Fantastic experience at the polar caves! Definetly recommend checking it out! This activity is meant for older kids and people who can crouch in the caves and walk on uneven terrain/a bit stair heavy but not crazy. Worth the visit! There's actual ice in a cave!!! read more

Polar Caves Park - Parks Near Me - Rumney, New Hampshire

This is a good place to take your family or your friends. Or a school trip. If you're older and have problems moving, I would not recommend this for them. As it is a long walk up and down stairs and won't be able to go into some caves and out . Whole track of caves takes about an hours length if you go into all the caves. When you first walk in, there's the gift shop. Then you walk out towards what I think are Turkish Llamas and a duck pond pass it and walk through the. Bridge towards the ticket counter to pay for admission. read more

See all

It was really fun going thru the caves. Kids will really enjoy it plus they will like feeding the animals on site. The store and bathrooms were clean and it was an enjoyable day being there. read more

The price was a little bit high. It is about 45 minutes of caves. Pretty low impact paths. No food for sale on site. The "safety briefing" was inaudible but it's really just fine. Is you come say hi to Dave! read more

See all

Really great place to check out even if you aren't a kid. We took my niece and nephew there, but I also had a great time.

We didn't realize that it wasn't a cave. Just spaces between granite boulders. We walked around a bit and left.

Fun place to visit. We took our 3-year old grandson and everyone had fun. I will be back read more

Polar Caves Park - Having fun in the caves. - Parks Near Me - Rumney, New Hampshire

This is such a fun place to visit in NH. How many people can say they've been climbing through caves? The have a little farm section for animals too. Yes, you can buy food to feed them. The shop there is big and offer some creative knickknacks. Takes about an hour to get through all the caves. They have hard sections and easy sections if they're too difficult. A lot of stairs and climbing so don't go on a lazy day. Very humid inside the caves. Also, can be slippery inside the caves. From what I saw, little kids love going through the caves and feeding the goats. Totally recommend. They have military discount (Hooahh!). read more

See all

Really had an awesome experience here! Lots of things to do before actually going into the caves too,--deer feeding, splicing, sand pit and rock garden to get you comfy with the boulders. But once we got into the cave experience... wow! it was awesome! I love how each cave had the option to bypass going inside so that everyone in the party could participate. Some caves were SUPER challenging, but I was able to go through them all except the lemon crush. My little one loved everything about the experience. There were no staff on site though should there be an emergency but overall an outstanding experience. There was also a nice hiking trail afterwards. The store had some cute souvenirs with a few snacks and drinks to buy. I'd definitely try this again the next time we're in NH! Tip--- if you have head lights, bring them! Most of the caves are well lit, but it probably would be fun to see them more clearly. They sell child helmets with lights in the gift shop as well. read more

See all

A great NH activity for anyone, of any age. The boulders forming Polar Caves are granite, including the largest glacially deposited granite boulder, estimated to weigh in at some 50 million pounds! The paths here are mainly well maintained wooden pathways. Footing in the caves is on boulders and natural rocks, including some metal stairways and wooden hand rails to aid in navigating your way. Lighting has been added to some of the longer, deeper caves, which helps with finding your way and aids in getting some great photos. The Gift shop is large and contains a number of well maintained bathrooms. A picnic area exists, so pack a lunch and water as the ups and downs of navigating the cave course will get you thirsty. We attended on a rainy day and all caves were open, but care was needed as boulders and wooden pathways were somewhat slippery when wet, but a great activity for a rainy day as the caves sheltered us from the rain. Our group was aged 6 - 75 years old and everyone had an enjoyable time. Well maintained paths, facilities and extremely friendly, informative staff. We all made it through the "lemon squeezer", except for a female (aged 75, who had no interest in trying). Give it a try while in NH, you'll love it!! read more

See all

We had fun at the place. However, when we were at the almost top of the place, they ask you to choose between easy route or difficult route. We thought we could go the easy route first, then come back to the difficult route. But once you took the easy route, you went all the way back down at the entrance and the staff won't allow you to go back up again even though you explained to them that you would have took the difficult route if you knew that was the end of it. We left with disappointment They would have had a 5 stars if they allowed people to do both easy and difficult routes. The lost river caves didn't have any restrictions and we enjoyed ourselves there pretty much. read more

