As the family legend goes, I visited Crystal Cave with my parents as a toddler. My dad carried me, and I reached out and yanked the pony tail of a man on the tour with us. My mother told the story for years, and she was so embarrassed we never went back to Kutztown. My sister wasn't born yet, so she never got to visit the cave. So our visit was 50 years in the making! The caves are impressive. They are also very much affected by 100+ years as a tourist attraction. Don't come looking for pristine nature. A few stalagtites have been "relocated", and the paths and stairs that allow you to visit have certainly altered things. But it's still cool to see, and the old-timey roadside attraction atmosphere is interesting as a snapshot of another time. The restaurant is fast food, but it looked reasonably priced. We grabbed a cheap slice of shoofly pie to take to Mom, who still has never returned due to my toddler shenanigans. There are acres of land to explore, as well as inexpensive mini-golf if you want to make a day of it here. We enjoyed our day trip. read more

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My child and I went to Crystal cave for the first time and had such a great time learning the history and science behind the cave. When you arrive, you park in their large parking spot, enter the gift shop and purchase your tour tickets. After, you'll walk up a big hill to the entrance. Before the tour, you watch a video about the history of the cave. It was very informative. Extremely dated but fun to learn! Our tour guide was great and helpful! We were lucky to be in a small group of only 2 other families. I would definitely bring a jacket because it was very cold for us. read more

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I vaguely remember visiting Crystal Cave as a kid, so my boyfriend and I decided to take a little road trip to experience it again as adults. When you arrive, you'll head into the gift shop to buy tickets for the cave tour. After that, there's a bit of a climb up several flights of stairs to reach the cave entrance. The visit starts with a 13-minute video about the cave's history -- definitely dated and a little boring, but it does share some interesting information. The actual cave tour lasted about 40 minutes and stayed around 50°F inside, so bring a light jacket! We were on the first tour of the day (9:30 AM) with six other people. Our guide, Elle, was fantastic -- very knowledgeable and engaging. I enjoyed when she turned off all the lights to show what total darkness inside the cave looks like. This was a fun "one-and-done" experience. I wouldn't pay $20 per person to do it again, but I'm glad we went. After the tour, the gift shop and gem panning were open, though some of the other attractions were closed for the season (mid-October). I'd definitely recommend stopping by if you're in the area, but I wouldn't make a special trip just for it. read more

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The crystal cave is a fantastic little excursion into distant element beyond center city that is sure to delight city dwellers and put a little [safe] scary-wonder to the little kids. We drove to this little known gem (pun slightly intended) after reading about it on TripAdvisor. Without ruining the whole experience, it's a short, ~30min curated tour (you cannot explore by yourself). We missed out on the introduction video, mostly because our kids refused to sit still, but the tour guide was able to describe and re-explain much of the history behind this cave. The gift shop is quite expansive and reasonably priced, and there's plenty of goodies to get for everyone back home. There's also a little ice-cream/burger place to placate the kids as well. read more

This is a great experience for the whole family! Our tour guide was Autum and she was great and made the tour fun and informative.

If you or your kids have never gone to a cave this one is an ok start. If you've been to, say, Luray Caverns in Va., you'll be disappointed. The tour starts with an 8 (?) minute or so video telling the story of the cave and history of earth formations. After waking the kids, the tour starts. It's pretty cool inside (literally) so bring a jacket. The tour lasts about 40 minutes or so. There are some interesting formations and the tour guide was very nice as well as informed as she pointed out formations looking like animals, Totem Poles etc. The cost for 2 adults & 2 children was $60 ! Of course check out the gift shop and the ice cream stand as well as a spot where you can "pan" for precious stones. Overall a fun day. read more

Crystal Cave - Tours Near Me - Kutztown, Pennsylvania

SO CUTE! I have heard about this for years and finally got a chance to take my boys. There's a large parking lot and the drive there is gorgeous. There's mini golf, panning for gems, shops, an ice cream place and a restaurant. The staff we did encounter was so friendly. Our guide was AWESOME!! The amount of knowledge he had was mind blowing. The cave itself is smaller but so interesting. Highly recommend! read more

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Nice little place to stop on a road trip. Cave temp is in the 50's. Small group tour and some cool references to the shapes and colors. And some "rock" humor mixed in. read more

