GPS 1065 Skyline Drive, Farmington, PA 15437
Laurel Caverns is off route 40 east of Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Geographically, it is about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh
Nearby sites are: The Summit Inn, Fort Necessity National Park,
Nemacolin Woodlands, Ohiopyle State Park, Kentuck Knob, and Fallingwater
Rain is never a problem. The cave temperature is a constant 52 degrees.
Monday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
MAILING ADDRESS:
Laurel Caverns
P. O. Box 62,
Hopwood, PA
15445
Reservations are only needed for groups of 15 or more people wanting a private tour.
Scout troops need to call for reservations, regardless of numbers so they can be put on our schedule.
Reservations are required if one wishes to bring a group of fifteen or more from a lawfully structured educational institution (schools, summer camps, scout groups, church groups, etc.)
Please call 724-438-3003 and ask for Lillian to get group rates, discuss combining the guided tour with the self-guided option, learn more, have accommodation questions answered, and/or book a tour.
These trips are designed for the general public, and do not require special equipment or clothing, other than a light jacket or sweater, because the temperature is 52o year-round.
All tours are round trips, involving very little retrace, that depart from inside the visitors’ center and return to inside the visitors’ center.
1. TAKE THE GUIDED TOUR ONLY
2. TAKE THE SELF – GUIDED TOUR ONLY
3. TAKE THE GUIDED TOUR & THE SELF – GUIDED TOUR
This 30 to 40-minute tour is a 600-foot walk through the easiest passages of Laurel Caverns. There are no steps. Because this part of the cave is a maze, one sees about 1,200 feet of colorfully lighted passages. The geology and history of Laurel Caverns is given by the guide. A sound & light show is included. The Visitors’ Center opens at 9:00 am. A tour departs every 20 minutes beginning at 9:30 am through 4:00 pm. If at the end of this tour one chooses to do the Self-Guided Tour there is no additional charge. The Guided Tour is designed to accommodate everyone, though narrow passages in two places make the use of a wheelchair impossible, and to open those passages would destroy the natural structure of the cave.
This 30 to 45-minute excursion is an 1,800-foot walk through the largest, longest, and steepest passages in the lighted portion of Laurel Caverns. A brief orientation is provided. There are about 100 steps. It has three advantages. First, there is no need to wait for a guide. Second, one goes at one’s own pace, and third, children love it. It has one disadvantage, it is extremely strenuous, especially for adults who have physical challenges related to knee, heart, back, or shortness of breath issues. No one, with any of these issues, should take the self-guided tour. Laurel Caverns is one of the steepest caves in the United Sates. Just this tour, alone, takes one down 17 stories in elevation. This is why this part of the lighted portion must be treated separately from the relatively level paths of the guided tour.
This popular option allows one to see the entire lighted part of the cave. There is no additional fee to do both. However, to do both, one must take the Guided Tour first. School field trips and other youth groups may request a guide for the entire lighted portion.
All caving programs are offered only on Saturdays and Sundays, and seven days a week, by special arrangements, for summer camps, schools, and other such organizations.
Half-Day of Caving Regular Rate: $40 pp
Half-Day of Caving Group Rate: $35 pp
All-Day of Caving Regular Rate: $60 pp
All-Day of Group Rate: $50 pp
(Click to expand map made by Ryan Maurer Cartologist)
This program is also called: Upper Caving. Participants see both the upper area of Laurel Caverns (elevations: 2522’ down to 2342’) and its middle zone (elevations: 2341’ down to 2264’). It is a response to an increasing recognition by scout organizations, summer camps, schools, and first responders, that persons should be trained in safe caving practices before entering the lower areas of Laurel Caverns (elevations: 2263’ down to 2070’) where the physical challenges are great and responses to a health or injury event are unusually difficult. A minimum age of 12 years is strongly recommended for Caving in Laurel Caverns.
Advanced reservations are required for groups of 15 or more (phone: 724-438-3003). They are not required (Registration is open) for walk-ins and smaller groups prepared with proper footwear and lights in accord with the Upper Caving Release Form. Registration begins at 9:30 am and the program begins at 10:00 am. It concludes at 1:00 pm. The cost for Open Registration Upper Caving is $40 per person.
This program includes a classroom orientation, a guided tour in the maze with a crawl example to test endurance, and a caving trip that begins in the Dining Room and goes through the flue to the Ball Room, Bat Room, Petite Falls, and the Roland’s Dig passage. Shoes that lace above the ankle are required.
Participants must have attained their 12th birthday and arrive prepared with: (1) the Laurel Caverns Caving Release Form signed by a parent or legal guardian if they are under 18 years of age, (2) two sources of light, (3) clothing that covers their arms and legs, and (4) hiking shoes that lace ABOVE the ankle or boots that lace ABOVE the ankle. Helmets are provided by Laurel Caverns.
This caving activity is extremely strenuous, especially for adults who have physical challenges related to knee, heart, back, or shortness of breath issues. No one, with any of these issues, should participate in this program.
