Showed up early as instructed to a mad house of people waiting for a tour. Employees were kind and courteous throughout the entire ordeal. Our tour guide Ethan was the best! First time for my littles and they could not stop talking about the incredible time the had. read more

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Super cool, it's worth the trip and the entrance fee. It's awesome thinking of how it must have been when first discovered. read more

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An easy one hour drive from Albany that's worth the visit. We went on a weekday and arrived for the 11am tour. The parking lot had a lot of available spots. It was almost fully booked. Purchase your tickets online there or beforehand for the 90 min tour. I suggest going on a tour with less people. Our group was a bit loud. The tour includes stairs, wet floors, and you'll need good knees for getting in and out of the boat. Bring a jacket along and watch your heads. This was a really good tour and we really enjoyed the gondola boat ride on the small river inside the cave and the tight walkways of the Winding Way at the end. There's a nice cafe, gift shop, and sweet shop inside the lodge. We grabbed a quick coffee and breakfast sandwich before our tour. The girl who works there was super nice. read more

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I would do this again. It was just a lovely place to be, the cave was beautiful. I love the whole set up of the estate and the main lodge was beautiful. The staff there was kind and the cider donuts is a must! We forgot to buy more after our tour. The only reason why I gave it 4 stars was because of our tour guide, she sounded like she didn't want to be there, not as friendly. I wasn't sure if we could stop and take pictures or we just had to keep following her. My fiancé and I did enjoy and made the most of it though. We met another nice couple. read more

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I've always wanted to visit this place and it did not disappoint. My gosh what an awesome experience! The caves are massive and beautiful and the lighting and walkways are excellent as well. It is most definitely not ADA accessible so be aware and there are many stairs throughout the cave. The formations are amazing and the tour guides are fantastic too. Ours was Cassie and she was very friendly and open to answering any questions during the tour. There is even a boat ride at the turn around point in a cave! So interesting! So glad we visited it was super fun and an amazing experience! read more

Howe Caverns - Tours Near Me - Howes Cave, New York

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My husband and I went with our baby, and two toddlers. It was a great experience for everyone. Safe, bright enough without losing the effect of being in the cave, and we all really enjoyed the boat ride. It was warm enough down there. You can get away with a heavy sweater, think the temp mid to late fall upstate. We were allowed to bring down a blanket for the baby. The only frustrating bit was waiting for other tours to pass by (happened maybe 3times) but only because we had littles who did not want to stand around and wanted to keep exploring the next amazing part! The tour guide was super friendly and understanding of the littles, she even held my son's hand to walk with him. The staff was extremely friendly and kind and we got a warm cozy blanket and headlamps for the kids before leaving. read more

I went with my family and it was good because the staff was nice and fun. None of us died. read more

Howe Caverns - Cucumber - Tours Near Me - Howes Cave, New York

Although it's been years since I was there, it is an experience worth having. Wear winter attire for sure bc it's freezing in the caves and from a person who doesn't like the cold--in my opinion, it's well worth it. read more

I took four of my grandchildren ages six through 14 to Howe caverns for their first time. They love seeing the different rock formations. The river Styx boat ride was fun and educational. The boatman and the guides were very well informed about the geology of the area and eager to answer questions. Lovely gift shop, chocolate shop and cafe also read more

