caves in new england

Since 1922, the park has offered visitors the opportunity to explore beyond the boundary of time, to touch and explore caves created millennia ago when the last Ice Age moved across the earth. This 6 million-year-old cavern is the largest that's open to the public in the Northeast -- it's also New York's second-most-visited natural attraction, after Niagara Falls. Caught the cave bug? Caverns/ Caves in Camden - Mid Coast Maine. You'll want to bring a light jacket and wear sturdy sneakers or hiking shoes. Set in an Amish valley, Penn's Cave is a cavern that must be traversed by boat, combined with a topside wildlife park. Other huge formations resemble the Statue of Liberty and Rock of Gibraltar. WHILE YOU'RE THERE Pair the water tour with a 90-minute guided drive and stroll through the 1,500-acre wildlife park and working farm ($30.95 adults, $16.95 ages 2-12). A new section of boardwalk over Paradise Falls brings you to a scenic mountaintop high above the gorge, river, granite pothole and vernal pool. They're located about a 40-minute drive apart, so you can see them both in a single day if you're a fan of caves. Caverns/ Caves in Somerville - Massachusetts. We won't tell you exactly where, but do take the hike and check these secrets out! Another unique feature is the clear underground Lost River, which flows seemingly without beginning or end. One of New England's largest water amusement parks, Water Country, is located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, near the state's compact seacoast. More experienced spelunkers who don't mind getting dirty can opt for hands-on tours that call for maneuvering through tight spaces. Natural Caverns in the New England States Explore Boulder Caves in the Granite State. Spurred along by changes in the atmosphere involving wind, water, sand erosion and powerful shifts of earth, it can take thousands of years for caves to be carved out. Contact Newsday | Complete Guide to the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire, The 10 Best Places to See Fall Foliage in New Hampshire, The 11 Most Beautiful State Parks in New York, These Are the Top 15 Destinations in Chile. Caverns/ Caves in New Bedford - Massachusetts. Beat summer heat at Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves in North Woodstock,... Venture Beneath the Green Mountains. Want to beat the summer heat? Set in the Lehigh Valley, this 250,000-year-old limestone cavern has five chambers, with crystals, that can be explored on foot. The trail begins easily and then heads slightly up through the forest. WHILE YOU'RE THERE For something fun and different, try controlled rappelling. WHEN TO GO Daily (except holidays) year-round. More challenging is the "upper spelunking" tour -- a three-hour look at the more geologically developed parts of the cave. Your ad choices | By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. The Polar Caves were created some fifty thousand years ago as the third continental glacier blanketed the White Mountains in northern New Hampshire. Less rigorous are self-guided walking tours of rock sites mostly above-ground, such as a massive stone bridge arch, several cave entrances, waterfalls and a gorge. One of the most popular trails in Acadia actually includes a fair few little caves you can pop into. There's also a nine-hole flying disc "golf" course. There are two neat cave attractions to explore in New Hampshire's White Mountains region. WHILE YOU'RE THERE Kids can play games ranging from climbing a "boulder" wall to exploring the crystal mine or digging for dinosaur bone casts. Along the way, you may climb into caves such as the Dungeon or Lemon Squeezer. Top 10 Road Trip Routes in the Northeastern U.S. New Hampshire is Home to New England's Only Commercial Caves & Its Largest Waves. There's one place where it's always cool: a cave! Polar Caves Park in Rumney, New Hampshire, is another cool spot that's open daily from spring through late October (weather conditions permitting). At least a half-dozen large caves within a day's drive of Long Island are open to the public. You'll save time at the gate by purchasing your all-day tickets online in advance. The most intense experience is the "lower spelunking" tour. Plan to spend about an hour on the 3/4-mile trail ($12.98 adults, $8.50 ages 5-12). There's one place in New Hampshire where, no matter how hot it gets, it's always December. WHEN TO GO Daily March-November, weekends in December. Caverns/ Caves in Mystic - Mystic Country. Cave tours cost $11 ($7 ages 3-12). The stone step trail requires climbing stairs and is not suitable for strollers. Terms of service | Not only are caves fun to explore, they have the natural advantage of always being cooler and less humid than the steamy world above. Plan a visit to Howe Caverns in New York State, next. Plan small day trips, big getaways and more. Sitemap | You'll be harnessed for the three drops off the lighted cliff inside the cave ($33, available Memorial Day-Labor Day). You'll feel "cave kisses" of moisture as you exit the elevator that takes you down 156 feet. The two-hour adventure tour sends visitors in coveralls, gloves and lighted helmets crawling through a passage, across a dry streambed and up a 107-foot-high dome of rock called the Great Rotunda ($108, includes gear rental). The East's largest marble cave entrance leads to what is said to be some of North America's oldest rocks, where you can see tourmaline and garnet in the walls. This is a sandy cave with slight seepage. You'll pass through narrow tunnels and rooms to see flowstone, drapery, pillars and column formations. Rich in Native American history and folklore, the cavern is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Cave exploration -- or spelunking -- is an affordable, family-friendly activity that can feel like a bona fide adventure. She's been with TripSavvy since 1998. You'll walk a 3/4-mile loop along a boardwalk overlooking the river, past waterfalls, including 35-foot Paradise Falls. Kim Knox Beckius is a Connecticut-based travel writer, author, photographer, and editor. Watching the mercury climb and climb? WHEN TO GO Daily (except holidays) year-round. A summer-only four-hour adventure tour involves wading and crawling through tight, billion-year-old surface caves before passing through a waterfall into a river and floating down a tunnel of caves ($80, ages 13 and older).