laurel caverns

I took my family here last week and it was great. The kids ages 7-15 all enjoyed it and can't wait to do it again on our next trip. It's not your typical stalactite and stalagmite cavern. It has beautiful smooth walls, and you can see where the water levels used to be. it's just a good place to visit.

Visited last weekend and loved this cavern! Different from many because it has no stalactites but several maze like areas that are a lot of fun. Also has one spot that is totally dark except for voice activated lights. Definitely worth a visit! Has a surprising spot where gravity seems to have gone berserk, great optical illusion.

really liked the tour but could have done without the 10 minute light show at the end. i would have rather seen more of the caverns.

We did the lower caving tour which was surprisingly very affordable, way cheaper than most trips I have seen. We had a wonderful time. Our tour guide was casual and informative. I do not recommend this trip for those who are claustrophobic, unless you are willing to embrace and conquer your fear, or for those who do not live an active lifestyle. Personally, I cannot remember the last time I stepped foot inside of a gym and I did just fine but it is just something to consider. Wear clothes that you don't mind getting and possibly staying dirty, a trash bag and a change of clothes, and a towel if you would like to utilize the onsite showers. They have picnic benches and pavilions that have a beautiful view, we packed a lunch and embraced them!

Fun cave to visit, our trip enhanced by our guide which is always a role of the dice. We took the family tour which had some fun surprises and was at least a couple hours long.

Please understand that this is a review for the caving tour with flash lights and hard hats (supplied by Laurel Caverns). This tour is only offered 2x a day. There are many different tours offered here so please make sure you are reading the right review.My friends and I did the cave tour- I believe the lower one. It was about 2 hours. It was a lot of fun and our guide was awesome and knowledgeable. We had some people in our group who were strugging to keep up and he was extremely patient with them. We were definitely tired when we were done. Sometimes you were in extremely tight spaces and had to squeeze and manuever your body between the passages. Sometimes you had to crawl for short periods of time. You will definitely get dirty and need boots long shirt/pants to protect you.IF you are chlosterphobic, the upper/lower caves are not for you. IF you are not physically fit or unwilling to crouch, crawl, and squeeze, the upper/lower caves are not for you.

We brought our cub scout troop here for the day on Saturday. It was a terribly foggy day, so we missed the turn and were a bit late. Everyone there was very friendly and helpful, despite the craziness. We had our boys for about 45 minutes in a classroom while our guide talked about the different materials found in the area. Then we took an outside mini-hike to find fossils, then back to the cave for the guided walking tour. We ate our packed lunches under the picnic pavilion. Part of our group left and the rest of us stayed for an upper caving tour in the afternoon. It lasted about 3 hours and all I can say is wow- it was fantastic going through the upper caverns, crawling, jumping, climbing. There was so much to see, and our guide Justin was super with us "old folks" (lol) and our group of excited 10 year old boys. He explained everything to us and made us all feel comfortable with what we were doing. I highly recommend the guided tour, but the upper caving was a once in a lifetime experience. There is a nice gift shop with reasonably priced flashlights if you forget yours for the upper caving. No food available, bring your own lunch.

These caverns have a lot of history attached. First used by the Native Americans who lived in the area and later by outlaws who hid their booty there. There are parts of the miles of caverns that are yet to be explored. There is a walking tour of about an hour. For the more adventurous there is rappelling available. For those who are really hardy you can request a special tour that takes you deep into the caverns- wear tough clothes and hiking boots- and be ready for climbing and rappelling. There are no steps in this adventuresome part. There are even stories of hauntings in the caverns. A wonderful adventure for the whole family. Almost forgot, they have cavern golf and gem stone panning available.

very interesting. offers the capability to explore undeveloped portions of the cavern. not much in the way of colorful underground rock formations

This family owned attraction is a refreshing, unique natural cave nestled in the beautiful mountains of the Laurel Highlands in western Pennsylvania. Laurel Caverns are catacomb caverns, so if you are looking for large stalactite and stalagmite formations this is not the cavern for you. However, they are an excellent example of catacomb caverns. The owners take great pride in preserving the natural beauty of the caverns. They offer traditional cave tours along with the opportunity to go spelunking. If you are planning on spelunking, be sure to read the website and come prepared. They also offer several family activities including rappelling, rock climbing and panning for the young at heart. I have visited the caverns since I was a child, and now I enjoy taking my grandchildren every summer.