Where to begin? Let's start with if you haven't been here you need to add it to your bucket list. BUT you need to be old enough to appreciate it. Prior to planning this stop on my sister's weekend of fun, our mom had told us she had brought us here on a family trip many years ago when we were kids. Neither myself or my sister had ANY recollection, which makes NO sense because it is completely memorable and simply amazing! Anyway, we stopped here at Howe Caverns on our way up to our mineral mining dig for Herkimer diamonds. So you can see this was part of our Rock theme. From beginning to end it was fun and enjoyable. You can choose and schedule your tour by checking their website (www.howecaverns.com). You can also get lots of other information that you can use to optimize your visit or stay in the area. We opted for the traditional tour. We were in a group of 32 people, which seemed like a lot to be honest based on the other groups we saw along the way. They run tours every 10 minutes so I suggest asking how many are in the group you are considering your tour. Mind you, this still gets 5 stars but smaller would have been more optimal for hearing the tour guide as he shared the history & stories behind the caverns. The tour lasts 90 minutes. Wear warm clothing! It's cold 156 feet down. It's also dark to enhance the lighting and beauty of the caverns. You walk the whole tour with the exception of the VERY short boat ride. Listen to the tour guide because the caverns are rich with history and great stories. Our guide was funny and clearly enjoyed serving as our sherpa. May you be as lucky as us. There is so much beauty to be seen that my pictures don't seem to really do them justice they deserve. There is also one professional photo opportunity should you choose to take advantage of it. It's affordable in comparison to others I've done. But if you find an obliging stranger and you have a decent cell phone camera then you'll be able to capture the moment without having to pay. I enjoyed this your so much I'd do it again! VERY IMPORTANT and they really mean it -- **Please Note: Food, Beverages, Strollers, or Bags of ANY kind ARE NOT PERMITTED IN THE CAVE.** read more

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I bought a sweatshirt that was defective. They first emailed me saying they would replace it. Then later in the day I received another email saying that I didn't wash it on gentle cycle, that's why it happened and they're not going to replace it. I'm dumbfounded. I spent a lot of money there. I bought a sweatshirt at the gift shop that was defective and my replacement is you did it , can't help you. So the morning email was this Good morning! I have another XXL here for you. Please send your address and we'll ship it out. Thank you so much! Terran What kind of "family" business is this. This is terrible. I wanted a shirt to wear that I can remember my experience with my family and I get blamed of ruining the shirt by the business. I'm lost for words. I do not recommend this place at all and don't buy anything there! Obviously the quality is very poor. Then it changed to this- Hi, Because of our concern regarding this sweatshirt, we contacted the company that makes them, and, after looking at your pictures, they deemed it had not been washed on the gentle cycle, and that they are not responsible for replacing it. So, unfortunately, we will not be able to replace it. Sincerely, Terran read more

Howe Caverns - You can see the separation. I washed it on gentle and alone with no other clothes - Tours Near Me - Howes Cave, New York

Brian the tour guide made the tour in our opinion. We didn't have a great start by the unwelcome reception we got at the front desk. No one informed us that the boat tour was cancelled, we had to read it on the television/map over the ticket booth area. The parts that we did explore was a lot of interesting stuff, only wish was that we could see more of the cave and been able to do the boat tour. One and done for us, but a fun day trip none the less. read more

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It was cool being down in the cave. And the story of how Mr Howe found it and explored and bought it from someone etc. It was the tour guide. They were so disrespectful, and rude. Screaming etc. Afterwards, I and my family couldn't imagine a worse guide. Perhaps it was in part that with such a large group it was hard to speak with the echoing. At one point he screamed at everyone to get to the right side then a second later for everyone to come forward. Then screamed "why isn't everyone coming forward". It wasn't just the screaming, but the mean and disrespectful tone. We would have enjoyed it much more if it was a smaller group and if were weren't being herded around like sheep by a mean herder. read more

This was my first time at Howe Caverns and we did the Traditional Tour. There are a few different tour options so you can choose what best suits you. Booking the tour was very easy online. The tours are pretty frequent, either 15 minutes or 30 minutes or 1 hour apart. There is a huge parking lot so there is no trouble finding parking at all. After parking, you'll head to the main building. The main building has a gift shop, cafe, and restrooms. When it is time for your tour, they will say the [time] tour line up or has departed. The tour begins with some history from Lester Howe himself. He'll talk about the caverns before they were named Howe Caverns (how they were discovered) and then his legacy. He only paid $100 to buy the caverns from the owner of the land. You'll also see a map of where you'll be exploring and the name of structures you'll be seeing. After that, you'll descend in an elevator 156 feet below the Earth's surface to explore the caves with your tour guide. Our tour guide was really informational and had some really good jokes too. He talked about sedimentation, stalagmites and stalactites, and so much more. Each step of the way, he educated us about the caves and would offer alternative routes if you cannot use stairs or are claustrophobic. We also went on a brief boat ride on Lake of Venus. The tour guide used an oar and pulled us along the lake. There were interesting structures like Chinese pagoda and there were opportunities to touch stalactites. There was also a Bridal Altar where at least 700 weddings have been held. Probably most fun was the Winding Way. This was a series of curves and corners. There are multiple photo op opportunities along the tour that the tour guide stops and gives you some time to take photos. One photo op opportunity the tour guide takes a picture and you can pay $10 for a print out back in the lobby. Our tour group was about 20-30 people I think. The cave is always 52°F so bring a jacket or sweatshirt. The caves are really well maintained and they are very transparent about the rules like not touching the caves since our hands have oil and that would ruin the caves. I highly recommend checking out Howe Caverns. You won't regret it! read more

