Visiting The Luray Caverns In Luray, Virginia

Shae and I spent a few days in Roanoke a few years ago when my parents came to visit from the UK. While they were here, we went hiking up to McAfee Knob, something we did again recently as we’d enjoyed it the first time so much.

Another activity we did with my parents that we wanted to do again while on our 50 state road trip was visiting the Luray Caverns. It’s three times larger than any other cave in Virginia and has all kinds of beautiful rock formations inside, so we wanted an opportunity to share that with you.

You might have noticed in the photo above that our dog Truffles joined us at the Luray Caverns. That’s because it’s a pet-friendly attraction – sort of. Dogs of all sizes are allowed on the grounds provided they’re leashed. Small dogs are also allowed on the actual tour of the caverns so long as they’re carried. We have a dog backpack for Truffles (affiliate link), so we brought her along for the experience.

Tickets for the Luray Caverns include not only a guided tour but several other activities on the site:

• Car & Carriage Caravan Museum – This has also kinds of historic transport exhibits.
• Toy Town Junction – This features dolls, miniature trains and other types of collectible toys.
• Luray Valley Museum – This museum has lots of exhibits showing what life has been like in the Luray area over the years, including a bible from the 16th century.

Entry to all those museums is free. There are a number of other activities on site that can be paid for:

• The Garden Maze
• Rope Adventure Park
• Stonyman Mining Company Gem Sluice
• Luray Fudge Company
• Stalactite Cafe
• Heartpine Cafe

With so many activities available, a family could easily spend all day at Luray Caverns and not get bored (provided your budget allows for that).

There’s even a gas station on site. I’d expected it to be expensive, but gas in the area was $2.25-$2.45 that day, so the $2.40 per gallon they were charging wasn’t unreasonable given its convenient location.

Before heading inside, we took advantage of the nice weather to have lunch outside at one of their picnic tables. It was a hot day when we visited, so we appreciated that pretty much all the tables were shaded by trees.

If you’d like a photo opp, there’s a ‘Love’ sign next to the picnic area. They’ve placed a stand in front of it which has a ridged shelf on which you can place your phone; that way you can set the timer to take a photo with everyone in it.

After having some lunch, we headed inside to get our tickets. Tours run throughout the day from 9am to 6pm and they’re all guided. You can also pay a little extra for an audio handset to get additional information as you go around, something that’s especially helpful if English isn’t your first language as they offer the audio tour in French, German, Spanish, Korean and Chinese.

While waiting for our tour to begin, we looked at some of the museum exhibits in the lobby area…

…and perused the gift shop.

When we visited with my parents in 2016, I think we had to take steps down into the caverns. They’ve since created a different entrance into the cave to remove all steps, thereby making the tour more accessible for people with mobility issues.

The tour began outside, with our guide telling us about a house at the top of the hill. It’s called the Limair Sanatorium and was a home built by Colonel Theodore Clay. It’s thought to have been the first air conditioned home in the US as in 1901 he had cool air from the caverns pumped through the home. This kept the Limair Sanatorium a cool 70-72°F which must have been an incredible experience back then during the hot Virginia summers.

The path continued down the hill until we arrived at the entrance of the caverns.

Once inside, you’re immediately greeted by rock formations. Stalactites and stalagmites abound everywhere; you’re not allowed to touch any of them though as oils on our hands can damage the formation process.

Truffles did well in her backpack and seemed to enjoy the fact that she got to come along rather than being stuck at the hotel.

The Luray Caverns were discovered on August 13, 1878. Andrew Campbell, his nephew and three other men had gone exploring for a cave. For four hours they dug away at loose rocks before eventually clearing enough away to slide down a rope into the cave. They landed in what turned out to be the largest cave in Virginia and one of the largest on the east coast of the US.

They didn’t have electric flashlights back then, so they relied on candles to explore. I can’t imagine being brave enough to try exploring the caves with only the use of candles!

If you paid extra for the audio tour, there are clear notices letting you know when you can listen to more information.

One of the most interesting sections of the Luray Caverns is the mirrored pool. This area looks like there’s a chasm with stalagmites growing up, whereas it is in fact a pool reflecting the stalactites above.

The caverns cover 84 acres, although only 64 of those are open to the public as the remaining 20 acres aren’t safe for visiting.

