Today we’re headed to Luray Caverns in the morning and we’re hoping to find snow in the afternoon. We have 7 of us here in Virginia and it’s Becky’s mom Gigi’s 75th birthday! Our daughter has never seen snow, and this April day may provide some. We are looking forward to exploring Luray Caverns on a snowy day near Shenandoah National Park!
Planning
Today’s forecast is a wintry mix of rain and snow and it will be the coldest day this week. Knowing this we asked Gigi what she wanted to do on her birthday, and she said exploring Luray Caverns. The caverns are open daily from 9:00AM to 6:00PM, so we plan to get there as early as we can. Afterwards we will try to go to Shenandoah National Park for lunch at Skyland depending on the weather. We told our daughter there may be snow today and she said snow wasn’t real! She has never seen snow, so we will hope to find some in or near the park. The higher the elevation the better chance for snow. And later we’ll celebrate Gigi’s 75th birthday back at the resort.
Luray Caverns, discovered back in 1878, claims to be the largest and most popular caverns in the East. The caverns are about 35 minutes from our resort, but only 15 minutes from Shenandoah National Park. However, being outside the national park, there is a separate admission for the caverns. You can pay online or pay when you get there. The price is currently $32 per adult, $29 for seniors, $16 for children 6-12, and 6 and under are free. The ticket price also includes admission to their Car & Carriage Caravan Museum, Shenandoah Heritage Village and Toy Town Junction. For more information, check out their website: Luray Caverns.
Entering Luray Caverns
Before we leave our resort, it is sleeting and our daughter thinks it’s snow. So, we take our time driving to the caverns arriving about 9:25AM. The parking lot is fairly empty and we park close to the entrance. It is coming down here too and it’s freezing, so we run in with our heavy coats on. Once in, we easily buy our tickets. Once you get your tickets you have to go through their gift shop to the entrance of the caverns. This is also your last chance for restrooms.
Prior to Covid, you would get a guided tour with your admission, but now it’s a self-guided tour. However, we get a booklet with our tickets that has a QR code for an audio tour we can follow. This option sounds good especially for Becky’s dad, Poppa. With his current vision issues, we hope the audio tour will enhance his experience exploring the caverns with us.
All of us corralled to the exit of the gift shop where they check our tickets. Once validated we go outside to a covered walkway that bends down to the actual entrance to the caverns. And since the last part isn’t covered, we hurry to the entrance. Once inside is a waiting area where we take our group picture. And just past it is another door to a walkway with another door on the other end. The multiple doors are to keep the temperate in the caverns at a constant 54 degrees Fahrenheit. Though they say with the humidity it feels like 65 degrees. It feels nice inside so we take off our heavy coats ready to explore.
Inside Luray Caverns
Apparently you used to have to take many steps down and back up to get in and out of the caverns. But in 2019, they finished a new entrance through a 164-foot corridor. We easily walk through the corridor to the beginning of our journey into the caverns. Here an employee directs folks entering the caverns and the audio tour also starts here.
It’s a little crowded in this area but we manage to listen to the first stop on the tour. We play the audio tour from our phone speaker and listen. This would have been much easier if we had headphones but not everyone could listen.
The good news is the caverns are completely paved with guard-rails where needed. It is also well-lit providing plenty of light. We are ready to start the 1.25 mile walk through the step-free caverns. Let’s go exploring Luray Caverns!
Some Highlights on the Tour
The formations in Luray Caverns carved over millions of years are amazing to see. At Dream Lake, you can see stalactites hanging from the ceiling over water. The water here provides a perfect mirrored reflection. This dreamy illusion appears as if stalagmites are rising from the ground. Though it’s just the reflection in the no more than 18-20 inches of water here.
One of the most impressive highlights may be the one man-made. We walk down to an open chamber called the Cathedral and see the Great Stalacpipe Organ in front of us. An employee here acts as our guide of this chamber and the organ.
This organ is considered to be the largest instrument in the world by Guinness World Records. It was designed and built over three years and completed in 1956. The guide here explains how the inventor wired rubber mallets to different stalactites tied to the keyboard. The organ uses the caverns’ features to produce its unique sound. The guide then turns the organ on which plays similar to a player-piano. It is rigged to play a specific tune which chimes throughout the chamber.
