Western Virginia, Eastern WV and NC Caves

[HeartMD]

Hey there,
Some friends and I are planning a trip this upcoming week from Michigan to North Carolina, while stopping at Charlottesville, VA to visit good friends. We are looking to do some spelunking, but we're having trouble finding easily accessible caves. As Michigan really doesn't have any caves, we don't have any grottos we're apart of, but usually head to NY once or twice a year to get our fix. We've been trying to contact people, but have had little response. Can anybody point us in the right direction? We're looking for access to 6 or so caves early next week along our route [Western Virginia, Eastern WV and NC (NW of Durham)]. If anybody could give us some contacts or information that would be great. We are responsible, clean and experienced cavers looking to see the beauty of these states! Thanks in advance

[GroundquestMSA]

I could help if you were going to extreme Western Virginia, but that doesn't sound like your plan.
I can't supply 6, but if you will be near Greenbrier Co. WV, or Tazewell Co. VA let me know. There are a ton of caves in eastern WV, and west/central VA, I hope someone can help more than I.

[cmkit]

I live in Durham NC. You going to be around very long? I mostly do project caving these days, so I can't recommend much for sport trips, but if you'll be around for a while we should set something up.

If you haven't already figured it out, NC is not a cave state, so you should count out caving around here. The Virginias have lots of potential though.

[HeartMD]

We're pretty flexible. Leaving Michigan on the 10th or 11th [Sun/Mon] - We just need to be in Chapel Hill by Friday evening. What happens in between depends on what is available!

[Caving Guru]

As far as I am aware there is no caving in North Carolina northwest of Durham. The caving in North Carolina is farther west. I would suggest the Trout Rock Caves in Pendleton County, West Virginia. There are 3 main caves there but one of them (Trout Cave) was recently gated in 2008 to protect the bats so it can't be accessed by the public anymore. It used to be the most popular cave in West Virginia. The others (Hamilton and New Trout) are pretty large caves. They are both several miles in passages. These caves are about 2 hours from Charlottesville. However, they are both maze caves so it would be handy to have a map for them so you are less likely to get lost.

[Chief943]

You're looking for a cave....would you be willing to go deep into a cave (appr. 1 hour trip) to do some digging? How many in your group?
Mark

[Chief943]

I sent you a PM.

Mark