Located in Scranton’s fantastic Nay Aug Park, you’ll find both the oldest and the newest coal mine tour in Pennsylvania: the Brooks Mine.
The Brooks Mine was first opened as an educational mine in 1902, teaching new mine workers and hosting mine tours for curious locals. It was operated until 1975 when it closed largely because there wasn’t a second emergency exit.
After years of planning and improvements, including creating a second exit, the mine reopened for tours in 2023, nearly 50 years after it was shuttered.
Unlike the other coal mine tours in PA, including the nearby Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour on the other side of Scranton, the Brooks Mine was never an active coal mine. In fact, despite being initially opened by a mining company, since it was designed for education, none of the coal mined here was able to be sold.
However, for those curious about the anthracite coal mining industry, it’s truly a great spot to check out.
Tours of the mine are offered seasonally on Saturdays or by appointment and are totally free (though donations are accepted). They last about 30 minutes.
Tours start outside the mine where you are given a great overview of both the mine’s history, as well as coal mining in northeastern Pennsylvania in general.
Tours then head into the mine to get a fantastic underground experience.
The walk in is flat, but by the end of the tunnel, you’ll be about 40 feet underground. The mine itself is only about 100 feet long, and was expanded over the winter of 2025-2026 with the addition of a new area.
While the mine isn’t handicap accessible, anyone that can handle a short walk on uneven terrain should be able to visit without an issue. Just make sure to watch your head if you’re on the tall side as some spots are a bit low.
Inside the mine, guides point out the seams of coal that run through the Brooks Mine, and offer a wealth of information about how it was mined back during the heyday of anthracite coal mining.
There are even tools in the space that they use to demonstrate the process of mining.
One thing that makes the Brooks Mine unique is the many fossils that can be found in the walls and ceiling of the mine. These date back hundreds of millions of years to when this area was an inland sea.
I can’t recall any of the other coal mine tours in PA having fossils embedded in their walls.
I also was impressed with the mine car tracks that have been laid in the mine. I was told that these were bent by hand with steel rails used for the historic gravity railroad in Jim Thorpe, PA (Often considered the world’s first rollercoaster).
In future years, they are hoping to expand these tracks and possibly added some sort of mine car that rides into the mine.
The only real downside to the Brooks Mine is that its rather small and was never a working coal mine. Because of that, you might want to also visit other nearby coal mines like the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour, the Number 9 Coal Mine and Museum, or the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine (all around an hour away or less).
That being said, the Brooks Mine is free to visit and easy to reach. Plus, it’s surrounded by other great attractions including the Everhart Museum and Nay Aug Falls, so it’s a fun addition to any Saturday exploring Scranton.
Looking for more places to visit nearby? Check out Old Forge Pizza, the Anthracite Heritage Museum, and the Lackawanna County Historical Society.
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