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We had fun, bring a jacket, beautiful views outside, beautiful views inside, the history and stories the tour guide told was cool. The only part I didn't like was the elevator ride we were packed like a can of sardines, I could literally feel the man behind me and the wall too. luckily the elevator ride was just a minute long and I was trying to make jokes. The gift shop was wonderful as I love shopping. read more

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What a great experience. The views were stunning outside and in. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable , funny and helpful. In the beginning, with the animatronics and the background information, it reminds me of Disney world. It was a great presentation. We had a great time learning about caverns and, in particular, how this cavern was used when it was first discovered many years ago. I greatly appreciate the tunnel that was placed in the 1970s as there were some spots that got extremely narrow at the end. They had a gift shop, dessert spot, cafe, and more. This can be done in 1 day or over a few. read more

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Cool spot to visit! Very organized tour in a colorful cave and a fun boat ride included inside and then you walk back out the same way, friendly staff that takes you around. The group size was around 20-30 when I went (a few months ago around the Labor Day break). There's also a secret cave nearby but I didn't have time to go there this time, will have to come back again in the future! Book the tickets online in advance to reserve the time you like, they recommend coming 30 minutes early but we ended up getting here late (from fixing a flat tire on the way) by 10 minutes and they took us to our group to catch us up right away, great experience overall and I'd definitely recommend it to others. You do have to wait a bit when walking around to wait for the group but not too bad. read more

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Over commercialized cavern, filled with tons of cement and brick walkways that they clearly spent a ton of time commercializing for tourists. This is a one and done cavern, not an experience we would do again. As you can tell from many of my other cavern reviews, we would participate in almost all of them again. This cavern starts in an elevator jam packed with as many people as they can put on the tour. You ride down and stand in an entrance way where you get your speech of the rules. I don't understand the no bags rule, as there's literally not many stalagmites or stalag tights that you could even take. Everything is dug out and cemented around so much of the walls. This does have some really cool narrow passage ways and a boat that you literally go to and from the same place with. You can hear the water fall but can not see it, like you can with Secret Cavern. The entrance says are mostly over the water and the water is not reachable. We were told there's an entire section that was cemented over because the water ran onto the walkway and that "hindered" the tours. God forbid the tours get bothered by nature! The cool parts about this place is that the mining part was fun for the kids. The store is huge and you can buy lots of over priced crap. The boats in the tunnel are all hand driven, meaning these kids are pushing the boats along the path. The people at the counter seemed pretty miserable, the tour guide was a really awesome one. They didn't work there for very long. Seems like anyone who works there doesn't last for very long. Very interesting since the caverns are in a small town. read more

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I remembered my childhood friend telling me about the Caverns over 50 years ago. Today, I finally saw for myself why he was so excited back then. And our tour guide Mike's love of the Caverns was clear throughout the 2 hours. read more

Fun place to explore. They have many different tours but we took the basic tour with a cavern boat ride. I have been on several cavern tours and always enjoy the scenery and marvel at the environment. The boat ride is what made this adventure different form other tours I've done. It felt like a cross between Phantom of the Opera and a Venice boat ride. Fun and family friendly. The tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable. I was very hesitant and nervous about going on tour with strangers during the recent Omicron outbreak. However we went during the week, it was the last tour of the day and everyone on tour was very respectful of space and wearing masks. I ended up feeling comfortable. read more

