concept of what the activity was like as the gold in this trough is NOT real. (It for educational purposes and does not simulate real gold panning). The gold mine was also interesting but you cant really walk too far into the cavern. Again-it's to get a feel for what it is like inside. The kids also had fun on the rope bridge and climbing hill. Bathroom facilities are port-a-potties so be prepared ahead of time to avoid having to use them.

Amazing piece of history that causes us to reflect on the beliefs this great country was founded upon.

The tour iteself was interesting and very enjoyable. It was fun to hear about the history, etc. However, the folks that own the property and give the tour are extremely religiously Christian. If you are not, you will be slightly insulted by the continual references to God and Christ. They are trying to pass their message of "God" on to everyone and anyone, which is fine, but they should note that the tour is religious oriented so as not to insult people that are not Christian or religious at all.

Best thing we did in Julian. A little boys paradise with slide, ropes, climbing hills, panning for gold. Great family run place. Will return for sure.

Pioneer Ways is a family run business and everyone is involved with the tours. Greg and Lisa Smith, the owners are friendly and nice. This is not the place for people who like to complain (in reference to the person who gave this one star), and yes, they do mention family values and God, as someone else previously stated. However, this is what I would expect from a Mormon family, and a very genuine one at that. This trip happens to be our 3rd time visiting and we took the Pioneerways Adventure. (We had previously done the Julian Train and Gold Mine, and the Thanksgiving Train.) Both of my children enjoyed it just as much as they had in the past, as did we, and we are looking forward to going again for their American Revolution tour. There is nothing to complain about. If you like introducing your children to the world in a way that makes learning fun then this is the place for you to come. If they are, (or you are), jaded in your view of the world and expect to be “entertained” only then perhaps you would be better suited to see a movie. The price is excellent for what you get out of the trip.