Howe Caverns, Howes Cave

So let’s set the stage with, My son loves rocks. When I heard this place existed I was all for taking him here. For me a 2 hour drive set the expectation of “This better be worth it.” The cave was incredible. The tour guide was great, unfortunately some of the people in our party no so much but that is obviously not Howe Caverns fault. The boat ride was great as well inside the cave. Knowing there are two other tours which are a little more hardcore (no walkway or lighted paths) makes me excited to potentially bring my son back when he is older. The best part and biggest value for us was sluicing. They sell different size bags of “pay dirt” for you to sluice. If course I paid for the Mother Load which was $20. I was skeptical on the value but I will say it was well worth the money. The amount of stones and fossils my son found was incredible. We also did a geode cut where we paid for a geode and they cut it there for us (cutting free). Food was great as well! This place was absolutely worth the money. There is also a small adventure park with rock climbing, zip lining and other things so bring your family and head over! Oh, bring a sweatshirt for the cave, it’s Freezing!

Amazing, other worldly views under ground, all carved and formed by water. Easy access via elevator, bricked walkways, well lit. Kids enjoyed banter by the guide, and some of the feature names (Godzilla). Kept a 4-5 year old interested. Boat ride at end was both fun and scary for the kids. Much as I remembered from my childhood.