This is a family owned attraction which I love to support.But, it is also a wonderful natural attraction. A great place to stop on the way home from Nemacolin Resorts.

BEWARE!Do NOT take the lower cave tour if anyone in your group is elderly or not physically fit. It will be quite challenging at a few places and will take about 3-4 hours. One wrong step and you are looking at possible brain or limb injury, with rescue times in excess of 4 hours. Now the good news for those with a spirit of adventure in them - IT'S SUPER FUN and you'll be glad you did it.Lower caving is quite an experience here. A tour guide will meet your group (typically 10 people) in a small room for the orientation and to check your equipment, footwear and sign release forms. You'll follow the guide into the upper caves where you wouldn't spend any time and in less than 10 minutes you begin the journey 450 feet below the earth's surface to the deepest part of the cave. It is completely dark from the beginning to the end all throughout the 3 hour tour, with you having to carefully step on rocks of all shapes and sizes, through extremely narrow passages, crawl through dirt laying on your belly, sharp rocks all around you. Once you are at the deepest part of the cave, there are two exciting challenges that you can choose to participate in along with others in your group. Also, there is a 10 minute detour while climbing up where you can drink fresh water from a waterfall. You'll be quite thirsty by the time and it is the best feeling ever to realize how tasty and wonderful water can be. It's quite an experience.Some tips:- Wear sturdy shoes with ankle support- Get at least one light that can be mounted on your helmet so you have one hand to use as a support on the rock walls- Don't wear nice clothes, you'll get really dirty- Water & peeing are not allowed for the 3 hour trip- Rescue times are in excess of 4 hours. Be careful and avoid any injuries.HAVE FUN!!

Took the 3 hour lower Cavern tour after reading their website information and confirming a couple of questions on site. Hiking boots, jeans, sweater and gloves are necessary to keep you warm when you start out. Give your tour guide around 20 minutes and you will be unzipping your sweater and having an awesome time. The cave itself is immense and mostly large fallen rock and sandy so have your 3 points of contact at all times to avoid slipping. Justin- really great with answers and the easy, medium and hard route explanations. Tall people be ready to get down and use your legs. Do the up and over crawl in zero light!!! That experience was a first for me to learn to trust myself! Bring a change of clothes, backpack for camera, headlight and refreshments. Best to go with a small group (4) and the 10am to have all your energy. Tour cost was $25 each and worth every cent thanks to Justin!!

I took the Lower Cave Tour today and it was amazing. I am not physically fit person by any means, 195 lbs and 5ft 2in. I also have asthma. The tour is three hours long. Our tour guide was Justin. He was very full of information as he told us about different rock formations and made everyone aware of the different routes (easy medium and hard) when climbing over rocks and going through the water tunnels. I think this is something everyone should cross off their bucket list if they are physically able. I personally had a rough time climbing back up the very steep rocks. I was completely out of breath. I had to use a rescue inhaler that I was carrying with me. BUT I MADE IT. You will get bruised. You will get wet. I suggest wearing a thin long sleeve shirt instead of a heavy one. It is 52 degrees in the cave but when you are climbing up and down rock formations you will get hot. Also I advise taking a drawstring bag or some kind of backpack. Shoes with good gripping and high ankle supports are also recommended. Water is a good idea. For our light sources we had one hand held flashlight (which we didn't use) and a helmet light. It was a very fun tour but with having 26 people in our tour group we did not get to see everything down in the caves ie. waterfalls, the beach. Smaller groups are more likely to see everything. I suggest not going on a weekend. Very fun, rigorous, and thrilling!

Was impressed by how big the caverns are, and we only took the one hour family tour (you only see a small percentage of the caves). They don't have the stalagmites and other exotic structures, but there are a lot of interesting rooms and shapes, and the size of the place is very impressive. The guided tour was informative and worked well, just the right length as my kids didn't complain the whole time and probably would have started if it went much longer. They have a few interactive things along the way to keep it interesting for the kids (and me too!) The optical illusion is great and really does trick your brain. Not thrilled at the fact that the guide offered two explanations for the age of the rocks (the scientific and the biblical). Don't think they should discuss anything other than the scientific, but it was fine as she only mentioned it once, I used it as an opportunity to explain it to our kids. Guide also pushed the longer, more expensive tours quite a bit, but understand they need to make money. It is a great natural wonder and happy to contribute to its upkeep.