Another highlight is the Wishing Well, a pond which may contain a few feet of coins at the bottom. Another employee here tells us not to throw coins in this water, though there are plenty already there. Though the pond is 6-7 feet deep, it looks half that with the coins covering the bottom. A sign here shows how much money has been collected here over the years, which is quite amazing.
Leaving the Caverns
We were actually exploring Luray Caverns for 1.25-1.75 hours depending on who finished first. We all met up afterwards at the gift shop and by this time it is much more crowded. The restrooms had waiting lines so glad we went before the tour. After spending some time in their large gift shop, we exit the main entrance after noon. Ready for lunch, we bypass their other attractions and get back in the car. As we are leaving it is still raining/sleeting, and the parking lot is much more full. We even see a couple school buses so again we’re glad we came early. There were a good number of people in the caverns when we went through. But it never felt packed where we didn’t have enough space.
Heading to Shenandoah National Park
So our plan is to head to the Pollock Dining Room in the Skyland area of the national park for lunch. We are only 15 minutes or about 10 miles from the Thornton Gap Entrance Station. This entrance station to the park is the northern of the 2 central entrances to the park. It is at mile 31.5 on Skyline Drive which is 34 miles north of the Swift Run Gap entrance station. Skyland is about another 10 miles after entering the park or another 20 minutes.
Once we get past the town of Luray, we start headed up toward the park. And as soon as we start ascending in elevation, it is snowing. Our daughter can’t believe it, it’s real! Unfortunately it’s coming down so much, the roads don’t look real safe. Though committed we continue at a slow pace. We pass the Shenandoah National Park headquarters where the parking lot is completely covered in snow.
The closer we get to the entrance, the slower we are going. We pass a snow plow clearing the other side of the street. But our side is a little slippery. And once we get near the entrance we see 2 state troopers blocking the entrance. As we pull up, one officer greets us and tells us all of Skyline Drive is closed. She said there were multiple accidents inside the park and they are working to clear them. So, we turn around to head back the way we came. Hopefully, the park will open up tomorrow when it’s supposed to be clear again.
More Snow!
Once we get back to Luray, it is no longer snowing. And since we didn’t get lunch, we decide to head back to our resort to eat leftovers. We make a stop in Elkton on the way back, and the snow is coming down again. And from there, It blows really hard all the way back to our resort. We make it safe and sound and snow is still coming down covering the area. We can eat later, we decide to go have some fun in the snow!
Our daughter’s 1st time in the snow and she has to do it all. Of course we have to throw snowballs, and our daughter has to throw them at everyone.
There was enough snow to make a little snowman and she had to make one. We didn’t have a carrot nose, or any buttons, but it counts. And of course she had to make a snow angel.
After playing about 30 minutes we decide to head in. But our daughter said but… it’s my 1st time in the snow. But not much later, the snow turns back to sleet and we head back in. Our daughter is completely wet from playing in the snow but she had a blast, and we did too.
Summary
Due to the wintry forecast, we headed inside in the morning to Luray Caverns. We got there early and spent a few hours there going through the caverns and the gift shop. After leaving, we headed to Shenandoah National Park for lunch, but the roads were closed due to snow. So, we turned around to head back to our resort when it started snowing again. And once back we were able to play in the snow. And to cap it off we got to celebrate Gigi’s 75th birthday!
The highlight of our day could definitely be exploring Luray Caverns. The largest and most popular caverns in the East did not disappoint. And their walkways were nicely paved and well lit allowing Poppa to see and enjoy them as much as we did. The cavern formations were out of this world and the Great Stalacpipe Organ was a sight to see and hear. But just seeing our daughter play in snow for the 1st time was priceless. Being from Florida, we do not get to see snow often, and weren’t expecting it here in mid-April. But we made the most of it. We had a great day exploring Luray Caverns and finding snow and hope to find more snow tomorrow!
Other Adventures This Week
Check out our trip to the newest national park at: New River Gorge National Park in a Day