Bonne Terre Mines

Ok first off the dive leader was ok. The dive assistants are the worst I have ever seen and they about let someone drowned if it wasn’t for two other rescue divers, that did NOT work for the mine, that were there he would of.
They pushed us through like they wanted to get home. We paid for the three dives and we wanted to relax some between dives but we were only given 30 min which isn’t even worth changing out of our wet suit.
They rushed us up and down the stairs. It would be a nice dive if there was a better crew working there!
Will never go back and at $ 80 plus per dive I would suggest you save your money and go elsewhere.
Again do not go there until someone else runs it.

Really fun for the family. Educational and beautiful. Employees are great. Definitely want to make another trip back. The boat tour is worth the extra few dollars.

This is an interesting and unique dive site. They have multiple trails and each time you dive you can go on lower trails. If you don’t have good buoyancy control you will find these dives difficult. The water ids a bit chicks so a dry suit is a must. My only complaint is the price. For what it cost for a weekend there I could have spent a week in the Bahamas.

We took the walking and boat tour as a family of 4 and ended up paying about $ 100. It was interesting to see and we enjoyed it, but we all agreed that it wasn’t worth the cost. They do dives in the lake that has filled in most of the mine. Since we were there on the weekend we actually got a chance to see the divers and ask them a few questions. We even saw them under water shining their lights on some of the underwater features. The mine had both interesting historical aspects and neat underground views. The tour guide was nice and my 6 year old thought he was funny, but the adults all thought he was very corny. We had to do a lot of fake smiling and laughing. Both the walking and boat tour together took about 45 min to an hour total.

I took a group of 14 divers and we all had an AMAZING time! Diving the mine is super fun and unique. The staff was great. Our guide Jeff was Awesome. Funny, knowledgeable and very passionate about the mine. He really added a great perspective to what the mine was like when operational. I plan on doing this as annual trip with my shop and look forward to doing all the trails!

What an absolute letdown this JOKE of a diving facility this was. And a «DIVE» it IS.
I originally began looking into purchasing a dive package through Bonne Terre Mines when I was trying to decide on what to get my boyfriend for this past Christmas. He is an avid diver, and had mentioned the name to me before in passing, as a place he would like to try out, since he had heard it was a unique cave diving experience. After reading online that it had been included in the National Geographic’s Top 10 adventure sites, it seemed like a good fit, so I decided to go ahead with a reservation.
Upon calling the facility to receive more details surrounding packages and rates, I was told that you can purchase 2 – 6 dives, with a minimum of two dives. They could be used over a two-​day weekend period, and most people spent the weekend in Bonne Terre, MO. It should have been an immediate red flag that at least 10 times the person I was speaking to stressed their «no refund /​no credits /​no reservation transfers» once you have booked the «official» dates for your dives. Any company that values it’s clients and understands common customer service would never set-​up such a policy, and then keep talking about it — like a low class, trashy company (which they are — they know that there is a good chance you’re going to want your money back, so they have to cover their butts from the start). I had originally intended to schedule the dives for my boyfriend, but became nervous about potentially conflicting with something he might already need to do, so merely purchased the dives and let the staff know that I would allow him to call and schedule the trip when he knew he was 100% available.
Considering the EXTREMELY pricey nature of these dives, I did not want to potentially lose all of the money I was investing. Well over $ 400 for the dives and equipment rental — we have traveled all over the world for LUXURY diving excursions, and considering this was in the middle of podunk Missouri, I was a bit shocked at the rate. Even when we have had more laid back trips, as in Jamaica, where we certainly didn’t expect 5-​star service the rates felt much more «worth it» when I was paying — and they certainly didn’t stress that I would lose all of my funds if I even merely needed to change the DAY I used my dives.
This rigid policy has caused us to continually put off scheduling a trip until just this past weekend, out of fear of something coming-​up: What if one if he was ill? What if we had a family emergency? We own several businesses — what if something work related came up unexpectedly last minute? Who knows.
So we waited until right before the weekend, when we felt about as sure as we could that we would be free and that we would be available no matter what. They reminded us AGAIN about the no-​refund policy when we called to schedule. Thank you. We’re aware. We also asked what we needed to bring — we were told his license and diving license, and we also asked where I could hang out while he was diving. They said that there was a «lounge» on grounds where the «females» (yes, they said females — and it wouldn’t be the last time during the trip), usually wait while I guess their partners dive. Sounded fine to me, I could sit in a lounge for the day — I figured I could work, read, whatever.
We headed out on Saturday morning to get there by 7:30AM for check-​in, and coming from St. Louis, it wasn’t a horrible drive, about an hour and a half.
After arriving, we were a bit perplexed trying to figure out where to go, until we realized that entrance was through a wooden privacy fence into a very poorly kept parking lot surrounded by dilapidated shack-​like buildings. All over the fence were signs like «Home of the Billion Gallon» such and such — with giant «freak show /​circus» style posters — again, all warning signs to me about the quality of this place — for the price we were paying.
We parked and noticed some other people assembling in the lot, with someone who looked like they worked for the facility. We joined them and were instructed to head into one of the «shacks» where we would finish our registration. There my boyfriend was instructed to fill out an information packet and provide TWO types of ID, something which was never told to us ahead of time, and LUCKILY he had brought along a credit card that could be used. What if we hadn’t had something
Unilocal doesn’t even have enough SPACE for my entire review, but if you would like the rest, message me. Suffice to say I’m mad. And will add more when I’m able on here. I’m also posting on other sites as well.

