Luray Caverns was close to where we camped on our first few days at Shenandoah National Park, so we decided to visit it after our first day of hiking. We are so glad we did – these were the most amazing caves we have ever seen! They were bigger and had way more features than we were expecting. The formations were incredible in both scale and beauty – and there were so many different types! Even though photos can’t do it justice, we couldn’t put our phones down and must have taken hundreds of shots.
“Dream Lake” was one of the first amazing sights we saw. The water of the underground lake perfectly mirrored all the stalactites above it. Because the water was so still and clear, it created an illusion that there was no water and that the formations just looked like this. You had to really concentrate to realize you were seeing a reflection.
We went through room after room with amazing natural sculptures. They were not only beautiful, they were huge. You can see Sophie in one of the images below next to a column that was 47 feet tall! Some of the formations looked like redwood trees, some like giant ribbons of bacon, some like veils, and some like totem poles.
As we were approaching one of the last caverns on our tour, we heard haunting chimes playing a song. This turned out to be a “stalacpipe” organ that was installed here in 1954. It is connected to 37 stalactites across 3.5 acres throughout the caverns. Little electric mallets hit the different stalactites when the organ key is pressed to create haunting gentle chime sounds that echo through the caverns. So interesting!
If you ever find yourself near the Luray caverns, it is definitely worth a visit!
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