Open-Registration Availability
Saturdays and Sundays only beginning April 15, 2023 through Sunday, October 29, 2023.
Group-Registration Availability
All of the above apply, except that Upper Caving is available every day of the week for schools, scouts, summer camps, and churches, with a pre-paid reservation. For group rates and arrangements phone: 723-438-3003.
(If the Lower Caving Release form has been signed, this form is not also required.)
For anyone doing the morning Laurel Caverns Caving Program, an all-day option is available at an additional fee of $20 per person. This adds “Lower Caving” to the “Upper Caving” program. All Lower Caving participants, regardless of prior caving experience, must have completed the Laurel Caverns Caving Program before entering the lower areas of Laurel Caverns (elevations: 2263’ down to 2070’) where the physical challenges are great and responses to a health or injury event are unusually difficult. Participants must have reached their twelfth birthday.
As with upper caving, advanced reservations are required for schools, scouts, summer camps, and churches. The all-day option is available weekdays, also, for such groups with prepaid arrangements (phone: 724-438-3003). Reservations are not required (Registration is open) for walk-ins and smaller groups prepared with proper footwear and lights in accord with the Lower Caving Release Form. The all-day walk-in option is only available on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Registration begins at 9:30 am and the program begins at 10:00 am. With the morning’s Upper Caving ending at 1:00 pm, the Lower Caving activity begins at 2:00 pm and concludes at 5:00 pm.
This program includes as many of the large passages below the ballroom as the group can handle. Most trips reach the “sump,” a place where the Laurel Caverns creek disappears into unseen passages deeper within the mountain. The sump is 45 stories below the visitors’ center. So, the trip out is extremely strenuous, especially for adults who have physical challenges related to knee, heart, back, or shortness of breath issues. No one, with any of these issues, should participate in this program.
At Laurel Caverns, we take learning underground.
Regular Rate: $7
Group Rate: $6
With about 10,000 sq. ft. the Grottoes is the largest simulated cave in the world. It was created for the purpose of studying the birth and growth rate of stalactites. Here, children may see real stalactites while, with the lanterns provided, safely explore a dark cave. They are also invited to play archeologist and find 12 animal paintings put there by “prehistoric cavemen.” This is an ideal cave exploring activity for children between 4 and 9 years of age.
This popular activity is done in a cave-like setting in a room adjacent to the Laurel Caverns Gift Shop. Participants are given a card showing all the gems they might find, a sand-filled bag containing those gems, a bag to hold the gems, and a sifting tray. They then work the tray in a waist-high water trough that simulates those used to pan for gold in he 1800s. The cost per bag varies with size and market conditions, but there is an effort to keep the cost at Laurel Caverns below what is charged elsewhere.
Lookout off the back deck of the Laurel Caverns facility and see a beautiful view high above on Chestnut Ridge.
Support Laurel Caverns Conservancy by taking our
Welcome to Laurel Caverns. It’s our hope that you will participate in our virtual tour with David Cale. By renting this video you are helping the Laurel Caverns Conservancy preserve Laurel Caverns for future generations. We thank you and hope you enjoy this virtual tour.
Home to Pennsylvania’s largest cave.
Laurel Caverns is 8 miles from Hopwood, PA 15445 and 11 miles from Farmington, PA 15437, surrounded by the Forbes State Forest. For purposes of GPS, put in 1065 Skyline Drive, Farmington, Pennsylvania. Please read our directions.
Laurel Caverns is a large natural calcareous sandstone cave located 50 miles south of Pittsburgh. Most of the passage ceilings in its four mile labyrinth are between ten and twenty feet high (many as high as 50 feet) with an average width of over twelve feet. This makes it the largest cave in Pennsylvania. If classified as a sandstone cave, it is the largest sandstone cave in the world. The cave itself is situated beneath a 435 acre privately owned geological preserve. Because this property is at the top of Chestnut Ridge, all of the water that enters the cave is pristine.
The cost of maintaining this preserve is only funded by cave admissions, program admissions, and our gift shop. No local, state or federal tax dollars are used for either the support of this private preservation initiative or for the support of its educational programs. For this reason your patronage is greatly appreciated.
Because of its size, Laurel Caverns is also the largest natural bat hibernaculum in the north-eastern United States. In commitment to its preservation mission, the cave is closed during winter months for the bat’s winter hibernation season. Therefore, visitors will not likely see bats since the cave is open during the spring, summer, and fall months when bats have left the cave.
GPS 1065 Skyline Drive, Farmington, PA 15437
Laurel Caverns is off route 40 east of Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Geographically, it is about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh
Nearby sites are: The Summit Inn, Fort Necessity National Park,
Nemacolin Woodlands, Ohiopyle State Park, Kentuck Knob, and Fallingwater
Rain is never a problem. The cave temperature is a constant 52 degrees.
MAILING ADDRESS:
Laurel Caverns
P. O. Box 62,
Hopwood, PA
15445
Monday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Call For Tour Information
800.515.4150
Local Information for problems or questions
724.438.3003