Ryan and I took a day trip to Luray Caverns this past weekend to visit a mysterious underground world. Luray Caverns is aptly located in the town of Luray, Virginia – about 1.5 hour ride from where we live in Fairfax County.

A beautiful drive through the country brought us to the entrance of Luray Caverns. We joined a tour shortly after purchasing our tickets and proceeded to explore these beautiful caverns.

Luray Caverns, formally known as Luray Cave, is the largest cavern system on the East Coast. It was discovered in 1878 when cold air came rushing out of a limestone sinkhole and blew out a candle held by the town’s tinsmith, Andrew Campbell. He was exploring the area with three other men and his 13-year-old nephew, Quint, when they stumbled across the sinkhole. They spent the next  four hours digging through mud and rocks before reaching an opening. Campbell and Quint slid down a rope into the cave and Luray Caverns was discovered! I can’t imagine how shocking it must have been for them to uncover such a magnificent cave system.  They explored the caverns with nothing but candles in their hand – it must have been so spooky and dark!

The Luray Caverns were formed millions of years ago by underground rivers and seepage of acid-bearing water through layers of limestone and clay. Stalagtites (form from the ceiling) and stalagmites (form from the ground) are still actively growing as calcium carbonate is deposited and crystallizes. The process is so slow that it takes 120 years for 1 cubic square inch to develop. That means it takes longer than a human lifetime for one inch of these columns to form! (That really puts into perspective how short our time on Earth is, doesn’t it?)

Walking through is a bit spooky. We descended 164 feet below the Earth and when we looked up we saw towering stalactites hanging over our heads. Years ago, after an earthquake rattled the area, one of the large formations actually fell (pictured below.) Luckily we made it out of the caverns without any incident.

When stalagmites and stalagtites join together they form columns, and when they form horizontally along a wall they create a waterfall or curtain effect. I found these to be the most beautiful and impressive structures.

Saracen’s Tent

A few highlights you will find in the caverns include: Pluto’s Ghost, Dream Lake, Saracen’s Tent, Giant’s Hall, and the Great Stalacpipe Organ. The entire tour takes about an hour to get through.

Dream Lake

One of the neatest parts about our visit to Luray occurred right at the end of the tour. They have a “wishing well” where you can throw in a coin and make a wish. Each year, the team at Luray Caverns collects all of the money in the well and donates it to various charities which they have listed on a board next to the well. They have donated over a million dollars since 1954 just from people’s coins and wishes. It’s amazing how this small gesture has grown into such a big impact! Ryan and I were happy to throw in our own coin to make a wish, especially knowing it would be going to a good cause.

Wishing well

List of charities donated

This is a really unique day trip to take if you find yourself near the Shenandoah Valley or Northern Virginia area. I have never been inside a cave system before visiting Luray, and it was both spooky and fascinating. I  think every part of our Earth is worth exploring, don’t you?

*An important note related to wandering in harmony with Mother Earth. 🙂 As we were walking through the caverns with our group, I overheard someone joking about how they had touched one of the formations and another person responding (again, jokingly)  that the only rule in the caverns was not to touch anything. It was a bit upsetting to hear these jokes. Simply touching one of these formations will permanently stop its growth due to the salts and oils on our skin. So if you visit, please make sure you follow their one rule and don’t touch anything.

To learn more about Luray Caverns, visit their website.

Have you ever explored a cavern or cave system before? I’d love to know where you went and what it was like!