My family and I spent a morning here in August and had a great time. The caverns are located in the heart of Humpback Mountain and offer a unique spelunking adventure for travelers on the Blue Ridge Parkway. After a beautiful drive along the parkway, we elected to spend a little time exploring the caverns. It was a warm day and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the caves remain a consistent temperature of 52 degrees. In addition to it just feeling great on a warm day, the cool constant temperature allows for a unique ecosystem to exist within the cavern. We were intrigued by what we found. Henry E. Colton described the caverns perfectly in an 1858 issue of NC Presbyterian, “now began the wondrous splendors of the hidden world...we emerged into an immense passage, whose roof was far beyond the reach of the glare of our torches, except where the fantastic festoons of stalactites hang down within our touch. It looked like the arch of some grand old cathedral, yet it was too sublime, too perfect in all its beautiful proportions, to be anything of human, but a model which man might attempt to imitate. It was not a large, gross cavern,...pendants were of a delicate lightness, and a most beautiful hue". Needless to say, it is something to see. After touring the cave, we spent a while in the interesting gift shop and had a cold beverage under the shade of some majestic trees . Overall, it was an excellent way to spend an August morning.

Good Journeys!