Incredible, spooky, and informative! There is so much history in this mine and the boat tour. All of the people were really nice and eager to answer questions. Bonne Terre Mines is a great day trip from St. Louis and if you scuba dive, even better! There are 100 levels of dives that can be experienced, that people come from all over the world to see and they also have classes to learn how to scuba dive.

Bonne Terre Mine Treasure Hunt Dives Deep into the Hearts of Scuba Divers
Sixth annual event continues to get better with every year
Bonne Terre, MO — June 1, 2013 — The Bonne Terre Mine Treasure Hunt has become an annual trek for Scuba divers and treasure seekers alike. What started off as a regional event has grown into a one day festival for people from all stretches of the US and international divers. This year the Bonne Terre Mine hosted the sixth annual treasure hunt, and well over 100 Scuba divers braved flash floods and tornados to travel there. And, while the weather might have been frightful around the mid-​west, the golden hue of treasure was shining bright just south of St. Louis. By Saturday night, the now reputed Bonne Terre Mine Treasure Hunt had delivered its mother lode.
This year was no different than the ones in the past, as familiar faces giant strode into the clear waters of Bonne Terre to capture the tokens that would be the keys to the potential treasure trove. Many familiar faces from years previous. Many of them with their secret tips and sure fire ideas on how to ace the treasure hunt this time. Lessons learned from previous attempts.
The youngest diver this year was 12 years old. Two treasure hunters were 13. All three of them walked away with a prize this year. It proves you don’t have to have years of experience to have fun and win prizes. The oldest diver was born in 1942. During that year Bonne Terre was helping win the war. Thirteen year old treasure hunter Brenden Moran was quoted as saying this was one of the greatest dives of his life. By the end of the weekend Brenden had added more than five mine dives to his log book.
During the surface interval, divers were treated to a nice trade show with equipment, travel and training oriented vendors. There was a lot of ‘talking (Scuba) shop going on. The trade show had folks from Dive Right in Scuba discussing wreck dives in Lake Michigan. It also had the Rocio del Mar and the Maya Palms talking about their dive vacation destinations. The Academy of Scuba broke out their Sidemount Demo Units and showed off the new way a lot folks are finding comfort and redundancy while diving Bonne Terre.
The grand prize was a trip for two to Utila which drew a hefty price tag of almost 15,000 token points. Brian Turnstone was the big winner and is heading to Deep Blue Resort in Utila. The bidding was a bit of frenzy, but in the end, there was only one diver who was going to win the auction. The trip was an all-​inclusive trip for two people at an ocean front room with 3 meals a day, free nonalcoholic drinks free Internet, airport transfers and 3 boat dives per day, 2 boat night dives, unlimited shore diving, What a GREAT TRIP!
The folks at Bonne Terre do a great job with safety being paramount. Some of the safety divers earned their combat pay spending hours carefully watching all the divers plunging for treasure. And, while safety was the most important theme, fun ran a close second. Everyone was a winner at the Bonne Terre Treasure Hunt. Over $ 30,000 in prizes! Over 400 dives circled up in people’s log books and a great day of Scuba adventure. This is why the Bonne Terre Treasure Hunt is a perennial favorite.
Bonne Terre Mine offers one of the most unique diving experiences on the face of the planet. Jacque Cousteau said it best as exited one of his dives at Bonne Terre … «Magnifique!»

