Laurel Caverns will open on Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22, 2025 for the 2025 season, and will be open every day, even holidays, through Monday, September 1, 2025.

Laurel Caverns has no online reservations for tours.
724-438-3003 or 724-437-7527

The Tour and Crawl Program

$25 per participant – age 9 & up
No reservations needed. – Available every day. Memorial Day through Labor Day
11:00 am – 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

This Ninety-minute tour and crawl program is designed for groups and the general public, ages 9 and up, who want to both tour the cave and have a “taste” of caving without the dangers that come from climbing over large rocks, or walking through streams.

Participants see all of the lighted cave and, along the way, do the “maze crawl,” enter the large unlit room called: “the Stomach,” and walk/crawl through the unlit, sandy-floored passages of Cale’s Canyon.  Participants must have the physical ability to hike fifteen stories deeper into the mountain on its lit passages. Participants must wear firmly-fitting shoes with a good tread, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt or old sweater suitable for a cave temperature of 52oF. Laurel Caverns will supply the lights and the hard hat. Reservations are not needed, but schools, scouts, and summer camps, bringing groups of fifteen or more should call: 724-438-3003 for group rates.

$25 per person

9 years is the minimum age requirement

The Tour and Crawl Orientation

The Introduction to Caving Program

$40 per participant – age 12 & up
No reservations needed. – Available every day. Memorial Day through Labor Day
10:00 am & 2:00 pm – Please arrive 30 minutes early for registration.

Introduction to Caving Program

This two-hour introduction to caving program (longer depending on group size) involves a walk-through the two larger passages in the lit parts of Laurel Caverns, and a trip through a steep rocky passage down into the two largest rooms in the unlit portions of Laurel Caverns. Two extensive side-passages, one involving some crawling, are also explored. 

Participants must wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and secure shoes, that lace above the ankles, with good tread. Hiking boots that have a quarter-inch tread and lace above the ankles are highly recommended. Laurel Caverns provides a hard hat with light, but participants are encouraged to bring hand-held lights as well as well as a change of clothing. An introductory class on cave safety and rescue is a key feature.

A release form must be signed by all participants and lawfully co-signed for minors, then presented at the time one’s program begins. Minors must be accompanied by a supervising adult. Additional rules, not covered here, are found in the release form. Reservations are not needed, but schools, scouts, and summer camps, bringing groups of fifteen or more should call: 724-438-3003 for group rates.

$40 per person

12 years is the minimum age requirement

The Deep Depths Caving Program

$60 per participant – age 14 & up
No reservations needed. – Available every day Memorial Day through Labor Day
10:00 am – Please arrive 30 minutes early for registration.

Laurel Caverns Adventure Caving Detail

This four-hour deep depths program is done in Three Parts.

Part One

The morning phase consists of everything offered in the Introduction to Caving Program. This has the advantage that groups, needing to divide due to age differences, can be together for everything through lunch. The second advantage is that participants have the opportunity to measure their ability for exploring a large and challenging cave, like Laurel Caverns, and opt-out of going down into the deep depths passages that will require a forty-five story climb back up the inside of the mountain. The price difference between the Deep-Depths program and the Introduction to Caving program will be refunded to those who choose not to do Phase Three.

Part Two

Part Two consists of a return to the Visitors’ Center for a lunch break. Participants need to bring their own lunches since Laurel Caverns does not have food service.

Part Three

Part Three, takes participants over the shortest route to the Ball Room where they enter the large passage that completes their forty-five-story descent into the more dangerous depths of Laurel Caverns, one of the steepest and deepest caves in the United States. Removing an injured person from those depths can take up to six hours and require as many as thirty EMS and Fire Department personal. Further, while twisted or broken ankles are, historically, the primary cause for injury in the very challenging terrain of those lowest depths, recent years have seen an increase in the rescue of adults who, overwhelmed by the unexpected physical challenges that attend deep-cave bouldering, believed they were having a heart attack. All individuals having a recent bone injury, recent medical operation, or history of back problems, knee problems, hip problems, or heart problems, should not to participate in the Deep Depths Program.

Participants must have reached their 14th birthday and wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and hiking boots that have a quarter-inch tread and lace above the ankles. Anyone arriving without meeting these requirements will not be admitted. Laurel Caverns provides a hard hat with light, but participants are encouraged to bring hand-held lights as well as a change of clothing. A release form must be signed by all participants and lawfully co-signed for minors, then presented at the time one’s program begins. Minors must be accompanied by a supervising adult. Additional rules, not covered here, are found in the release form. Reservations are not needed, but schools, scouts, and summer camps, bringing groups of fifteen or more should call: 724-438-3003 for group rates.

$60 per person

14 years is the minimum age requirement

Laurel Caverns Caving Map

(Click to expand map made by Ryan Maurer Cartologist)

Map of Laurel Caverns

ADDITIONAL LAUREL CAVERNS ATTRACTIONS

At Laurel Caverns, we take learning underground.

Family Lookout Terrace

Laurel Caverns Family Lookout

Lookout off the back deck of the Laurel Caverns facility and see a beautiful view high above on Chestnut Ridge.

Panning for Gemstones

Panning for Gemstones

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.

Laurel Caverns is an incredible place and your patronage is greatly appreciated.

We have a dedicated staff

From management to guides and everyone in between Laurel Caverns staff are local professionals.

Certified Experience

Our caving staff are seasoned professionals with first aid and current CPR certifications.

Our Tours are reasonably priced

Laurel Caverns receives no public funding.  Yet, its ticket prices are at or below those of other caves.  By visiting Laurel Caverns you are helping the Laurel Caverns Conservancy preserve the largest natural bat hibernaculum in the northeast United States, and the 435 acres above its four miles of passages, for future generations. 

Located in Fayette County PA

Laurel Caverns is 8 miles from Hopwood, PA 15445 and 11 miles from Farmington, PA 15437, surrounded by the Forbes State Forest.

Souvenir Shop

Reasonably priced items are available so that every child can afford a souvenir. Also available, if shopping time is a problem for school groups, are pre-set souvenir packages of a variety of items.

Group Arrangements

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, book a group tour, or make other special arrangements.

Get a Laurel Caverns Gift Certificate

Home to Pennsylvania’s largest cave.

Laurel Caverns

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.

Local Accommodations, Campgrounds & Interests

 
Benner's Meadow Run Camping and Cabins
DCNR Logo
Heritage Reservation
Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park
Falling Water Logo
Kentuck Knob Logo
Poylmath Park Tree Tops Restaurant
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
Greater Allegheny Passage
Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau Logo

Directions & Phone Information

GPS Location

Physical Address

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.

Google Map

Mailing Address

Physical Mail this address please

MAILING ADDRESS:

Laurel Caverns

P. O. Box 62,

Hopwood, PA

15445

Hours of Operation

April 22, 2025 The following days and times we are open.

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

724-438-3003