I give the caves 3.5 stars. Touristy but I expected that. And a 3.5 because two were closed and they didn't tell us before they took our money. Rude. What I didn't know was that they had a roadside zoo. Sad deer that you could feed for a quarter. And that bit each other so they could get more food. But the worst were the pheasants. Largish cages but with not a single enrichment item. Not. One. The male "Reeves" pheasant just paced and paced and paced. Only stopping to bit at the bars. The female in the cage was obviously hurt. She tried to stand and feel over. Both had bitten off tail feathers... This wasn't molting. These are two stressed birds that are hurting each other. It was awful and heartbreaking. And for not managing even the simple kindest of enrichment items to the animals in theit care, they get a -4 star read more

Great experience for us and our 12/13 year old daughters, they loved going into every challenging cave, we loved the walkways and views. Definitely worth the price of admission, you can choose to repeat and go back through which two families we encountered were doing. The gift shop is great, we didn't try the restaurant but it looked lovely, the deer and pheasants are in clean enclosures and seem happy. My kids really liked it which was our goal and is always hit or miss with teenagers. read more

See all

This was a great park and we all enjoyed the experience. The animal park was a nice surprise and my boys loved feeding the deer and ducks. The hikes were challenging but not impossible. The rock garden and nature trail were beautiful and the caves were amazing. We all had so much fun making our way through the different caves. We had a perfect day for it and the caves provided a nice cool down and we walked through. Some of them were very challenging and slippery but worth it. One of our most favorite trips of the week. read more

See all

Fun and challenging! I have to admit that I was initially skeptical about this place. I thought it would just be walking through some simple trails that I could do for free on my own. Boy, was I wrong. The paths through/under/over these boulders were awesome! I wouldn't say that it was overly difficult to go through them, but it was challenging and lots of fun, with just a hint of danger. We were literally climbing over rocks on our hands and knees and squeezing between giant boulders. Even my adolescent kids were having fun! It was also a good opportunity to point out to my kids why we put so much emphasis on a healthy lifestyle and staying fit; it's so we can do fun stuff like this! This was a great idea and I would do it again. read more

Family outing yesterday, 6/25/2022. What a wonderful day! A really loud shout out to Kathy who was awesome. Very friendly, helpful and super, super good with the kids - they wanted to take her home with us!! Thank you Polar Caves and Kathy for a great day. read more

My family (young kids) have been to the caves at the top of Loon and Lost River and they were great - but Polar Caves takes the top position. These caves are amazing. Some go deep underground (one I believe went about 35 feet down). They seen to twist and turn and have passages that go up and down. These passages were tight, though I am a "big guy" (that's a nice term for "fatso") I had no problem getting though everything (except maybe the "lemon squeezer" which I didn't try, though my kids said I could have made it). Unlike some of the other places however, where you need to often crawl on your hands and knees (or sometimes your stomach) - or climb over rocks to get out - the worst that you had to do here was duck in low-overhead places, climb ladders, ascend/descend rock/wooden stairs. The caves themselves were amazing - there were several underground "large" chambers. Many of the caves had lights in them and we're amply eliminated. The man-made stairs, boardwalks and ladders mad for an easy time - even for the mildly closterphobic. It's a bit if a workout for the out-of-shape - but that is more actually walking the boardwalks up to the caves - than the caves themselves. Also - the caves can be cold! There can be snow and ice in them even in August! It's about a 45 minute trek through the 9(?) caves. You can spend a bit more time seeing some of the animals, rock garden, nature trails, gift shop and picnic area. Definitely a must-do for your White Mountains bucket list! read more

Polar Caves Park - Caves are built into this rock face. (Maybe 100 feet tall?) - Parks Near Me - Rumney, New Hampshire

This place has gone so far downhill the last couple years. Prices went way up in 2021 and there are fewer things to do. Climbing wall closed, via ferata wall closed, mining closed and the birds are gone. things like signs and railings falling into disrepair. They used to have good food choices but now it's just processed crap. It's so sad to see this beautiful place so poorly managed. read more

