Indiana Caverns

To celebrate the last "official" three-day weekend of the summer, I gathered the family into the Corolla and we headed west to explore Indiana Caverns. Only open to the public since June, this attraction has been generating some buzz due primarily to their somewhat unique offering of an underground boat ride - the deciding factor for me when choosing our destination. We'd been looking forward to this trip for a couple of weeks because, other than briefly exploring an unmapped cave on our neighbor's farm, we hadn't been underground since last visiting Mammoth Cave back in 2009. Ultimately, the experience lived up to expectations!

Indiana Caverns was established as a commercial venture by Gary Roberson and the Indiana Speleological Survey in order to provide a public entrance to the Binkley Cave system, the largest cave system in Indiana. Prior to this venture all of the known access points were located on private property, keeping the wonders of the caverns restricted only to those properly trained and equipped to experience them.

Located just a short drive south of Corydon, Indiana Caverns' newly constructed above-ground facilities can be a bit easy to miss unless you're sure to grab directions before embarking on your trip. Hopefully more prominent signage is in the plans for future visitors. The unassuming structure that houses the gift shop and serves as the origination point of the cave tours also contains a vending machine (great for post-tour refreshments) and well-cared for restrooms.

Tours, which depart approximately every 30 minutes, begin with a short film production that explains the history of Indiana Caverns as well as providing a brief summary of caves in general. Be prepared to encounter a subtle creationist bias to the science that's presented, if that sort of thing bothers you. Although the production doesn't come close to being a Michael Bay extravaganza, it serves as a decent introduction to the cave system and well worth sitting through its short running time.

Entrance to the cave is achieved through an airlock of sorts - one of the many measures implemented by Indiana Caverns to preserve and protect the cave system. In my mind it goes without saying, but after reading some of the reviews on TripAdvisor I learned that many cave visitors didn't expect to have to navigate steps of any sort while touring the caverns. Well, Indiana Caverns has 'em, and many of them involve spiral staircases with see-through metal grates. Be prepared to descend (and ascend) a fair number of steps.

The walking portion of the tour is conducted not on the natural cave floor surface, but on elevated "cat walks". Not only does this help preserve the cave, but it also provides a walking surface that is - fairly - consistently level. The walkway also has handrails to either side, allowing for maximum stability and "user-friendliness". You lose a little of the natural beauty aspect, with these man-made surfaces constantly in view, but it's far less of a distraction than you'd think. Instead, expect your attention to be held by the many calcium formations (stalagmites, stalactites, etc.), the evidence of prehistoric animal habitation (including the nearly complete remains of an Ice Age peccary), and the highlight of the tour - a boat ride on an underground stream.

Visitors are loaded, two-by-two, into a specially designed flat-bottomed boat to be taken to the furthest reaches of the "developed" portion of the cave. While the ride is relatively short, it's an uncommon feature found in only a handful of commercial caverns around the country. This was a first for both Wonderful Wife and The Youngest, and I can assure you that they (and I) thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Compared to other cave destinations, Indian Caverns ranks somewhere in the middle. The formations are interesting but not awe-inspiring and the tour length is relatively short, but this attraction deserves a place on your itinerary.