Visiting the Shenandoah Caverns: My Experience and Review

After visiting the Luray Caverns, my sister and I were so fascinated by caverns that we wanted to visit another one. We went to our good friend the Internet to help us find more near us. A lot of the ones that came up were those located in Pennsylvania, and they mentioned that there were bats and other animals that came into the caverns. There was no way we were ever going inside those. I would like an animal free cavern tour, thank you very much.

My research led me to another cavern in Virginia. The Shenandoah Caverns. And no bats or other creatures! Trust me. I looked everywhere to make sure of this. Seems like the Virginia ones don’t seem to have a bat problem.

Not to mention, it is the only Virginia cavern with elevator service! That means everyone can go!

Our experience

When we arrived to the caverns, it looked so small from the outside. The parking lot was small and not paved. I guess not as popular or famous as the Luray Caverns. The building you enter into to get tickets was also very small looking from the outside. From the looks of it, my sister and I were not even sure if there were caverns here. Were we even in the right place?

My family and I walked in and “activated” our tickets. Basically, we handed the lady behind the counter our Groupon tickets, and she printed us admission tickets. We ended up getting our tickets online from Groupon because they had a sweet deal. Although, the cost of tickets for these caverns is lower than that of Luray, it doesn’t hurt to save money wherever you can, right?

Since this place is less busy, we had some time before a tour started. The lady had informed us that an announcement will be made once the tour is about to start, so while we were waiting, we went into the Main Street of Yesteryear, a small room off to the side. There were interesting displays setup that helped pass our time.

The tour

Instead of having to walk down a flight of stairs to enter the cavern like in Luray, an elevator takes you down. Once our entire group was brought down by the elevator, our tour guide began to lead us through the cavern. Our one mile, one-hour journey had begun!

After being educated by the tour guide of Luray Caverns, I felt I was knowledgeable about caverns. The types of things that were pointed out to me at my first cavern visit, I began to notice and point out to my family before the tour guide did.

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We saw some pretty cool features of the cavern, including Rainbow Lake and Breakfast Bacon formations.

What is there to do after your tour?

After you tour has ended, there are a few museums that you can visit on site. These include The Yellow Barn, American Celebration on Parade, and Main Street of Yesteryear. If you didn’t have time before you tour to see Main Street, check it out after you tour. It is located in the same building as the entrance for the cavern. After strolling down Main street, I would recommend getting in your car and driving to barn and the parade museums. They all have places to park, and the exit is in that direction. One thing to keep in mind before you plan to visit the barn and the parade museum is the time of year you are visiting. These two museums are only open seasonally. Check their operating hours before heading down.

Main Street of Yesteryear

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This is a display of old shop windows where children would go window watching. You have the opportunity to step into the past, take a stroll down “Main Street,” and do some window watching of your own. This is located in the same building where you go for your tour of the caverns.

The Yellow Barn

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The barn displays agricultural heritage and equipment. Learn more about farming while you are hear and stop by the gift shop for a special treat.  Apparently, it also serves as a popular venue option.

American Celebration on Parade

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This museum has a lot of old floats that were once part of some sort of parade. There are over 20 full-sized floats that were once part of parades for Presidents’ Inaugurations and other national celebrations.

My family and I spent a good amount of time in here oohing and aaahing over the beautiful floats. If only I was that talented.

Fast Facts

• Tickets can be bought on site or online at Shenandoah Caverns website, or check out Groupon for any discounts/deals.
• Tours last about an hour and are about one mile long.
• The caverns are open every single day except on Christmas. Visit the website to see their hours of operations as it varies throughout the year.
• It is 56^oC year round in the cavern and it is accessible through an elevator.

Let me know if you end up going and how your experience was! Haven’t checked out the Luray caverns yet? See my previous post for tips and the experience of Luray Caverns. Did you attend both caverns? If so, which did you enjoy more?