Howe Caverns

About 40 miles west of Albany, New York, near Cobleskill, NY is Howe Caverns.  As we cruised west along Interstate 88, we saw the building and in-ground sign looming on a hillside.  While the caverns have been around for close to 6 million years, it wasn't until the mid 1800s when Lester Howe discovered it and started offering tours.

The story goes that on hot days Howe would notice that rather than seeking the comfort of a shade tree, his cows would stand next to some bushes in the middle of the pasture on his neighbors land.  When he went to investigate, he felt the cooler draft coming from the bushes and discovered the cave entrance.  Howe bought the land from his neighbor for $100 and soon started offering tours.

It is interesting that as you drive to the caverns there is evidence of the once popularity of this roadside attraction.  At the foot of the road leading up to the cavern building was dilapidated old gift shops and old motels that probably thrived prior to the construction of the Interstate Highway system when Americans hit the road in their family cars for their week-long vacations.

When we got to the cavern parking lot, we were unpleasantly surprised that they charged a parking fee of $2.00 as you pulled into the lot.  Frankly we found this a bit cheesy since the cost to get into the caverns was $63.00 for my family.  We thought they would be better off having free parking and charging everyone an extra dollar for admission.  Then it wouldn't seem like nickel and diming.

We arrived early and ate a picnic lunch at the picnic tables in a shaded area next to the parking lot.  Although there is a cafeteria there if you prefer to purchase a meal.  From the picnic area we could watch the people enjoying the zip lines.  One of the other attractions at the caverns.

Lester Howe talking about the caverns.

Once inside, it was a bit confusing, as there was a big line of people waiting for the next tour, but it looked like it was the line waiting to buy tickets.  Finally we figured out that the ticket windows were open and we didn't need to wait in the line after all.

The tour started with an animated Lester Howe telling the story of the caverns before descending 156-feet underground to the cave floor. 

On a hot summer day, the caverns are a good place to visit given that the temperature stays at a consistent 52 degrees, although we were glad we heeded the web site instructions and brought fleece jackets for the 90-minute tour.

The caverns were only accessible by guided tour.  Our tour guide moved us along, stopping occasionally to share interesting facts and stories about the caverns.  As  a 51 year old guy whose hearing is starting to go - in a cavern that echoed, and with a group of people talking - it was sometimes difficult for me to hear what the tour guide was saying, but we still enjoyed the tour.  It made me realize that I might be able "to benefit from amplification" as my audiologist suggested.  In other words, he thinks I need hearing aids - but I digress.

Steve and Ashton overlooking the stream the carved away the caverns over millions of years.

When planning our trip to Howe Caverns, we were intrigued that they said part of the tour was a boat ride.  For perhaps the last 100 or 200 feet we were stacked into aluminum boats and guided to the end of the accessible part of the cavern where you could hear the water echoing its way into the darkness of the caverns ahead.

Boat tour into the depths of Howe Caverns

After the boat tour, we backtracked through the cavern to the elevators.  As we waited for the elevators to return to the earth's surface, we noticed a plaque on the wall mentioning something about Cave-Aged Cheese.  Apparently Howe Caverns lets Fly Creek Cider Mill and Orchard in Fly Creek, NY age their New York Cheddar Cheese in the caverns.  Given that our family thrives on cheddar cheese, I regret that we didn't buy any to bring home just for the novelty of it.

Cave-aged New York cheddar

Bethany and Ashton in the caverns.

One of the tunnels in the caverns

 Back on the surface, you could browse the gift shop or take advantage of one of the other attractions, but we opted to head out as we continued our summer vacation in upstate New York.  Next stop, Genesee County Village Museum.  Stay tuned for that posting.