We had a blast! Our 5 and 8 year old loved it. You must wear sneakers and I recommend that you don't wear a backpack. The caves take about 30-40 minutes to move through and your backpack will just bug you as you move through. This requires all participants to be in good health, climb, twist, scoot, step, duck, wind around, pull and push your way through the rocks and caves. Even if you "chicken out" and go around the cave, you still need to climb lots of steps. Fun and so worth it if you can do it! You can also feed the deer, walk the nature trail and enjoy the picnic area. We had a great day and the staff were super friendly. read more

Minor problems turn into major problems when staff are rude. My family were informed by a neighbor who works here that there was a 100th anniversary event this weekend. My wife was under the impression that they opened at 9am during the summer, so on Saturday we headed over and arrived at 9:30. There was one large printed sign on the outside which mentioned getting tickets online for the event, but we figured they'd still have general admission in person. There was no other signage available, nothing indicating their hours, so we continued onwards. After reaching the main building we found the door open so we went in. Surprisingly there were no employees around. I walked around the building and spotted a number of employees outside setting up some event things. Eventually some employees headed up towards the building, so we waited for them. By now there was about ten people in the building wondering what was going on, including one guy with an infant in a carried on his back; the guy swung his child around and knocked over a stand with cup holders and bags of corn. At this point an employee appeared and asked us to leave because the caves didn't actually open 'til 10. I picked up the stand and most of the items that fell off it, while my wife came over to help with two corn bags that spilled open; the employee didn't thank us for this, instead just told my wife to leave the corn on the ground. I suggested that some signs would have helped make people aware of the entrance times, to which she declared "we're doing the best we can". Clearly either her "best" doesn't involve basic levels of communication, or they're just really bad at what they do so "best" is a really low bar. The group who had knocked over the stand mentioned they'd been waiting since 8:30 because they also believed the location opened at 9. The employees didn't think a simple sheet of paper with the events hours, or a simple scribbling of "open at 10", was worth doing. But they were doing their "best". We left and went somewhere else. The last time we visited the caves (about four years ago) it was an interesting location to explore, if very expensive for what it is. read more

A superb location for a day trip. The staff was friendly and the park was wonderful. Highly recommended for teens and adults.

Absolutely incredible experience 7 out of 8 caves were open! 1 was closed to to ice! I am not an experienced hiker by any means and have never done this before! My 2 year old daughter and mother made it trough 5 caves, my brother 6 and I accomplished 7 including the Orange Crush!!!! Raven point was incredible the views were amazing and experience was more than I can ask for !!!! read more

See all

Spent a morning exploring the Polar Caves. The caves here are actually groups of fallen boulders that assembled in a cave like fashion, so you don't need to worry about bats here, although other bugs were present. There also are no stalagmites or stalactites here either. The interior of the caves are cool since that are somewhat deep and protected from the sun. All of the caves have artificial lighting in dark spots so no need to bring a headlamp or flashlights. Boardwalks and stairs have been built amongst the labyrinth of caves to make it a bit easier to maneuver through, but there were still some slick spots where extra caution was necessary. Caves range in difficulty and become increasingly harder as you progress through the trail. The devil's turnpike was the most challenging. Be sure to look at the cave guide description before climbing in. Several of the more difficult caves had an option to bypass the cave. Caves were arranged in a one way path since many of the passages were tight. My group had made it through all the caves and felt the caves was just thrilling enough to have fun and feel like it was an accomplishment to make it out without any injuries. Besides the caves there were a duck and deer feeding area, mining area, rock climbing wall (closed when I was there), nature trail and rock garden. It was the end of the season, so many of the items in the gift shop were discounted. Admission is a bit pricey ($24.50 for adults), but worth it. read more

See all

Visited the polar caves on vacation, neat place with cool little caves to walk \crawl through along a nice series of decks stairs and walkways. Please adjust expectations, and do some research... Its not Mamoth caves or Lorray Caverns, but its still pretty cool in its own right. Essentialy a massive lucky accident where the side of a cliff got knocked off many years ago to form a jumble of massive granite boulders with a bunch of caves or tunnels (9?-12?)... I would go back someday, neat example of New England geology. Some say these are'nt real caves, I disagree. What they are not is limestone caverns with stalactites and such. Even the gift shop was mildly entertaining. read more

