Endless Caverns


Useful Information

Location: New Market, VA.
I 81 southbound exit 264, Rt 11. I 81 northbound exit 257, Rt 11. 5 km south of New Market.
(38.595120, -78.675460)
Open: 15-MAR to 14-JUN daily 9-17.
15-JUN to Labor Day daily 9-18.
Labor Day to OCT daily 9-17.
NOV to 14-MAR daily 9-16.
Closed Christmas Day.
[2006]
Fee: Adult USD 16, Children (4-12) USD 8.
Groups: yes.
[2006]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:  
Guided tours: D=60 min.
Bibliography: David L. Harrison (1970): The World of American Caves, Reilly & Lee Books, a division of Henry Regnery Company, USA. 152 pp, 8 plates. p38-40.
Address: Endless Caverns, PO Box 859, 1800 Endless Caverns Road, New Market, VA 22844, Tel: +1-540-896-2283, Fax: +1-540-740-3717, e-mail contact
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

01-OCT-1879 discovered by two boys and their dog while rabbit hunting on Ruben Zirkel's mountainside farm.
1911 Edward T Brown and his son Edward M Brown buy the cave and open it up to the public.

Description

The entrance is a small, rounded hallway now called Erda's Cave. Visitors then pass through a long series of corridors and rooms. From the Passage of the Winds they enter a white hall called The Milky Way, and from there they move on through the Mitten Room, a colourful chamber called Sunset Falls, the Grand Canyon, Skyland, Marine Corridor, and the brown frozen waters of Chattahoochee Falls.

Among the thousand of formations found in the cavern, many have taken unusual shapes that resemble familiar objects when viewed with a little imagination. Such names as the Cave Man's Sleigh, the Broken Airplane, the Giant Casket, the Fountain of Youth, and the Cross on the Ceiling give some idea of the wealth of interesting formations found there. One of the most famous features of Endless Caverns is Diamond Lake, a miniature lake of clear water almost completely enclosed by glittering, white crystal formations.


Text by Tony Oldham (2005). With kind permission.