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So I am just curious what you would say is the most popular cave (aka most visited cave) in your state. I would be curious as to what is the most popular wild cave and commercial cave in your state.

If you are outside of the United States, you could mention the most popular wild/commercial cave in your country and/or region.

Sorry, maybe I should have been more specific. I was thinking more along the lines of natural caves and not man-made caves. For the United States, my guess would be that Mammoth Cave is the most visited commercial cave and that Pettyjohn's Cave is the most visited wild cave.

Worley Cave, TN regularly sees 50-200 people in a weekend. It's a wild cave, but the owner charges for parking.

Scott McCrea wrote:Worley Cave, TN regularly sees 50-200 people in a weekend. It's a wild cave, but the owner charges for parking.

Yup. I have even been there a few years ago.

When I lived in Indianapolis, it was Buckers Cave (Bloomington). But that was in the 80-s and 90's. No idea of that is still the most popular or not.

Clarksville Cave (formerly Ward-Gregories), owned and managed by the Northeastern Cave Conservancy, is by far the most popular wild cave in the Northeast. It's visited by 2-3 thousand people a year, a favorite of cavers and newbies alike. Over 100 camp, scout, school, and youth groups use it every year.

About a half-hour away, Howe Caverns is the most visited show cave in the Northeast. Both of these caves are in the cave-rich area just west of Albany, NY.

Here in Ohio, the most popular cave is the beercave located at almost every Speedway.

CaverScott wrote:When I lived in Indianapolis, it was Buckers Cave (Bloomington). But that was in the 80-s and 90's. No idea of that is still the most popular or not.

The Purdue Outing Club caving group went there a few times wile I was there in 2010. That was my first cave!

Not sure about states, but here is what I know about a few "regions."


Until recently, my county didn't have a beer cave, and so the most popular was probably Blacks Run Cave. In fact, I saw a few kids going in there yesterday evening. It is a 394' "slump-block" cave, well trashed and scattered with graffiti.

The most popular caves in southern Ohio (maybe all of Ohio) were the caves of Rocky Fork Gorge, or 7 Caves, until they were bought ten years ago by a preservationist group. They were operated commercially for more than 100 years and many thousands of people enjoyed self-guided tours of the caves, which range from 108 to 807' long. Fifteen years ago, some of my family visited and we took my great-grandmother to 7 Caves. She lived nearby, and had been there many times. She wore herself out and started to feel strange that evening, and two days later she had a stroke and died. She was 80.

I would guess that now the most popular Ohio cave is Ohio Caverns (Reams' Cave). It is Ohio's longest and most impressively decorated, though not really "big" (the passages on the tour routes have all been excavated to allow walking). It too has been operated as a show cave for more than 100 years.

In the days before it was mostly abandoned by cavers, Tazewell Co., VA had some very popular wild caves. The Higgenbotham Caves, Glenwood Church Cave, and Cauliflower Cave, were all very popular with cavers from the '50s to probably the '70s.

Now, most popular cave in Tazewell Co. is Steele's Cave. It is the subject of most of the idiotic cave stories I've heard in that area. It is full, especially nearest the main entrance, of trash and graffiti. I like this cave quite a lot. It is roughly 180' deep and 1500' long, and despite the fact that it has been known forever and overrun by vandals, there are still a few clean (and unsurveyed) sections. I would like to clean it up and survey, but the owner says no. The Keep Out and No Trespassing signs at the entrance haven't slowed destructive local traffic.

A long time ago a similar question was raised and it seems Dick Blenz had some figures that showed Buckners in Indiana as the most heavily visited wild cave in the USA. Sorry, Jonah - no Ohio caves made the list
Commercial caves would be interesting. Maybe Caverns of Lurray?
And either Mammoth or Carlsbad, I'd guess, for National Parks....likely the former.
I do know that Postojna Cave in Slovenia claims to be the most visited cave in Europe.