The caves were unexpectedly great. There are probably 15 caves to climb through, each with a bypass for those that aren't into caves or don't have the dexterity to climb or squat. The caves themselves don't generally require crawling on your hands and knees, but you will have to squat, stoop, and use your hands to steady yourself as you work your way through. The children in our group had the best time and we'll go again because of the pleasure it brought them. The boardwalks and stairs on the routes that bypassed the caves were perfect for retirement-aged adults that don't mind a little exercise. We've done Lost River Gorge many, many times and I do prefer it to Polar Caves (mostly because of the river -- Polar Caves is without a river). The caves at Polar Caves are larger and easier to navigate through, and there are just more of them. But beyond that, there are a lot of similarities: well constructed boardwalks and beautiful views, a great gift shop and both are well maintained facilities. read more

I wasn't sure what to expect when I went here.. we weren't given a lot of information when we arrived but were told it was $19.50 to enter the "park". When we first went out they had birds and deer in cages. The birds seemed sad pacing around and the deer were cute but also seemed sad just fighting for corn from people. You then walked through the woods and around rocks which while beautiful was kind of boring. The caves themselves were very cool which is why this got three stars! The tour was self guided and took roughly 30 minutes. All of them were open and also offered bypasses for anyone who felt they couldn't go through them. The caves were very interesting and fun to go through! After the caves there was an area on the map marked for "rock climbing" and "repelling" which appeared to be closed. Overall the caves were very fun and a cool experience and the staff were friendly. However it was definitely not worth $20 and I would be hesitant to ever go back simply because it is overpriced and the only good experience were the caves themselves. read more

We do yearly trips to North Conway NH to do the typical parks like story land and Santa's village and the. We add 2-3 new adventures we've never done. This keeps the excitement on the trips at a constant high for the whole family. This years new addition was the Pilar caves. While being a small area for adventure, it still deserves 5 stars. The exploring begins with a rock garden that's has a wooden walk way throughout. It is very nice to get you warmed up to the caves. Once your ready to start hitting the caves, it is very simple to follow the route. It is not a long walk like the lost river but it is set up the same way as far as the wooden paths that make for an easier passage from cave to cave. The caves themselves are simply amazing and fun to explore. They are bigger than the caves at the lost river. They can be challenging if not athletic but very manageable. The caves are very close to each other vs a 1.3 mile walk that the lost river offers. There is a small animal farm with reindeer and birds. There's picnic tables to have a nice lunch and the store has amazing trinkets, jewelry, clothes, frames etc for reasonable prices. I'd recommend the polar caves to anyone ready for an adventure. My 8 year old and 6 year old handled the caves just fine. Wear non slip closed tip shoes and do not bring a back pack with food/water because it gets in the way of crawling and walking through caves. You can leave the packs at the beginning and collect it after. Doesn't take very long to explore the caves so your snacks and drinks will be safe and cool for when the adventure is over. read more

See all

I have been here a few times throughout my childhood. Honestly, for a 20 year old, I expected the caves to be a breeze to go through, seeing the amount of little kids, and remembering it to be easy. I was wrong. As someone who loves a challenge, the caves were so fun & interesting. Such a cool place tucked away in the mountains of NH. The surroundings are beautiful. Don't be misled, it's a breeze for kids, but adults might have a harder time. Super cool to explore though! Also the gift shop is great! read more

Went here with my buddy Joe and the GF on a warm day in July. Three words of advice: Wear a belt. Athletic shorts seemed like a good idea at the time, but about halfway through the aptly named "Lemon Squeeze" portion of the last cave, while pulling myself up and over a boulder (you can't bend your knees to climb at first) my shorts somehow got caught and came down to my ankles -- which was funny, but not conducive to traversing the remainder of the Lemon Squeeze. I made it through nonetheless. One hiccup aside, our visit to the Polar Caves taught me two things completely unrelated to belts. First, it's a lot of fun to climb through underground passages formed by glacial boulders. And second, spelunking is not for the out-of-shape. More athletic visitors won't have much trouble with these caves, but if you're a sedentary type be prepared to break a sweat. It's nothing a determined-albeit-somewhat-overweight novice hiker can't handle, though. And make sure to get some maple fudge before you leave. Replenishing all the calories you managed to burn off in the caves never tasted so good. read more

