Nestled in the scenic Shenandoah Valley in an unsuspecting hill lies miles of caverns for exploring.
On a mission to do something fun, my husband and I googled which caverns were in the area. We found a few options. Of which we picked, Grand Caverns in Grottoes, Virginia. The ride out to Grottoes is really beautiful. Farms surround the area bordered by rivers and trees. It’s quaint. So quaint you may get stuck behind a tractor. With double yellow lines. It’s okay though. They let you pass eventually.
We turned onto Grand Cavern Road and were delighted to see a whole park in front of us. A pool, picnic areas, and putt-putt were available, and lots of pedestrians and bike riders milled about. But we were on a mission to see the caverns. So we stopped at the Stone Lodge which is filled with souvenirs and handcrafted items from locals and purchased our tickets ($18 for an adult unless you have AAA, Senior, or a military ID.) 
Up the hill is a house the main structure that leads into the cavern. The “commercial side” of the cave has been open for over two centuries. People have been paying to go into that cave since 1810. But more on that later.
Once the tour started, the guide lead us down the stairs into the chilly cave. Absolutely beautiful. Amazingly, the cave was electrified before houses in the area were.
These are called draperies
The ceiling of stalactites. (The white stuff is a residue from the cave.)
There were signatures all over the cave. Really really old signatures. They don’t let anyone sign the rock anymore so most of the signatures are at least 40 yrs old up to 200 yrs old. How’s that for history?
So remember how I said people have been paying to get in the cave for two centuries? Well, let’s all just imagine paying a dollar and women in their fancy clothes and men in their normal wear of nice trousers and shirts. The tunnels we walked today weren’t there back then. They were blasted out later (unfortunately.) The tour back then was four hours long and involved squeezing through tight spaces and crawling on their hands and knees holding candles so they could see. The thought blows me away. People even held church in the cave or balls. Craziness.
Here’s a passage that is said even the Confederate soldiers crawled across as they toured the caverns while they were in the area. The photo is from the bottom up. They crawled across the top of that “rock bridge” (the gray mass).
Can I just say that I am so thankful that I live now and not then? It’d been cool to see the cave unaltered by man, but it’s also still intensely jaw-dropping in its current state. The tour lasted 1 hr 15 mins and was definitely worth it. Old artifacts are placed around for you to see. It’s really neat. The cave is not stroller friendly and maybe a tad boring for the toddlers who would rather be out at the playground then in a dark cave where they weren’t allowed to touch anything.
Grand Cavern is worth going to. I’ve been to Carlsbad Caverns (which is what Grand Cavern compares itself) and both are beautiful and worth it. They each have unique traits to them. In this case, when you’ve seen one cavern, you haven’t seen them all.
Which is your favorite cavern?
P.S. I have not received any reimbursement for this review. Although it might be nice to….
