Take a combined boat and walking tour through the Bonne Terre Mine - a five level underground world created by St. Joe Lead Company from 1862 to 1963. It is now the home to the world's largest subterranean lake! The guided tour will descend to 200 feet below the earth where you will learn about the history of mining in Southern Missouri - once the largest deposit of lead on the planet. See the equipment and learn about mining life.
The walking portion of the tour covers about one third mile to the dock of the Billion Gallon Lake where our scuba divers start their descents into the crystal clear water. You will board the pontoon boat for a 10-minute excursion around the limestone pillars in the largest rooms of the mine. Features of the tour are the No. 1 elevator, submerged ore carts, wrapped pillars, and ancient abandoned overhead wooden catwalks suspended 50-100 feet above the lake.
While we do accept walk-up guests, we get very busy in the summer months, so prepaid reservations are recommended, particularly if your group is larger than four people. And, we do require reservations for groups of six or more.
The tour is 45-55 minutes depending on the group size and includes a 1/3 mile walk and a staircase with 65 steps in and out.
