Tea Garden, Shenandoah Caverns photo by Jenna French.
Capital Dome, Shenandoah Caverns.
The real star of the show, however, is the aptly named Great Stalacpipe Organ. It is said to be the largest musical instrument in the world—using electronically controlled rubber mallets to gently tap the cave’s stalactites (formations that hang from the ceiling) — creating mesmerizing gong-like tones. Luray is open every day of the year and guided tours depart every 20 minutes beginning at 9:00 a.m. The Luray Valley Museum and the Car & Carriage Caravan, an excellent transportation museum, are additional free attractions. www.luraycaverns.com – 540-743-6551 Shenandoah Caverns – Quicksburg, Virginia Virginia’s only cavern elevator whisks Shenandoah Caverns’ visitors down 60 feet and opens onto a mile- long path through 17 high-vaulted chambers that reveal a subterranean world of breathtaking geological formations. One of the caverns’ most extraordinary formations, seen in a side passage not far from the Entrance Hall, is known as “Breakfast Bacon.” Thin sheets of striated calcite, they bear a striking resemblance to strips of bacon. One can only fancy that they’d combine nicely for a geo-breakfast with the curious “fried egg” formations seen in Luray Caverns. Soaring chambers such as Druids Hall, Cathedral Hall,
and Giant’s Hall are profusely decorated with thick coatings of flowstone and giant drapery stalactites. Feathery aragonite growths (a crystalline form of calcium carbonate known as “cave flowers”) adorn many of the draperies and stalactites. Farther along, a circuitous corridor leads to Rainbow Lake, a strikingly beautiful reflecting pool. Guided hour-long tours are available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (6 p.m. during summer). Save some time to visit Shenandoah’s other on-site attractions including the Yellow Barn’s collection of antique carriages and the American Celebration on Parade, featuring an array of historic parade floats. www.shenandoahcaverns.com – 540-477-3115 Skyline Caverns – Front Royal, Virginia The northernmost of Virginia’s show caves and the closest to Washington, DC, Skyline Caverns has been packing in visitors since its surprise discovery in 1937. A well-lit walking tour, available every day of the year, wastes no time in revealing the caverns’ many amazing underground formations—or speleothems in the language of geologists. Water flows and drips just about everywhere in Skyline and shortly after entering the cave visitors encounter a massive flowstone formation—a sheet-like deposit
VIRGINIA IS FOR (CAVE) LOVERS
COAST TO COAST SPRING MAGAZINE 2020
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