If you drive I-81, you have definitely passed the (many) signs for Luray Caverns as you enter Virginia. And who doesn’t love a good tourist trap, am I right? Kirk and I took the boys down to Luray to visit it this past weekend. It’s definitely a good tourist trap, with museums and the requisite fudge shop.
We took the back way, out of the Eastern Panhandle, on 340, which runs the whole way, along the Shenandoah Valley, to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I like that road far more than 81. It becomes Lord Fairfax Highway and then Stonewall Jackson Highway in their honor. It’s an easy drive through a couple of very old towns, such as Berryville and Front Royal. In West Virginia, 340 is currently being rebuilt, and it can be a bit of a mess, so beware. Once done, it will be nice, a 4-lane split highway!
The Luray Caverns are easy to reach, right off a main road, with ample parking. Enter the main building to buy tickets, then go through.
Discovered in 1878.
To reach the caverns, follow the paved paths past all the tourist attractions (the museums), and walk the covered path to the entrance.
Once inside, welcome to 54* and high humidity. It has been so dry this winter that my skin is a dry mess. Being in a sauna actually felt good.
Follow the paved and brick walkway through the caverns, going both uphill and downhill and back uphill.
What I really noticed is how much it looks like how honeybees make honeycomb in the wild.
Dream Lake, one of the neatest parts of the cavern, it gives an optical illusion that you will fall into a chasm. Yet it is less than 2 feet of water.
The water level was actually lower because of the dry winter we have had.
You can see the shore is a bit lower.
Very other worldly feeling.
Do you see the puppy face? One of the boys could not see it.
A high ceiling, almost leaving you dizzy to look up that high.
High above, it made me think of a Capitol building, lit up.
“Fried Eggs” – a great ending to the walk underground.
We walked outside, and it was snowing. A very dry snow, with 3D snowflakes falling on my wool sweater. It felt good outside, cooling off in the chill. Then we got moving to the car for our drive home. Because if there is always a truth in the Shenandoah Valley, never trust the weather forecast in winter – the mountains live to kick out snow. It wasn’t bad, though, and the drive was uneventful besides the howling winds.
It was worth the drive, fascinating to see, and very accessible to almost everyone.
~Sarah