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This place is beautiful complete with professional guides that use flashlights to point out different types of rocks talking about each type of rock history. If what they say is not factual they certainly say it with confidence as if what they say is fact. The place feels fully commercialized like you stepped into a Disney resort quality attraction. It's stellar inside the caverns, the gift shop, the entire building! This place is SO pristine that it looks and feels fake though I suspect the caverns are real since they seem real, just feels theatrical if that makes sense compared to Secret Caverns. Visit both these types of attractions and you'll see exactly what I mean. The boat ride they include is "cool" but the guide is so busy rowing the poor soul doesn't have enough wind to stop and talk about rock formations so it's just a glorified boat ride in the caverns that simply adds a little extra time to the tour but without the boat ride this attraction is probably over in an hour tops. Both these cavern locations are SO darn close to each other that it doesn't make sense to not try both because they are both "one and done" type of attractions. There is no reason to drive back out here to visit just one of these cavern attractions. read more

i enjoyed the tour. My problem was the hotel. I made reservations on the phone with a woman from Howe caverns. i asked if there was a pool she said yes. But did not tell me it was not working. I asked for the lowest rate she told me it was not available because the hotel was near full. Another lie . there where 3 other rooms occupied the night we where there . I emailed twice to both the lady i made the reservation with and the hown cavern em address never heard a thing . just dont stay at the hotel. read more

I haven't been here in ages. Normally, it's a guided tour with the history of the cavern and a boat ride. This time, I came for Haunted Cave Tour which is a self-guided tour. If you have tickets, I highly recommended you to come early since there could be a long line. The tour ends on October 30, 2021 so if you want to go this season...hurry and get tickets. After waiting for about 1/2 hr, we were brought into another room for a conversation with the crystal ball reader then the elevator (holds about 8 people at a time). When you get to the cave, you can take your time with exploring the cave as well as enjoy the haunted tour. It took us a little over an hour since we walked slow and let other groups go ahead of us while we enjoyed the cave and each haunted tour section. For the haunted tour, it's a family event If the little one is afraid of the dark or afraid of costumes people, it might be a good idea to wait for the little one to be older. The employees did a great job with the scare factor and interactions with the customers. Enjoy the boat ride. Don't forget: the employees won't touch you and your can't touch them. Have fun. read more

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Wow! Since I didn't grow up in the area, I had never been to Howe Caverns but have had it on my list for a while. I'm so glad I went in kind of blind because wow did it blow away my expectations! Our tour guide Michael did a great job explaining and pointing out interesting parts of the cave. I was amazed at how much we got to see and enjoyed every bit of walking through my first ever cave! read more

Howe Caverns - Tours Near Me - Howes Cave, New York

A fun and educational experience for the whole family. Purchased tickets online and got there 15 minutes prior to the scheduled time. Make sure to bring a jacket/and comfortable shoes as the cave is a cool 40 degrees and requires a bit of walking. Waiting area has a sweets shop and the cafeteria next door to purchase food; and you can start lining up when your scheduled timed is announced over the loud speaker. A tour guide takes us down the elevator (down 37ft), and gathered us into a group of about 25 people. There were some interesting facts about how these natural rocks came about. Asked the tour guide to help me take a picture with my family- she complied; tour guide shouted "Say Kim-chi!" that was a weird encounter as we are the only Asian family in this group. Next is the awesome boat ride along the waters of the cave and explains the deeper detail of how the earth's rocks and minerals can create such wonders. Overall, a great experience to explore New York State read more

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I was hesitant to do the tour at Howe Caverns (Covid concerns!). But I'm so glad we did. They are safety conscious. If you don't feel comfortable riding down the elevator to the caverns they will take you separately in your own elevator. The tour was just about an hour and was amazing! Our tour guide was new (on the job only 3 weeks) but he did a great job giving us the background of the caverns. This place is a must see if you're in the Catskills. Too many pictures to post but I did share a few! read more

