portal 31

This place was very neat and dark. You got to ride on a little train cart through the informative tunnels. The tour has animatronics that inform you on how the miners worked in the mine. The tour is worth the visit. The price is right... so not to high to tour the mine. The tour lasted about 40 minutes. The tour has movie screens the has some information about the area. The tunnel was very cod inside there so you better bring your winter jacket. At the end of the tour you got a piece of coal. I would recommend this tour because it was very informative.

The tour presents a timeline of the opening of the mine and the conditions at the time through to 1960's when the mine closed. It is a great view of how conditions changed for the miners over the years and the conditions in which they worked. Tour is completed in less than one hour and you get a taste for what it was like to enter and be in the mines. My kids loved the tour - relatively short and interesting.

The tour was not worth the money. The canned presentation and smallcoal train ride was boring. The guide did not offer a question and answer session nordid at anytime in the tour offer for input or make any comments. The lightingand presentation in the mine was very poor. On a scale of 1 - 10, best would be 2.The two ladies at the museum were very friendly and helpful.

On our way to Dollywood from NYC stopped in Lynch KY to visit Portal 31, a mine in operation for about 50 years, and closed down in the 1960's. We were the only visitors to the site that morning-pick up your tickets at the Coal Mining Museum in Benham before you get to the mine. We went on a tour trolley into the mine. Animatronic figures recounted the history of the mine and the town around it. The mine is always 55degrees so dress accordingly. The tour was incredible! Being in the very earth where men lived and died and eked out an existance in the chilling dark was fascinating. The worst part was the thought of the mountain above you and the pitch black around you. If you suffer from anxiety or claustrophobia you may not like it. My kids enjoyed it very much.

What an experience!!! Have wanted to come here for several years. We did call ahead and book a tour. It is an adventure getting there but well worth it. You do sign a waiver before entering the mine. It closed in 1963. The man trip itself was an experience. It has animatronics that take you through time ending when the mine closed . The end film was great, very informative & moving. Nice job!! My 9 year old said he felt like a miner must have going back into the mines. Hats off to the miners.Tip: get the combo museum in benham & the portal 31 tour in lynch.

The entrance is dramatic, as are the stories about the mine that once welcomed hundreds of miners miles into the blackness of the mountain. But while I have been here on three different occasions, I've yet to find it open for visitors. On two occasions I've encountered an old former miner lurking about the parking area who was more than happy to share tales of his days underground. (Same miner both times.) That was fascinating. But I'd really like to see what the exhibit is all about. Before you think about going CALL and find out if its open. I can only express my frustration at not being able to get inside. Once that happens I'll write another review!

We've been to many mine tours but this one by far is the best. They take you on a mine car into what was from 1917 until the 1960s was a working mine. Now through Southeastern Kentucky Technical College's work, this mine is open for tours.The tour consists of the ride on a mine car with various stops along the way where animatronic figures from history tell about the coal mining during each of the various periods of the mine from early hand and explosive mining until the the recent periods where machines and conveyors were used to grind up the coal and transport it to waiting rail cars. It is well done and the tour is appropriate for any age except for small children who might be scared of dark places and the bouncing of the historic rail car on the old tracks.While waiting for a tour time, you can see various buildings from the era that are, in some cases deteriorating, being restored, or are in use by the tour. You can also combine the tour with a visit (combination ticket) to the nearby mining museum. If you are time limited, take the tour and skip the museum but if you are going to make the effort to drive to Lynch, you might as well visit both. They are run by a non-profit.There is no way to put a wheelchair on the mine car. The are around the tour entrance and the various buildings are gravel or broken pavement so the place in general is not wheelchair friendly.There is a restored building across from the tour headquarters building which has restrooms.

Go back in time by going through the part of the Portal 31 mine in an authentic cart. The eerie darkness, low temperature, the voices of the miners, the shaking cart - at first it creates a bit of a discomfort or even fear, especially if you are with the children. However, as the driver turns on the head lamp after a couple of stops and after you see the animated figures on the side, doing their job in the mine and hear the stories that they share, you get really drawn into them and leave the mine with a deep sense of connection to the mountain and the miners that worked there.

A well organized visit/ride/tour into a former working mine in Lynch, KY. This area produced prodigious amounts of coal from the 1910's through to the 1970's to fire the steel mills of the north..

This mine owned by US steel, opened in 1917 and closed in 1963. Thousands of men from more than 30 countries came to Benham to work in the mine and lived in Benham with their families. Port 31 is about five minutes drive from the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum. This mine is now a tour mine. The tour inside the mine on a rail road cart takes about 40 minutes. On different stations in the mine you learn about the miners work, concerns and mining technology over time since the opening to the time the mine was closed. It is a good place to visit and learn about coal mining technology and how it progressed with time, life and daily toil of mine workers who migrated from all over the globe to work in the mines. The tour inside port 31 is informative and reflective, pay a visit to this place.

I visited The Portal 31 Exhibition Mine with my EPG class. We are exploring the assets of some coal mining counties in the Appalachian Region and working to develop a tourist guide to the best 36 hours in the area. This trip in to the Portal 31 coal mine gives a great image of how coal mining was for the miners in the early years. It is very dark and cool and kind of spooky. I have a much greater understanding of coal mining. I am glad I went.

Enjoyed the tour. Lots of history and culture. Tells the story of how the towns were built by the mining companies and how the imigrants came to work there.

The Portal 31 Mine Tour in Lynch, KY was an experience that I was really built up for. I had high expectations, as my grandfather was a coal miner in the middle 20th century, and I hoped to be able to relive a small piece of his life. I did not know my grandfather hardly at all, and I hoped that this would help me to know him. And it didn't really. I liked to learn about how they knew to keep the roof from falling; that was the only thing I connected with.Some advice: Give it a human element, the dummies were a nice touch, but I tell you, if you can't even make a coal miner's granddaughter feel pride, then you will never reach the tourist coming in there. The experience could be more emotional for everyone.The history of the mine was very nice, and the conversations in the stops were good, but maybe when you are helping the tourists into the car you could talk the mine up a little. The human element was missing.

I have always wanted to visit real coal mine after having read the history of Appalachian regions. I was very impressed by this historical site.All I know about coal mine is from readings, not from experience. Entering into coal mine by sitting in carts used to carry coals, I feel I went back to in 1950 and actually could hear coal miners shouting, their resonance of digging, working sounds and their breath. We stopped at several sites where 'coal miners' were talking about their lives, the history of coal mine and the relations between their lives and coal mines.What stood out from visiting coal mine for me is that I really experience being inside coal mine and could feel how coal miners were struggling in this black world in order to have a better life for themselves and their family. I can see their value on this job as it provided them more chances of having a good life.I strongly recommend this historical place and I have uploaded some photos so that you can have a look before you actually visit Portal 31.

Portal 31 in Lynch in just down the road – 2 miles – from Benhan and the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum. We started our experience here in this underground mining tour. I know a colleague from Lynch and having previously traveled here and being somewhat familiar with the history of the area I was excited to be on the “trip back in time” and gain entry into one of the most productive mining operations in the US. In eight stops the excursion reviews the start of the mine in 1917, with characters describing their situations, miner’s home lives, sports, WWII challenges and labor issues. For my students this was the opportunity to have an up-close experience. We have been reading about economic development in my summer courses. As I questioned each one after the exhibit, they now have gained new appreciation of the coal industry historical value has played in the life of America. This is a must see experience. Probably should be a requirement of all Kentucky students.