Here’s a video I took during the tour that hopefully gives a better idea of just how amazing the caverns are inside.

While walking along, our guide pointed out the formation in the photo below. At an estimated 70 million years old, it’s the oldest rock formation in the caverns.

It’s not surprising that the caverns are one of the largest on the east coast as it feels so vast when going on a tour. So many of the stalactites descending from the ceiling are truly enormous and create a variety of beautiful designs.

There are drapery formations through the caverns, with perhaps the most notable one being Saracen’s Tent.

A little further on there’s a horizontal rock that’s thought to have fallen 7,000 years ago.

Our guide then pointed out what they refer to as their seasonal formation. In the spring it’s a seashell, in the summer it’s an ice cream cone, in the fall it’s a pine cone and in the winter it’s a Christmas tree.

One of the most unique formations is Pluto’s Ghost which was named that way due to it being white like a ghost.

One of the last stops on the tour is the Cathedral room. This is a vast space which is home to the Great Stalacpipe Organ.

In case you’re wondering what the Great Stalacpipe Organ is, it taps stalactites throughout the Cathedral room to play tones. I tried taking a video of the organ playing, but unfortunately the sound of it wasn’t loud enough to be picked up by my phone, so you’ll just have to visit the caverns yourself and experience it in person!

As much as we enjoyed exploring the Luray Caverns, our tour guide this time wasn’t very good. It was hard to hear anything he had to say as his pronunciation didn’t seem great. The only time I did hear him fairly clearly was when we were trying to listen to the Great Stalacpipe Organ; he decided to spend much of the musical time chatting to a couple of tour guests, despite this being straight after he’d asked everyone else to not during the musical display. This made it harder to hear the organ playing which was a little frustrating.

Towards the end of the tour we walked past the Wishing Well. Any coins (and notes!) tossed into the Wishing Well get donated to local charities, with more than $1 million dollars being raised over the years.

At the end of the tour, you’ll get to see two Fried Eggs. When widening the walkway in the caverns, two stalagmites were knocked off and the Fries Eggs are what was left of their base.

In case you can never remember which direction stalactites and stalagmites form, I was told years ago that the best way to remember is that tights come down 😉 That means stalactites are the ones that come down from the ceiling while stalagmites rise from the floor.

There was a stalactite and stalagmite we walked past (pictured below) that were almost touching. They’re so close that it reminded me of Michaelangelo’s The Creation Of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, albeit a vertical version!

After the tour was over, we took a wander around outside to let Truffles stretch her legs seeing as she’d been in her backpack for the past 1.5 hours (that’s how long the tour lasts). We headed to the Heartpine Cafe where Shae got a glass of wine just before they closed for the day. At $11 including tax, it wasn’t a cheap glass of wine, but you do get to keep the glass.

Final Thoughts

Shae and I enjoyed our recent visit to the Luray Caverns, despite our tour guide not being great this time. The caverns are huge, with all kinds of beautiful and unique formations inside.

With many other activities onsite – both free and paid – there’s lots to keep you entertained for several hours.

Cost Of Luray Caverns Tickets

When we visited on September 19, 2019, ticket prices were as follows:

• Adults – $28
• Children (6-12) – $15
• Seniors (62+) – $25

While that’s not cheap, I’d say it’s worth the price, especially seeing as it includes free access to the Car & Carriage Caravan Museum, Toy Town Junction and the Luray Valley Museum. For a large family though, you could easily be looking at spending $100+ on tickets.

The audio tour packages (which included general admission) cost an additional $5 and so were priced as follows:

• Adults – $33
• Children (6-12) – $20
• Seniors (62+) – $30

We’re AAA members, so we asked if they offered any discounts for that. They didn’t offer discounts at the ticket desk, but advised you can buy discounted Luray Caverns tickets from AAA directly. I looked into this afterwards, but from what I can tell you have to be a AAA member based in the mid-Atlantic region to qualify for those discounts.

Cost Of Other Activities At Luray Caverns

Here are the costs for some of the other paid activities:

The Garden Maze

• Adults – $9
• Children (6-12) – $6

Ropes Adventure Park

• Adults – $10
• Children (Under 48″) – $6

Address

Luray Caverns, 101 Cave Hill Rd, Luray, VA 22835