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I've never been here as a child and always wanted to go. My wife and I looked for a cool date idea, and this checked the box. History was interesting. Guides were awesome. It's an experience that needs to be had. Plan a lunch or dinner around the experience. Maybe hit Hawk Mountain in the same day. read more

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I came here with my Mother, Father, and Brother. The cave was pretty interesting. It was chilly in there. Parts of the cave are wet and damp. I would definitely come here again. The tour guide did her job well explaining the history and what everything was inside the cave!!! read more

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Nice cave. This place has a great tour with a knowledgeable tour guide. You must go on tour and walk through with the group (you cannot just walk around alone). It's a nice small cave. It's worth that admission price. I recommend it if someone is looking for unique things to do. There is an ice cream parlor there and a mini golf course. I enjoyed my day there. read more

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Pretty interesting. The tour guide we had was pretttty cool. She kept it interesting and had a lot of quirky jokes. It's definitely neat to hear about the history of the cave. Cool thing to spend a few hours on. read more

Fun cave tour, for adults and kids. Being a jacket it gets chilly in there! Cute gift shops, ice cream. read more

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What an amazing place. From the store to the museum, cave movie and then the cave. Nature is amazing. Seeing the crystals and how people (unknowingly) destroyed them and how the current owner is working hard to preserve them with cave cleanings to this day multiple times a year. Great tour guide and hearing about how it was found and how people got to it in the 1800's was amazing. A must see. Ps. Even my husband liked it. read more

Crystal Cave - Tours Near Me - Kutztown, Pennsylvania

Not a cave for kids! I think they should do a better job creating a tour that's geared towards children. You hear "crystal" and think you're gonna see something cool. It's literally an adult activity, they have a boring 15 min PowerPoint like movie, you walk the cave and stop every few feet for an hour, leaving the science behind it. Which is great for adults..BUT NO KIDS! Which is likely why they haven't been as successful as they could be. I was born and raised in Blandon, makes sense why I've never gone or heard parents talk about it. We thought it'd be a better option than hawk mountain but absolutely not! A 15 min walk through for kids, doing a scavenger hunt, having animal noises heard in the distance, SOMETHING to make it geared towards kids. Not many adults are gonna go out their way to visit something like this more than once..again, explains why they aren't as successful as they could be. We really enjoyed the property. The kids got to explore. Which is what we thought we'd get to do the entire time. If you're looking for activity type fun, I'd suggest going to their land and not paying for the cave. Oh, also ALL other amenities were closed. No ice cream parlor or mini golf. They have processed ice cream in a display freezer in the gift shop. Guess that's the ice cream option. Again, nothing for kids! Save your money! Also they don't bother telling you it's not safe either! 120 steps of wet slippery rock with nothing but some chicken wire stopping a horrible fall. AGAIN, not for kids! ...I had to leave with my 2.5 year old after 15 mins. It was a death wish waiting to happen! They'll certainly sell you the tickets and not give any disclaimer or child restrictions but it ABSOLUTELY should be at the very least, 4 and up. The most heads up I got when asked is I may have to carry him over rough terrain. Ha! Yeah..RIGHT! Joke was on me! They got my money and knew it wouldn't be possible to take a toddler into that dangerous cave! read more

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The cave was a nice place. It is about 54 degrees. Bring sweatshirt. Had a short video and the tour is about 40 mins. Enjoyed the ice cream and shops. But don't eat the food. It was so bad. Burger, fries and hot dog were absolutely horrible. My kids enjoyed the water with the rocks. read more

Crystal Cave - Tours Near Me - Kutztown, Pennsylvania

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This place is just as great as I remember! The last time I went I was a little girl and from what I remembered it was fantastic. The staff is fantastic and the cave and the history of it is phenomenal. This is definitely a must see. It has a cute little gift shop to visit and a place for kids to "mine" for rocks and gems and stuff. The little restaurant/diner is a little pricey but they all are at these places. My 8 year old daughter LOVED it here. read more

For what it was, it was a great tour. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and funny too. It was definitely a cool (no pun intended as we learned it is ALWAYS 58 degrees in the cave) thing to do! Won't do it again (only need to do it once) but so glad we did it. PS They also have a snack bar on site and ice cream shop plus a sizable gift shop! read more