Did this over a holiday weekend with a dive group and its amazing! If you’re a diver and never do this dive, you’re really missing out. It’s hard to explain… It’s like cave meets the grand canyon under 59 degree water with almost 100 ft vis. Now for a few pointers:
You can dive this wet no problem. A 5 mm + a step-​in 5 mm hooded vest are perfect. Of course, you can dry suit it. I would say out of 10 divers, 3 had dry suits. The straight 5 mm folks were cold. Be sure to have gloves and a hood.
Bring your own hangers to dry out your suit in the locker room!
Bring a towel. Go to the bathroom when up, because no bathroom in the cave.
You leave your BC and other gear down the cave on a tarp (no body messes with it — it’s not the fellow diver way).
Bring 2 forms of ID: DL and C-​card. No flashlights or dive knifes (after the first dive you can have the very small lights, but you don’t really need it, the staff uses their light when you need it)
Rent your weights down there, otherwise you’ll have to walk down and then up the SEVENTY (70) steps plus the short trail (which is a sight to see in itself).
The staff here are great — my favorite was Jeff. They are all about safety! The tour guide has a flash light, tells you what he will show you during the briefing then uses the light to show you so pay attention to the briefing. They have 1 – 2 «safeties» diving with you.
Best place to stay is the «Train Depot» run by the mine. The entire experience is a no frills time, so don’t compare it to your 5 star Bermuda dive or you will be disappointed.
Very few places to eat. Mario’s is Italian and is OK, but not great (under new MGT as of 2013 so it’s better than it was). We found a New Mexican Restaurant that is AWESOME so eat here as much as you can! I can’t remember the name of it, the Bonne Terre staff knows and I’m a Mexican food snob being from TX. Hardies and Subway are available for lunch (NOT a Fan of Hardies!). Anyways, go here and there’s no way you will be disappointed. Be sure to tip the staff a solid $ 5 per day — they deserve it!

Went here expecting an awesome cavern/​cave diving experience. I was sorely disappointed. No matter your skill/​comfort level/​certification they make everyone start on «trail 1.» You advance one level after every dive (second dive on trail 2, third dive on trail 3, etc). The first three dives are basically open water dives in an underground environment. For those first three dives there is always air above your head and no cavern or cave environments.
The fourth and fifth dives are a bit better. A good part of those dives are in caverns or large caves. Even so, it is hard to enjoy yourself because there is very little to see (dark environment, no animal life) and the water is cold (60 degrees).
The dives are made in large groups composed of 2 guides (one in front, one in back) and 8 – 15 divers. You feel like a herd of cattle and there is no time allowed for exploring. There is a lot of accidental jostling and bumping in the cavern environments.
My last gripe is that they were running late the whole weekend. On Saturday we skipped our third dive of the day because they were running so far behind schedule that our 4 pm dive was not going to leave until 6 pm. By then we were tired and wanted to get dinner. We had to wait around the diving grounds (couldn’t go back to the room and relax between dives) because they didn’t know exactly when the dives were going to leave.
I would not recommend going to the Bonne Terre Mines for those who have cavern or cave diving certification. You will be disappointed. If you have open water certification and want a guided first experience with cavern diving then this could be a worthwhile experience.

