Howe Caverns

In 1842, Lester Howe discovered a hole in the Earth on his neighbors land. Oddly enough, it was his cows that led him there. He noticed that on hot summer days his cows seemed to gather and hang out in the same spot, which happened to be a hole with a cool breeze coming out of it. After doing some digging with his neighbor they found the entrance to the cave that is known today as “Howe Caverns.” Lester opened the cave to public tours in 1843 but due to financial difficulty he sold off parts of the land. It wasn’t until 1927 that an organization purchased it and installed walkways, lighting and an elevator. The cave reopened in 1929 and today is the second most visited attraction in the state of NY, with Niagara Falls coming in first.

Our first trip was back in the mid 90’s. After a brief history to the cave’s discovery, the tour begins with a 156 ft descent in an elevator below the earth’s surface into the cave, which is at a constant 52 degrees year round. Once inside the massive cave your tour guide will walk you through amazing limestone formations, giant boulders, and many stops along the way describing its natural formations. The walking tour continues to the end of the cave where they bring you on a boat ride through the “Lake of Venus”, which is the body of water that formed the cave several million years ago. At the end of the ride you walk back through the cave the same way you came, making a couple more stops at formations along the way.

We loved visiting this place so much, we decided to go back a few years later and do the evening candlelight tour. We happened to be the only ones who signed up that night and it was great to have a private tour. All the lights to the cave were off and we carried lanterns all the way through. After watching many horror movies over the years, a few scary thoughts entered my head walking through the pitch dark cave with nothing but a lantern and a guide we hardly knew! But all was well and it was another great way to explore the cave.

As  if 2 visits weren’t enough, earlier this year we took our 2 youngest kids and our friend Barry to the cave. We’ve always wanted to take our kids there and since many years had gone by (about 17) it was like touring many parts all over again. They have since added on an adventure park outside that includes rock walls and ziplines. There is a gift shop, small restaurant and a place for the kids to do some mining. They also offer overnight packages which we took advantage of. I left there a little sad knowing it was probably our last trip there. We enjoyed every single one. But who knows, we just may have to take our grandchildren there someday.