If you have any breathing issues, DO NOT GO! The 2 flights of uneven concrete steps up a very steep hill to the entrance is enough stress on your lungs to call for a respirator. But if you make it you are then subjected to a fifteen minute video about the cave's history. Absolutely awful production by non-pros who have no understanding of video communications. Then our "guide", a young blonde girl, took us on a tour of the cave. We were in a string of about 25 people, and if you were not up front next to the guide you would not be able to hear nor understand anything she said. She is of an age where they rattle off their words very fast in a mumbly street-level so that it is almost impossible to understand what she is saying. Much time spent comparing various formations to animals and plants in an attempt to --I don't know--give the environment an identifiable familiarity. Obvious, this "guide" had no understabding of how to speak publicly to a large group. If you were anywhere beyond 6 feet of her-- fuggedaboutit! The impression she gave was that she had done this sooooo many times that she was bored by the same speech....so she jabbered through it without making any attempt to truly communicate with the string of visitors, most of whom were old enough to be her parents or grand parents. The lighting along the footpaths and stairways was almost nonexistent, so there was dizzying hesitation amongst most of us as we followed her through the tour, afraid we might slip, trip, or fall. The illuminative efforts had been devoted instead to highlighting the stalags. Overall impression was that she-- and management-- just wanted to get us through the tour and hustle us into the gift shop to scan the overpriced tchotchkes, stones and pebbles, none of which had come from Crystal Cave, but were instead generated by some "cave stone/gem factory". There are many other caves in the state. Strongly suggest you take a pass on this one. read more

Really wanted this to be a lot better. But charging $19 for adults was strike 1 - there just isn't much to see inside folks!Jamming about 50 people on our tour was strike 2 (could not hear the guide at all during the entire tour). And strike 3 was our tour guide who was only 14 years old and practicing. Didn't know any of the science behind the caves and had nothing but bad jokes to tell. The movie they show to start the tour has to be 30 years old. Strike 4?? Lol Honestly, at this price, CC is only worth a visit if you're desperate for something to do. read more

I have loved it here since I was a child. Wonderful memories of coming here with family years ago. My friend and I decided to visit yesterday. We called at 9am when they open, as you can't order tickets online, to confirm they were open and get a feel for availability when we'd arrive, as they do t take any type of reservations either. Made the 1hr 45 minute drive from Philadelphia and the second I saw that white building with the "Welcome to Crystal Cave" painted on it, I knew it would be a great day! They have a large gift shop along with some other little things to do. It's not fancy. There are no bells and whistles and you know what, that's perfect! You view a shirt video before your tour in the cave begins. Our tour guide was funny and cracking silly jokes during our tour. We were told all kinds of cool information about the history of the cave and early tourists. Everyone should visit at least once! read more