Absolutely awesome place! Way better than Meremac Caverns & no kitschy light show! It’s a tad bit smaller than Meremac Caverns, but it’s a bit more cleaner. Love, love, love this place. The steps are steep as described in previous reviews, but you descend into major awesomeness! I believe «The Abyss» was filmed here. It was cool to see the miners’ tools & things still in the cave. I wish I could scuba dive to see more of these awesome caves & the tools that have rusted over. The tour is no longer 2 hours & is reduced to 1 hour. :(Bring a sweater, because it can get chilly especially when you come here during the winter. Seeing Bonnie the lone fish was awesome! Clear cold spring fed water rules this place. They have pumps to take out the water. Otherwise, the whole place would be filled with water very fast!

LET’S GO SPELUNKING
Hhaaha just kidding, I still don’t even know what spelunking is.
I love caves, yet I had no idea that we had a freakin’ lead mine in Bonne Terre that you could tour. Why don’t people tell me these things?
So basically in the 1800s someone found lead in them there hills (well not exactly hills but you know what I mean) and for about a 100 years the fine people in Bonne Terre mined the crap out of that area. They dug and dug and dug and created huge caverns. 200 people would work 12 hour shifts a day blowing stuff up to get that lead. Then in the 60s people starting spreading propaganda that lead is «dangerous» and they shut up shop and got the heck out. I tried to use quotation marks sarcastically, please get my humor.
So now Bonne Terre is kind of a depressing town of like 4000 people. Oh and a huge freakin’ prison. But at least they have an awesome mine right???
You can tour the mine. It’s a beautiful sight with rich history. I won’t give you all the of the details so I won’t spoil your fun, but I will say this. The Discovery Channel has been there twice, and Nickelodeon (wtf) has been there once.
Now for the best part: that mine hosts the largest underwater lake in the world. Yep. It’s gorgeous. You can scuba in the lake. That’s a whole separate can of worms that I obviously won’t review or get into because I don’t know a damn thing about scuba diving. HOWEVER, it is DEFINITELY a destination spot for divers. Anywho, for non-​divers like myself you still get to experience the sheer beauty of the lake (lake is such an unimpressive word, isn’t it? I swear it’s not boring) because for part of the tour YOU’RE ON A BOAT *cue lonely island song.* You get on a boat with your tour guide, they spout out more interesting information about why the frick there is so much water in the cave and what that water is covering and it’s lovely.
Now for the cons, and hell yes there are cons:
YOU CHARGE ME 25 DOLLARS FOR LESS THAN AN HOUR OF TOUR. I’ve been to several caves and that is WAY MORE EXPENSIVE than any others. No wonder there were only six people on the damn tour! You expect us to spend 30 dollars in gas just to get to nowheretown Missouri and then want us to fork out 25 dollars for a tour by someone who has worked there three weeks? And yes, our tour guide told us at least 76 times that she has worked there for three weeks. I don’t care if you’ve worked there 2 weeks or 20 years, you’d be better be able to answer every damn question I have for the price. She simply was not able to answer many of the group’s questions, and it was frustrating to say the least. So yeah. Lower your price, get more knowledgeable people in there, or at the least give us a new tour guide discount.
But i“ll say it, I regret nothing! It was a fantastic experience and I’m so glad I went. It *really* makes me want to learn how to dive. I saw some YouTube footage of the stuff that is inside of the lake and it’s awesome. This is definitely something you should consider checking out because it’s one of the most unique things you will ever see. Save up some money & check it out!

Today started out cold and rainy so my boyfriend and I decided this was a great day to spend in a mine that is constantly 62 degrees. This place is very cool! Our tour guide’s name was Elvis (seriously) and he was knowledgeable explaining the methods used to mine the lead ore and the mineral composition of the formations on the mine walls and ceiling.
First, we descended down a steep walkway and about 65 steps into the man-​made cavern. After a ½ mile walking tour we were introduced to Bonnie, the lake’s sole occupant, then we boarded a pontoon boat to explore the underground lake. There were divers in the lake and the water is very clear with a beautiful green-​blue hue. We could see old mine carts under the water as the boat slowly navigated through the monstrous pillars.
After the boat tour we began our ascent on an even steeper walkway that led us to the garden where we rested before trekking up those 65 steps.
The awesomeness of this place may motivate me to seek SCUBA certification in the near future so I can explore the underwater areas of this mine.