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Definitely cold! Kids loved it. They certainly keep to the schedule well. There's a huge cafeteria with wonderful views. Also highly recommend getting their homemade fudge and cave aged cheese. Gem mining was also a big hit right across the parking lot. Finish off your day with Secret Caverns down the road as they have the amazing underground waterfall Howe doesn't have (but can't compare as they're like apples and oranges). read more

Great experience overall. Staff are all very nice. Wonderful tour guides who have fun and are informative. Cave itself is very cool and the part where you are on the water in a boat was quite the experience. read more

Howe Caverns - Tours Near Me - Howes Cave, New York

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Such a cool experience. The place is a must see if your in the area. The tours are by pre paid appointment only due to the COVID guidelines, so you need to call ahead to reserve your spot. I had to call multiple times to get thru to someone to get our spot reserved. Unfortunately they don't offer online reservations, this would have made a much better experience overall. Masks are required throughout, and you can request a separate elevator ride down to socially distance from the tour group. The caverns were a cool 50deg. So bring a jacket and good shoes. The tour includes a boat ride down an underground river and a guided walk throughout the cave network. If your at all claustrophobic, this is not an experience you would enjoy. We took our 2 kids with us and they had as much fun as we did. read more

Howe Caverns - Underground river boat ride. - Tours Near Me - Howes Cave, New York

The only cave Ive been in that has a boat ride in the earth. 150 ft below. Total of 90 minutes but the boat ride is 10 minutes. Stalagmites and Stalatites . The history is interesting and the tour guide information is good but a little dragged out. I feel 90 minutes is to long the tour should be condensed to an hour. read more

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We visited the caverns on Wednesday afternoon and there were tours going on nonstop. Believe the website when they say it is a balmy 52° in the caverns and it can get cold pretty quickly. Make sure you are wearing some type of footwear and that covers your toes and not sandals. I made the mistake of wearing Birkenstocks While navigating a dark steps filled cavern! The highlight of the cavern walk was definitely the winding rocks as you had to really navigate the tight twist interns. If anyone has ever been to antelope Canyon in Nevada it is definitely a strong comparison. Staff seems like a bunch of 16 to a year or 18 year olds and this is a summer job so expect that level of professionalism which was fine but ya know... read more

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This was so much fun. I visited as a child and thought it may have not been changed since the time I visited. It was delightfully modern, clean and a well oiled machine. Don't expect this to be an actual hike in a cave, it's very safe and well lit. Yes, the lighting is a bit tacky but for me it added to the fun. The staff was very courteous. We did the Sweetheart tour package that included a stay at the motel. It was one of the cleanest motels I've stayed in while visiting the Catskills. I loved all the artifacts from the past. This would be such a great tour with a group of friends. Please note the surrounding towns don't have much going on for dinner or evening entertainment. read more

We had a wonderful visit. Alex was our tour guide and he did an amazing job! We had lots of questions that he was able to answer in quite some detail. He even took a really great group photo of us, which was the only picture we were able to get with all 5 of us together. The tour was about 90 minutes and I would suggest wearing closed toe shoes and a sweater as it's quite cold. If you're wanting a bite to eat there's a nice restaurant with outdoor seating. read more

Howe Caverns - Tours Near Me - Howes Cave, New York

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An amazing tour! Marilyn gave us the most memorable experience. 10/10 would come again. read more