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Sometimes you just should be a tourist in your own backyard and what better way to accomplish that then by visiting something random like a show cave. PA unlike a lot of areas is blessed with a lot of caves mostly due to the large amount of limestone in the area. Between caves and coal mines within a two hour radius you can choose six or seven different ways to get underground. While I would be lying if I said that Crystal Cave is the best, it was the first show cave in PA and predates most of the mines in the area as well. What it lacks in "Wow Factor" (Luray this place is not) it makes up for with a nice solid well-rounded experience. The basic format as others have mentioned is that you start by buying your tickets in the historic hotel building then you either walk up the heart attack inducing steps and incline or you go around the long way without the steps but still has most of the crazy incline. From there you wait outside until you are met by your guide who eventually takes your ticket then leads you into a concrete bunker of a room where you sit for the movie that offers some history as to how caves/Crystal Cave formed and the history of the site. I'm going to stop for a brief tangent (not like anyone's reading this far anyway). Yes, the movie is an adventure in low fidelity and probably should either be redone or discarded but I will say at least to me it's better to get some understanding of what you're seeing versus being an intellectual lazy slob who only sees fit to critique the quality what is being shown versus the actual content. I'm going to stop for one more brief tangent. If there is one review for this listing you should not take seriously it would be the one from Tina C. I've done this tour in some form or other probably seven or eight times and it would be fair to say that most of what she wrote is axe grinding exaggeration at best. After the movie it's into the cave for around 40 minutes depending on questions, how fast the guide is talking and how much the guide is explaining about things. During our most recent tour in June we had a greenhorn who was doing his first solo tour (with another more experienced guide along for the ride in case of any issues) and he was great. Nice loud voice, excellent diction, good sense of humor and he answered all questions like he had been doing it forever. This place isn't Luray with organs thumping on the rocks or with giant ceilings and huge rooms but especially with a solid coupon it's nice experience that is informative, interesting and does not take a huge investment of time. It's obvious why people are still coming for tours after 130+ years. If you go: Crystal Cave is open daily from March 1st through November 30th. Hours during the week are for the most part 9-5 with closing times of 6 or 7 on weekends in season. Know that 9-5 means that the historic hotel which doubles as their gift shop is open from 9-5. Other things like the museum, the gemstone panning, the seasonal mini golf and any food do not open right away at 9. Tours of the cave are done on a schedule so if you think that the first tour starts at 9 you're going to wait just like if you think the last tour starts at 5 you're going to be SOL. It would be helpful if they listed things like tour start times on their website, but you know. Tour cost is up to $14.50 per adult, $10.50 per child 4-11 and three and under is free. There are BOGO coupons out there for buy one adult get a child free and for lesser amounts like dollar or two dollar off type of discounts. Find them before you come. Don't be the sap that pays full price. www.crystalcavepa.com/EducationalUnderground.html www.crystalcavepa.com/history.html read more

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It's okay, but it's a little pricey for a tour that only lasted around 40 minutes, 8 of which are you watching an annoying intro video. If you're in the area it's worth checking out, if you have to drive a bit it might not be worth the trip. There is a restaurant called Ozgood's 8 minutes away that has good food. read more

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My girlfriend and I decided to visit here on a whim. We were not disappointed. Spectacular stalactite and stalagmite formations in an easy to walk cave system. Cave exploring the way I've always imagined it. The formations here are just beautiful. It's a constant cool and comfortable temperature in here like in all caverns. There are breathtaking natural crystal formations everywhere you look. The tour is very interesting and takes about an hour. Listen to what the tour guide tells you, it's interesting the facts about the formations and the history of how the caves were discovered and the incredible difficulty and danger the first explorers faced. Besides the cave, they also have a bunch of other stuff to do here. They have gemstone mining, they have mini golf, a nature trail, and also a restaurant and ice cream parlor. The cave tours cost $16 a person and the mini gold was $4.50 a person so not a bad price. Also the cave is not handicap accessible, there are a decent number of stairs that have to be walked inside of the cave. Just a tip about clothing - It is 54 degrees in the caves so we both brought another layer. Both of us wore shorts. We were both comfortable. Honestly it felt more like 65 than 54 with no winds. Wear a light jacket if you get chilly but otherwise dress for the season. Our tour guide was wearing a t-shirt, shorts,and windbreaker. It's more damp than anything. Ceiling drips occasionally and some puddles (nothing that would soak your shoes.) Overall not a bad way to spend a few hours during the summer when looking for a cool out door activity to do, or something non snow related to do in the winter. read more

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This hidden gem lies in a beautiful setting. The tour through the cave was worth the cost although the cave appears to have had a bit more man-maid revisions than expected. It was pretty. The guide was entertaining. None of the restaurants or cafes were open but the rock shop was doing a bit of business. read more

Crystal Cave - Tours Near Me - Kutztown, Pennsylvania

This is a neat place to see some of the wonders that this earth has to offer us. We enjoyed the tour. Our guide was friendly, albeit a bit over the top with all of the corny jokes. Had our attention though! Taking a star off for a couple of reasons. The railing going up the big hill to the tour is made of cheap PVC piping. It wobbles terribly. It should be regular pipe as there is throughout the tour. If you stumble, do not count on that railing to keep you from falling down the hill. The museum was closed, as was the little restaurant, which was a bummer. Overall, I would recommend Crystal Cave if you're in the area. read more

