I had free day recently and decided to go take on a new challenge.
Just northwest of Columbus is a place called Ohio Caverns. I have always loved caves and thought this would be a cool way to kill a couple of hours.
Killer reflections!!
I was not disappointed! As you can see above, this place was great. Very colorful. I had a blast.
Located in West Liberty, Ohio Caverns is billed as "Ohio's Most Colorful Caverns". The caverns, the part that I saw, didn't disappoint.
You can see more in the reflection than you can looking at the ceiling.
I say, from what I saw, because I think that i only saw about a third of the accessible cavern. I believe what I took was the winter tour. They have longer tours depending on the season and what you want to see. There is an historic tour that starts at the original entrance. There is a limestone tour. It is an impressive network of caverns.
As you can see from the above photos, the is a lot of color in these caverns. The different minerals and formations give the place a ton of character.
This is just a small section of ceiling.
The colors were amazing. There is, in a lot of places, a small river running through the cavern that gives up great reflections when you look down the waterway. There isn't really a river per se. There is always water seeping into the cavern and they have tried to channel it and manage the flow. So it looks like there is a river.
The tour itself was an hour long tour. There is a lot to see down there. Including, if I remember right, 2 views of the Crystal King, the largest and most perfectly formed white crystal stalactite found in any cave. He is shown below.
This crystal has to be 5 feet long and hangs in a natural frame. It is said that 90% of the stalagmites and stalactites are still active and growing. So I assume that the Crystal King is still growing. It is really impressive up close.
You can click on any picture to see it larger.
As part of the largest cavern system in Ohio, the part I toured was about a mile of cavern. The overall system is huge. Discovered in 1897, the cavern maintains a constant 54 degrees. For me, that was quite comfortable. Open all year, I am looking forward to going back in the summer. Might evern take the grand kids.
The above pic is of a seam. When you are standing there looking at the cave features, it sometimes seems like you can look forever. There are spots that it seems like it goes back so far that you can't see the end. Most caverns are divided into rooms and this room had a seam that looked like it went for miles. Very cool!
Overall, I would heartily recommend a trip to the Ohio Caverns. Interesting tour. Knowledgeable guide. Great experience.
I want to thank the staff there, they were patient and helpful.
Thanks again for a great experience.
Don.
More pics.