As temperatures rise above ground, Happy Travelers can cool off as they descend into the earth, where temperatures can drop to a cool 50 degrees or below. While you explore these caves and caverns in Pennsylvania, you’ll discover glittering stalagmites and stalactites among other hidden treasures!
1. Lincoln Caverns And Whisper Rocks
Huntingdon
Experience a one-hour interpretive tour of two spectacular crystal caverns in Huntingdon at Lincoln Caverns and Whisper Rocks. A wide variety of speleothems (cave formations) — including delicate crystals, sparkling stalactites, and massive flowstones — await around every turn!
2. Indian Echo Caverns
Hummelstown
Partake in an underground adventure that’s more than 440 million years old at Indian Echo Caverns in Hummelstown. The 45-minute guided tour uncovers the natural underground beauty of the Hershey-Harrisburg region and offers a glimpse into rooms of natural spectacles, including stalactites, stalagmites, and even a lake. After the tour, try your luck at panning for gemstones, amethyst, jasper, calcite, and other precious treasures at Gem Mill Junction.
3. Penn’s Cave
Centre Hall
Penn’s Cave in Centre Hall is the only cave in Pennsylvania on the National Register of Historic Places and the only one you explore by boat. The cave features glittering stalactites and stalagmites, often in mysteriously familiar shapes, such as “The Statue of Liberty” and “The Garden of the Gods”. See how dripping water has sculpted magnificent flowstone, curtains, cascades, and draperies against a background of pillars and gigantic columns.
4. Lost River Caverns
Hellertown
In the Lehigh Valley, Lost River Caverns was discovered when miners were developing a limestone quarry. Experience the wonder of abundant crystal formations at this natural limestone cavern. Visit the Crystal Chapel, where more than 100 couples have exchanged their wedding vows, or see the Lost River itself, a crystal-clear underground stream. Take a little piece of the cavern home with you when you stop at Gilman’s at the Cave shop to make your very own customized, unique souvenir out of minerals and crystals.
5. Laurel Caverns
Farmington
A natural calcareous sandstone cave, Laurel Caverns is a four-mile labyrinth whose ceilings range 10-50 feet in height. The largest cave in Pennsylvania, Laurel Caverns is in Farmington and sits beneath a private, 435-acre geological preserve.
6. Crystal Cave
Kutztown
Discovered in 1871, Crystal Cave in Kutztown soon became a source of curiosity for people near and far. Crystal Cave was the first show cave in Pennsylvania, as well as the one of the state’s first tourist attractions. Guided tours lead the curious explorer through an array of spectacular, milky-white stalactites, stalagmites, as well as pillar and dripstone formations — all enhanced by indirect lighting. Concrete walks and steel railings ensure a safe descent 125 feet underground.
7. Coral Caverns
Manns Choice
Experience the only known fossilized coral reef cavern in existence at Coral Caverns in Manns Choice, Bedford County. You’ll cool down from the summer heat as you discover an abundance of fossils, stalactites, and stalagmites. The famed caverns have amazed thousands for more than 80 years with the diversity and beauty of its natural cave formations.
Check out the VisitPA website to see some other underworld experiences in Pennsylvania that will continue to fascinate you. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay up-to-date on even more great ideas and places to visit around our state. Don’t forget to sign up for our monthly Happy Thoughts e-newsletter so you never miss an update.