Taking the Family to Luray Caverns

This article is about an excursion farther afield, yet certainly worth the time: Luray Caverns. This is an entire different world – that is UNDER OUR FEET! How have I lived in Virginia most of my life and never been here?

(And also, how does the earth not collapse when we basically walk over this GAPING HOLE in it? And also, how many more caverns exist that haven’t been found? And also, would I be brave enough to climb into a sinkhole to discover it? So many questions.)

Fortunately for them, I spared my kids all my questions. But I did NOT spare them my exclamations of awe and wonder. Perhaps this is one of those adventures that kids need to experience to broaden their horizons, but their adults actually appreciate more.

Luray Caverns is a tourist attraction located in Luray, Virginia (shocker), which is on 211 not terribly far to the west of Shenandoah National Park. It took us just under 90 minutes to drive there from Charlottesville.

Luray was discovered in 1878 by some guys who, actively hunting for caves, found a sinkhole emitting cool air, dug the tiniest hole for the smallest of the group to squeeze through, and BOP, just went on in … TO THE EARTH. That’s not even the highlight of their craziness bravery. Given that this was the late 1800s and flashlights weren’t a thing, they went and started walking around with candles. And, of course, promptly found a skeleton. It is like the Goonies plot!

Then, in the early 1900’s, Theodore Northcott, who was “obsessed with cave air” (because that was legitimately a thing) built a sanatorium on top of the caverns. He used the cool air from Luray “caves” to make what is referred to as the first air conditioned house in the U.S.

I don’t make this up. A tour of Luray Caverns is just FUN.

Today, of course, the entire experience is less intense. Explorers of all ages pay a fee, walk a stroller-accessible ramp throughout, are limited by guardrails, and do not need to bring their own lighting. Presumably, all the skeletons have been removed, too.

Luray Caverns gets busy, with an estimated over 500,00 visitors a year. It is the largest cave system on the East Coast and a National Natural Landmark.

Our best recommendation is to go early! The caverns open at 9:00 am and we were some of the first in line. Which meant that walking through the step-free tour, we had the place nearly to ourselves. When we came out of the cavern, about an hour and a half later, there was quite a crowd in the parking lot and in line.

However, Luray Caverns are also open every day of the week, every week of the year. So perhaps going on a weekday, non-holiday, may be helpful, too.

Once inside, it is a self-guided tour, so go at your own pace. And take your time! There really isn’t anything like it.

You will see the great “stalacpipe organ” along this tour. In another unexpected way the Caverns have been utilized through their history, in 1954 a Pentagon mathematician and scientist was touring Luray Caverns and was apparently mesmerized watching his tour guide use a rubber mallet to hit stalactites to get different sounds.

So this scientist decided to build an organ, using the stalactites as the instrument. (Obviously.) It is now widely touted as the world’s largest instrument and throughout the decades, the organ has played at balls and weddings and other events held in the caverns.

Alas, the great organ wasn’t playing when we visited (and we were told it usually doesn’t get played or demonstrated during self-guided tour hours), but it is available to see.

Luray Caverns is still privately owned. Given its popularity, ticket prices are not low, at $30 per adult and $15 for children (kids under 6 are free).

There are, however, other tourist attractions at Luray Caverns that the ticket provides entry for. There is a car & carriage museum, toy museum, and a heritage village. The garden maze and the rope adventure park are extra. We didn’t do any of these add-ons. Given crowds, we were happy to enjoy the phenomenal main attraction and head back home for lunch.

While this isn’t an adventure that we’re going to do with regularity, it was certainly worth the drive, price and commitment to see this for the first time. Being inside Luray Caverns, it is becomes hard to believe that these overwhelming caverns, full of spidery spindles and dripping eerie white stone, lives just next to mountains that strive for the sun.

What a glorious, gifted area to live in and explore.