While visiting the Stikine River, you can stop and visit the garnet deposit, but you must have a child from Wrangell with you. Those are the peculiar rules governing this 38-acre site that operated as a mine 30 years before being willed to the young people of the town. It’s intended to foster in them a sense of entrepreneurship, as they are the only people allowed to mine and sell the semi-precious gems. The property here is owned by Wrangell’s Presbyterian Church. Permission to mine garnets can be obtained by phone at 907-874-3534 or 907-874-2203. Located eight miles north of Wrangell, it’s accessible only by boat.