Want a cheap fun day in the woods and something that will challenge the fears of the young and bring out any claustrophobic triggers you never knew you had; this is the place for you. I end up at this place on days when it's overcast, hot and humid. Which also makes it a little more challenging when navigating through the maze of caves. They have a bunch of shops that sell a bunch of shit you don't need, but the fudge is pretty damn good. I had never visited this as a child, but have been then there a few times as an adult. I have enjoyed it everytime, oh and one last thing, don't wimp out and take the orange crush, have the balls and do the lemon squeeze or you will regret it for the rest of your life..... read more

highly recommend checking this out!!! amazing vibes & scenery. sometimes there's peacocks & other animals. fun to go when least busy.

Super fun! A great afternoon adventure. We thought the caves might be easy but we were pleasantly surprised that they were a bit challenging to get through. Be careful not hit your head read more

Polar Caves Park - Parks Near Me - Rumney, New Hampshire

The polar caves them were beautiful and amazing to see. There was ice in one of the caves still and it's July lol. Our group ranged from 2-34 in age. The little ones were able to do it with our help. Just a suggestion bring shoes with you! We did this spur of the moment after camping and we only had flip flops and some of the rocks are slippery. We were able to manage but we slid a few times. There was someone in front of us that was a more sedative in working out probably around his late 40's and he was having a hard time in the caves and going though them. I would suggest that anyone who wants to do it who is a little out of shape can do it. The sugar house was really cool it had all the old machines showing how they use to make the maple sugar. It opens into a store of everything maple sugar. The nuts were delicious! I will say for the experience and to see was wonderful but the price to do this I thought was overpriced. It was $17.50 for ages 10 and up and $11.50 for ages 4 and up. Under age 4 is free. Most places in NH even the state parks don't have you pay for the kids under 6 years of age. Also the food for animals you pay a quarter for. And I believe it was $7.00 for a little bag of rocks to wash off. read more

Don't listen to "last tickets will be sold at 5pm" drove 2 hours to get there.. Was 4:55 and would not allow us to enter. Very disappointed and the staff didn't care. Thanks for nothing polar caves you guys are the best. read more

Was a lot of fun a lot of walking and Mother Nature is great so peaceful listening the the water

I can only comment on the sluice because that's what we came here for and, uh, you basically buy a bag that's a little bigger than your hand and wash it out. Most places give you a giant bucket of dirt so that it takes longer than five second to have fun at the sluice, but not here. The gems were also tiny so that wasn't much fun either. I wouldn't normally leave a review for such a small portion of the park but I looked for more details about whether the sluice was just for kids all over the place and wish someone had written me this review before driving two hours out of the way! The park itself sounds like a lot of fun, but I don't have much to say about it because after we sluiced it up for a minute and a half, we went on to our next destination. read more

I've been wanting to check this place out for a while so I decided to get a group together (adults and kids) to go. We had to make reservations online. After spending $185 on tickets and driving almost 2 hours away we find out half of the place is closed. They caused a HUGE scene over the whole mask thing. The youngest child is 1. ONE YEARS OLD and they fought us on putting an adult size mask on her. This place is not worth the money. Staff is incredibly rude and aggressive when it comes to wearing masks. We will never go back read more

Beautiful walk. Some of the caves can be a pretty tight fit.

This was such a fun activity for my fiancé and I to do. We were worried it would be too much for children, however this was certainly not the case! Some of the caves were challenging, we enjoyed it very much. read more

We had a fun time scrambling through their caves. Because it was not crowded, we even did some twice. My 8year old daughter also loved the rock climbing (extra charge). Overall, a highlight of our trip to The White Mountain area. read more