The Hidden Caves: Underground Adventures – Find out why a visit to Secret Caverns New York should be on your radar. Check out this incredible show cave with its 100 ft of underground water!
We love visiting New York City. Growing up, my family made the 8-hour drive from outside of Toronto to New York City several times throughout the year to visit family. With each visit, we would explore a different park, museum or neighborhood.
The Hidden Caves: Underground Adventures
New York City has so much to offer, I don’t think it would be possible to see everything even in one visit of a lifetime. I have passed this love of New York on to my children. Lovers of course spend Christmas in New York City. They even love to rave about which restaurants to go to when they’re in New York City. But on a recent road trip, we discovered Secret Caverns New York and realized there was more to discover!
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The Secret Caverns is one of a series of incredible caves in New York waiting to be explored. But this often overlooked secret cave in the town of Howe’s Cave’s, New York is one not to be missed. It’s often overshadowed by its more famous cousin, Howe Cavern, but Secret Cavern is an experience all its own.
Our long weekend trip to Watkins Glen State Park really opened our eyes to the amazing nature that can be found in New York. So, we’re on a mission to discover places that are just a few hours’ drive from Toronto, Canada.
As we researched more waterfalls in the area to visit, we discovered a secret! Nestled deep in the cave, there was a waterfall, hidden from view, but open to the public to visit. As we love visiting caves with kids, we took a 5.5 hour drive from Toronto to Howes Cave, New York.
The 100 ft waterfall is located inside the Secret Caverns in Howes Cave, New York. It is the ultimate attraction in this New York cave. But I’m moving forward! So, let me start at the beginning. The drive from Toronto to Howes Cave was mostly multi-lane.
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We chose to take the interstate highway, I-90, which is New York’s toll freeway, to speed up the drive. At less than $10 in tolls we felt it was worth the time it saved us. The last 30 or so kilometers were on country roads. The children enjoyed seeing all the farm animals roaming around.
As we approached Cobleskill, the town where the Secret Caverns are located, we began to see the infamous billboards promoting the Secret Caverns. We read about the history of the signs on the Secret Caverns website. Each sign is unique and artistically decorated by hand by the guides.
At the time of our visit, Secret Caverns was open from 11 am – 3 pm. Advance booking was not necessary. Tours were conducted every half hour; often the busier it gets. They are open all year round and close only when bad weather causes flooding in the cave.
All underground journeys are less than 1km (0.5 miles) and take approximately one hour. The tour starts at the lodge where you buy tickets. According to the story, the caves were discovered when cattle accidentally fell into the cave in 1928.
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The “first” entrance is now closed. Instead, we went down 103 steps to the concrete floor. I immediately felt the difference in temperature. It was a hot day outside at 29ºC.
But the inside of the cave was 10°C, as usual. As we went down it became easy to see the different layers of exposed limestone. The pointer pointed to fossils again when our group reached the bottom.
We checked the length of the cave in one file. There were 10 people in our group (including us). I was told that tour groups are usually kept to less than 20 people.
This is good as the cave was much narrower than I expected. There were also places with suspended ceilings. New York’s secret caves are certainly not claustrophobic.
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As we got closer to the waterfall, I was surprised that the sound of the falling water was less noticeable. Without the telltale signs of fog, I wouldn’t have known that a 30 m (100 ft) waterfall was just around the corner.
The tour is not a loop so after getting our fill of the waterfall, we headed back the way we came in.
The secret caves were definitely worth the drive from Toronto to Howes Cave, New York. It is a family friendly tour and our guide went out of his way to make the tour more enjoyable for C and D.
But our tour of New York’s art galleries isn’t over yet. Just 4 kilometers (2 mi) from Secret Caverns was another cave system, Howe Caverns. And although it didn’t have an underground waterfall, the cave is partially explored by boat! What is your favorite show cave?
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See for yourself: your children. My children. race to see which set enters the caves first. Just a thought…
Really, really cool place. It’s rare to tour a cave with more than a steady trickle of waterfalls, so I’m very interested. Have you done Lewis and Clark Caverns in Montana? It’s something we love. Ooooh, summer 2018….
Growing up in Central New York I have visited Howe Caverns many times. Last month I had family visiting me from down under, they wanted to go to Howe Caverns. We enjoyed our tour but will admit that HC is very commercial and convoluted, basically scripted and impersonal. On the way home we came across the Secret Caverns. The way I had never heard it before was amazing. We decided to take a detour and it was so much fun there. We LOVE secret caves! It was very fun and interactive. We had a group of 9 children ranging from 6yrs to 15 yrs. Everyone had a great time and loved it even more than our previous visit to HC. As my daughter says “you have to go to Howe Caverns first to appreciate the Secret Caverns”. It was a definite success and I told everyone about it… I understand it’s no longer a secret!
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That’s a great summary of the two. Howe Caverns is certainly impressive and expansive, but the personality of Secret Caverns makes it seem like a fun and engaging place!
We just went to both Secret Caverns and Howe’s Caverns during Spring Break. I had no idea that any of these things existed until about 6 months ago. Both are a Wonderful Sight to See. Our Favorite Places in Howe’s Caverns were the boat ride and the Bride’s Altar. Howe’s Caverns is very popular and easily accessible. A hoodie and sneakers or hiking boots will be your best bet. The secret caves have a long set of slippery stairs to get in and out. I would not recommend bringing small children Especially those who need to be carried. Our trip to Caverns and Cobleskill wasn’t complete without the Mining Company, Stewart’s Shops for their unique ice cream flavors, and Justine’s. If you like Italian food be sure to bring your appetite!
Those are good tips. I totally agree that the stairs in the Secret Caverns are a bit awkward and I ended up carrying our 3 year old, even though he mostly held the group 🙂 great stop!
WHAT?! I HAD NO IDEA these secret caves existed! They’re on our way for our summer road trip, so we’ll have to check them out in person!
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Well, it looks like a lot of fun! We recently explored some caves in Missouri and I posted a picture of my daughter with the caption, “Kids love caves!” Isn’t that right??
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