After seeing the ads for this incessantly throughout my childhood, I finally made the trip. It wasn't a bad experience, but ultimately I don't think it was worth the drive. There are stairs throughout the cave, so if you have an issue with that, please bear that in mind. The tour guides were decent and there is a tip box on the way out if you liked your tour. All-in-all the tour lasted about 45 minutes not including the video that's shown at the beginning of every tour. Again, it was something interesting and different to do, but keep in mind it's a cave with rocks in "unusual formations". Once you've seen it, you've seen it. They also have a gift shop (natch), an ice cream shop, a nature trail, and a mini golf course. You can make a day trip out of it if you've got kids, but it was a bit pricey ($17/adult) for what it was. Not bad overall, but I definitely won't be going back. read more

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My mom and I took a spontaneous trip to Crystal Cave earlier today and had a great time. It starts with an informative video about the history of the cave, followed by a guided tour. Our tour guide was funny and knowledgable. We saw evidence that the cave was underwater hundreds of thousands of years ago, "rooms" created by earthquakes, and damage done by early tourists burning whale oil to see in the dark. It was very neat, and humbling to see formations created over millions of years. A few notes: -This is not handicap-accessible. -There are a ton of stairs, and to get to the cave entrance you have to climb up a very steep hill. -Wear sturdy shoes because the cave is wet and slippery. -It is 54* year-round so bring a jacket. -There is a smashed penny machine. I love collecting these, so I feel the need to inform others in case they do as well. read more

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It is a good basic cave tour for the region. Given the distance from the higher altitudes and type of rock in the region, it is not the same calibre of cavern tour (minerals, rocks, formations) as one would find elsewhere, say VA. It is a nice activity with kids. We have taken our own family and a number or other elementary age kids on the tour. They have always enjoyed it. the gem panning adds an additional fun feature. The introductory video prior to the tour is a nice idea, but the video needs updated in its content and presentation. read more

So, me and my family and some friends were really excited about this cave. We visited the gift shop, which is probably the only good thing about this place. The crystals and stones are at affordable prices so no complaints there. However, when we arrived at just the entrance, our tour guide was complaining about a tip he had received which was already a red flag. Next, the first thing we did was watch a 15 minute video that was absolutely awful. Our tour guides name was Noah, and all he did was make rock jokes and apologize for things that could've been taken offensively. It got to the point where we literally left the cave because he was ruining the entire tour. read more

Went here almost two weeks ago. Everyone wore a mask. We did the trail to kill time before going in the cave. I would say whichever person in your party gets there first make sure they go in and sign up. Due to Covid only a certain amount of people can go in at once we had a group of 8 with us and had to wait about an hour. There's other activities to do while you wait. read more

AWESOME!!! Had a great time!!! Would recommend to anyone who is looking to spend a day trip somewhere! Tour guide was awesome! read more

Crystal Cave - Tours Near Me - Kutztown, Pennsylvania

Fun day trip, fun tour - learned a lot about the caves history. The gift shop was fun but the mini golf course could definitely use some updating. read more

I recently went here for the first time after hearing about it for many many years. It's definitely a cool place and worth a stop. We went because we thought it would be nice to go to on a rainy day. I only went to the cave and the gift shop but there is also a mini golf course and an ice cream shop and a nature trail. The caves were really cool and the guide we had was a young girl who was very informed, a little too scripted, but none the less she knew her stuff and was able to answer questions as well. The gift shop had a lot of interesting goodies and I picked up a few trinkets to take back! I also utilized the picnic area which was very clean! They obviously maintain it well. This is a great place for kids and adults alike especially if you like day trips and exploring your own backyard! read more

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My husband and I visited today and had an incredible time. Riley, our tour guide, was phenomenal. Great experience. Reasonable prices.

