If you’ve ever wanted to explore the hidden world beneath your feet, this road trip is for you.
Pennsylvania is packed with caves and caverns, each with its own surprises—underground rivers, giant rock formations, even fossils from an ancient ocean.
Some caves are lit up with colorful lights, some are pitch black and wild, and one even has a secret history as a 19th-century dance hall.
You’ll float through tunnels on a boat, squeeze through dark passageways, and maybe even spot some bats hanging out overhead.
So get ready to discover the coolest underground spots in Pennsylvania!
1. Lost River Caverns
Lost River Caverns in Hellertown is a wild underground world filled with twisting passageways, glittering rock formations, and a mysterious river that no one has ever found the source of.
Inside, you’ll see stalactites hanging upside-down like icicles, flowstone that looks like melted candle wax, and even a cavern known as the ‘Crystal Chapel,’ which hosted dances in the late 1800s.
The guided tour is an easy walk, but bring a jacket—it’s always a chilly 52°F, no matter how hot it is outside.
2. Crystal Cave
Crystal Cave in Kutztown looks straight out of a fantasy movie, with sparkling rock formations and underground rooms that feel like another planet.
Discovered in 1871 by William Merkel and John Gehret, who were just trying to dig a limestone quarry, this cave turned out to be packed with towering stalagmites and delicate soda straw formations.
The tour is an easy 125-foot walk underground, but the real fun is when they turn off the lights for a few seconds—you’ll get a taste of what total darkness actually feels like.
Please be aware that Crystal Cave is usually closed during the winter and reopens from March through November.
3. Indian Echo Caverns
Indian Echo Caverns, just outside Hershey, is a maze of winding tunnels, hidden rock chambers, and Crystal Lake, an underground lake so still it looks like glass.
These caverns have been a secret hideout for centuries—legend has it, a hermit lived here alone for nearly 20 years, and you can even peek inside the tiny rock alcove he called home.
The tour takes you past shimmering stalactites, massive limestone columns, and a room nicknamed “The Wedding Chapel” because, yes, people actually get married down here!
4. Woodward Cave
Woodward Cave, tucked away in central Pennsylvania, is known as the “Big One” for a reason—it’s home to one of the largest caverns in the state, with soaring ceilings and massive rock formations.
Inside, you’ll find a 14-foot-tall stalagmite called the Tower of Babel, plus ancient flowstone walls that have been slowly forming for millions of years.
It’s also a winter hideout for hibernating bats, though the cave is closed to the public during this time to protect them.
Please note that the cave normally closes during winter and typically reopens with tours offered from April through October—so be sure to check their official website before planning your visit.
5. Penn’s Cave
Penn’s Cave, near State College, is the only cave in Pennsylvania where you explore entirely by boat, floating through its underground waterways.
The guided boat tour glides past towering rock formations, drippy stalactites, and deep, echoing caverns, all while your guide shares the cave’s legends.
One interesting legend tells the story of a forbidden love story between an Indian maiden named Nita-nee and a French trapper, Malachi Boyer.
And when you emerge back into daylight, the fun isn’t over—there’s a wildlife park right outside, where you can see bison, wolves, and even a mountain lion roaming the Pennsylvania countryside.
Just a heads-up! The Farm-Nature-Wildlife Park usually closes during winter from December through late March and typically reopens in April.
6. Lincoln Caverns & Whisper Rocks
Lincoln Caverns & Whisper Rocks, hidden beneath the hills of Huntingdon, is actually two caves in one, packed with twisting passageways and formations that sparkle under colorful lights.
Discovered during the construction of U.S. Route 22 in 1930, these caves, including Lincoln Caverns and the later-discovered Whisper Rocks in 1941, are filled with stalactites, rippling flowstone, and rock draperies that look like frozen waterfalls.
The tour takes you through both caverns, and if you visit in October, they even turn it into a haunted cave experience—because exploring underground tunnels in the dark wasn’t spooky enough already!
7. Tytoona Cave
Tytoona Cave, near Altoona, isn’t your typical show cave—there are no guided tours, no colorful lights, just a wild, untouched cavern waiting to be explored.
Unlike the other caves on this list, Tytoona is free to visit and open to the public, but you’ll need a free permit from the NSS before entering, along with a flashlight and some sturdy shoes to navigate the rocky entrance and the dark passageways beyond.
It’s a favorite spot for cavers and adventurers, but if you’re just here to peek inside, the massive entrance alone is worth the stop—it’s like stepping into the mouth of the earth itself.
8. Coral Caverns
Coral Caverns, tucked away in Bedford County, is home to something you won’t find in any other Pennsylvania cave—a massive, fossilized coral reef from when this whole area was covered by an ancient ocean.
You can actually see prehistoric coral, seashell imprints, and other marine fossils frozen in the cave walls, a reminder that this place was once teeming with sea life millions of years ago.
The cave itself is small but packed with cool formations, and you enter through a visitor center housed in a wooden hut that also features a small museum.
9. Laurel Caverns
Laurel Caverns, hidden beneath a mountain in southwestern Pennsylvania, is the largest cave in the state, with over three miles of dark, winding passageways to explore.
Unlike most caverns with delicate rock formations, this one is all about massive sandstone tunnels, towering underground cliffs, and wide-open rooms that feel like something out of an adventure movie.
You can stick to the lighted guided tour, or if you’re feeling brave, sign up for one of the wild caving experiences where you’ll crawl, squeeze, and scramble through the deeper, unlit sections.
Please note that Laurel Caverns normally closes during the fall and winter months for bat hibernation and typically reopens from late April to early September. Be sure to check online before heading over.
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