Howe Caverns - Puddle of water - Tours Near Me - Howes Cave, New York

*ALERT: INCOMING CORNY JOKE* Howe could I have never gone to Howe Caverns?! *CORNY JOKE HAS ENDED. YOU ARE NOW FREE TO READ THIS REVIEW* But seriously, I can't believe my parents never took me upstate to see this unforgettable place. I'm glad my girlfriend knew about it and from that, we built a little trip around northern New York, starting 156 feet underground. Driving up to HC almost feels like you're headed to the Overlook Hotel (cue The Shining music). Luckily, Jack Torrance is nowhere to be found. Instead, there are plenty of friendly employees when you first walk through the main entrance. Howe Caverns has its own motel, cafe, sweets shop, and a few other areas that help to encompass an almost all-inclusive upstate vibe. Or you can do what we did and just come for the man attraction, the caverns! Lester Howe was an adventurous man to dare enter down into these caverns back in 1842, but luckily we have some modern technology (i.e. elevators) that makes the descent a lot quicker (and safer!). What also helps is having a tour guide showing you around all the amazing rock and mineral structures, waterways, and secrets of the caverns. Our tour guide was Muhammad and I cannot say this with more emphasis that he was THE BEST. Such a chill, informative, funny, and all-around pleasurable fella that really made the tour more memorable than it already was. Because hey, these caverns are pretty impressive on their own. Whether you're checking out the Chinese Pagoda, taking the boat ride as far as we can go, or squeezing through the Winding Way, there are so many spots to see. You won't even feel like you're down there for 90 minutes (but you will be!). It's entirely worth the $25 ticket and more. I will say that my lady and I had a busy day planned ahead of us so we showed up right when HC opened. We were the first group down into the caverns and so there were only 10 of us total. By the time we left, the caverns were a bit more noisy with much larger groups heading through. So if you really want to experience Howe Caverns without the crowds, come early. It's so worth it. Overall, Howe Caverns rocked my world (pun intended?). It's such an awesome natural creation that's worth seeing at least once in your life. Maybe you'll get lucky and Muhammad will be your guide because then things will go to a whole other level of amazement. Either way, you're in for a treat when you visit Howe Caverns, no matter Howe you slice it...(no alert on that corny joke!). read more

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Every minute was a pleasure Shout out to our cave guide Braedon I would recommend this to everyone A most enjoyable way to spend two hours read more

I visited Howe Caverns some years ago and loved it! It was my first cave experience so I didn't have many expectations. I did the lantern tour which was a phenomenal experience. We went through the caves with the lights on and then got on a boat and rode down the stream with the lights off. We then guided our way back to the exit using only candlelight. This had to have been one of the most peaceful times of my life. Being surrounded by complete darkness (I stayed far behind the group and hid my light so I could experience this) and listening to the water gently move was incredible. It was just quiet and out of my element which I loved. If you do visit the Howe Caverns, I recommend doing the lantern tour. read more

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What a great escape from the summer heat! I've only been to two other caverns (One in PA, one in VA) and I have to say going on a boat ride in Howe caverns was awesome and made this tour special comparatively. The elevator ride down revealed a cool 52 degrees at the bottom when the doors opened so definitely dress accordingly. The lines can get long so do yourself a favor and come early. The guides were all so well versed, friendly and loaded with material the entire trek. The formations are always so neat to see and just looking and thinking about how the cavern is estimated to have started to form 6 million years ago makes you appreciate how unique of an experience it truly is. The paths are all brick lined and are wide so getting around wasn't bad at all. My favorite part besides the boat ride was the winding way which is at the end of the tour. It's a tight winding path that definitely tapped into my inner Indiana Jones. All in all I really enjoyed the peacefulness of not having a cell signal and hearing the trickle of the small river styx and watching my 6 year old son enjoy sights his eyes have never seen before. If your in this area of NY a tour is definitely worth it. They have a longer adventure tour which is a more hands on rugged tour that takes you to parts of the cave not seen on the regular tour. (You get dirty!) The gift shop has regular touristy stuff, but we did buy three things before we left as mementos. 1) Cave aged cheese (aged in the caverns) they sell which was delicious! 2) Fudge - trust me the smell hits you in the face your entire wait in line to get in 3) a piece of calcite from the actual cave in the gift shop We had a great family experience and it was money well spent. read more

What a Beautiful place haven't visited in over 50 years. It was so cool to see nature's natural art. The boat ride was cool as well. In the lighting down there makes everything so interesting. read more

Howe Caverns - Fossils and some minerals - Tours Near Me - Howes Cave, New York

We enjoyed the caves. It is nothing like the beautiful caves in Europe but worth a if you live within two hours drive. Tue guide was fun and knowledgeable. The building has no WiFi. read more