A calcite and aragonite cave located near Kutztown in Berks County, the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Discovered in 1871 by a limestone extraction operation, the cave measures 500 feet from entrance to end and descends as far as 155 feet underground. While you're waiting for the hour long tour to start, the site offers a variety of attractions to explore: an 18-hole mini-golf course, ice cream parlor, gemstone panning, and the historic inn and gift shop. There is also a well kept green space with easy trails. The tour itself is an easy walk, paved and with stairs for elevation changes. The whole place is hilariously gimmicky and tours are run by guides who are almost certainly students at Kutztown University. The geology and historical knowledge they imbue is surprisingly detailed, highly educational, and polished with just the right amount of deadpan humor. A little on the pricey side, it is still a great way to occupy several hours of your day. Bring a light jacket, the subterranean area stays ~50º F year around. read more

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A very "special" thanks to my GPS for taking me on a crazy wacky narrow route off of US-222 with numerous sharp turns and hills just so we could get here. This didn't feel right! Because when we went home, the GPS took us on a different route back to US-222, and it was a lot smoother. At least it was really worth the effort to come here. Why you may ask? Read on, my friend. The cave and gift shop complex was located in the middle of nowhere. We were able to find a parking spot that was right off of a main road. We had to buy our tickets at the gift shop and then proceed to the cave entrance at a certain time for the guided tour. As we waited, we looked at the rocks, clothing, and other pricey souvenirs that were existent at the gift shop. When our tour time got closer, we proceeded to the cave entrance. When we got to the cave entrance, we were greeted by a tour guide (a friendly college girl) and then proceeded to a room to watch a short movie about the history of the caves and the overnight inn that was operational long ago. Apparently the gift shop used to be the operational overnight inn, which was cool. Anyone who enjoys learning history may enjoy this movie. After that, we were led into the cave. There were some similarities with the Indian Echo cave that I went to the day before. Her explanations about rock formations and water dropping from above were no different than the ones at Indian Echo. She also said that if a water drop lands on your head, it could be a sign of good luck. She also turned off all of the lights so everyone could see how dark it was in the cave. We also had to duck under some rocks above in order to reach some other parts of a tunnel. Lastly, the cave was 54 degrees, which felt really cool and served as a retreat from the hot weather. Of course there were some interesting differences here, too. We learned that bats flew around here at night, hence the explanation for "open-air" vents at the cave entrance. Our tour guide showed us the hole where the bats slept, which was known as "Devil's Drop". She told us the hole was extremely deep, and we couldn't see the bats since they were sleeping on one other side of the hole behind a rocky wall. She also showed us the spot where tourists partied and wedded back in the day underground, which was cool. She also showed us a fault line in the cave (no, an earthquake didn't occur when we were here) too. She even showed us the only underground lake in the cave, and it was tiny! Lastly, no water drops fell in my eye as I was generating a picture set for this cave. :P Tourists had to go up a hill in order to get to the cave, but it wasn't as steep as the one at Indian Echo. The price was lower than Indian Echo's one, and it was reasonable based on the size of the cave. The restroom facilities were just okay. Overall this was an excellent cave and I HIGHLY recommend this attraction to anyone who's interested in sightseeing caves for the first time. Enjoy! read more

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BEWARE!! After driving and hour and a half, getting there 2 hours before they close, they were sold out of tickets. When asked if we can get on the list for tomorrow, they said they don't have a list. They apparently had been sold out since 1:00 (they close at 5). It's a crapshoot if you'll even get a tour, lots of people got turned away. Good thing we came from Denver... bust. read more

Crystal Cave Park is billed as more than the cave, with an ice cream parlor and a putt-putt course, but seriously, you know you're just there for the cave tour. I'm not claustrophobic, but I found Crystal Cave's cave to be freaky, in an enjoyable way. I find being inside a slightly damp cave with scary pits nearby (don't worry, there are railings) and no cell phone reception (shouldn't be making calls anyway) somewhat intimidating. But hey, when the tour guide turned off the lights in the cave for a moment (they warned us), the pitch blackness was profound. Did I learn anything useful? All I remember is learning the difference between stalagmites and stalactites. Oh, and to never wander into a cave by myself. Bring friends to Crystal Cave Park today, and hear your own echo in the nostrils of the Earth. (Be sure to call ahead to ensure they're open, as they're seasonal!) read more

Every few years my family and I return to Crystal Caves to admire the beauty of hidden nature. For about $10 a person, you get an hour tour through the hidden wonder that is Crystal Caves. It's always 54 degrees in the caves, so on days like today it was a welcome respite from the ninety degree weather outside. The passageways are large and there is always a surprising amount of moving air, so claustrophobia shouldn't be an issue. Tours stick to about 20 people so it's not too crowded, even on a Saturday. Lots of kitschy goodness at the trading posts and gift shops. read more

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