Caves in Maryland

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Caves in Maryland

Postby SportJunkie72 » Jun 24, 2011 1:36 pm

First I wanted to say Hi to everyone since I'm new here and all and also wanted to ask what caves in Maryland where best to explore. I have never been caving before so I'm a rookie but me and my friend are very athletic and would love to start exploring some awesome caves. Anyways caves closer to Montgomery Country Maryland would be the best since that is where I live but I don't mind having to drive an hour or two to go exploring. Thanks! :cavingrocks:
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Re: Caves in Maryland

Postby nathanroser » Jun 24, 2011 9:02 pm

Nice! Good to know there's some other people in MoCo itching to get underground. The Potomac Speleological Club, D.C. Grotto, and Tri-State Grotto all meet in places not too far away so definitely check one or more of them out. As far as I know there are no documented caves in Montgomery County but there are some small ones in Frederick County and a fair bit more in Washington, Allegeny, and Garret Counties.
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Re: Caves in Maryland

Postby SportJunkie72 » Jun 29, 2011 11:16 am

Yea I did some researching and there really isn't anything until you get to the edges of MD, it's all good though just means a longer drive. Thanks for the info though!
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Re: Caves in Maryland

Postby icave » Jul 7, 2011 1:55 pm

The best caves in MD are located in VA and WVA.
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Re: Caves in Maryland

Postby rlboyce » Jul 7, 2011 2:06 pm

Yep, there are no worthwhile caves in MD (hehe... suckers).

I agree though. If I were going to do a lot of traveling for recreational caving, I'd honestly skip *most* of the MD caves and just keep driving right on into WV or VA. If you're looking for some good project caving though, you need look no further than MD.
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Re: Caves in Maryland

Postby nathanroser » Jul 7, 2011 5:44 pm

Speaking of which the Tri-State Grotto picnic is at Crystal Grottoes this Saturday, so I'll finally be able to find some caving to do after trying unsuccessfully for about 2 months. :bananabat:
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Re: Caves in Maryland

Postby rlboyce » Jul 7, 2011 8:55 pm

That's very good news! I was becoming rather disappointed that you had no luck with them. The area has some nice (if smaller) caves, you just have to find people who know about them. If you go into CG, ask about the digging efforts... I hear it's bigger than what it used to be.
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Re: Caves in Maryland

Postby nathanroser » Jul 7, 2011 9:14 pm

I'll make sure to check it out, I saw their other dig sites near the meeting place and they're doing another dig in August, they say they're getting close. As for small MD caves, for some odd reason I seem to enjoy even small caves around here better than anything in NY that is bigger, probably because the dirt is orange and not a dull gray.
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Re: Caves in Maryland

Postby Caving Guru » Dec 23, 2013 12:25 am

"As far as I know there are no documented caves in Montgomery County" muddyface

It turns out that there actually is one in Montgomery County, Maryland. It's called Devil's Den Cave in Paint Branch on the Federal Research Center property in the White Oak area of Silver Spring. It's about 60 feet in length.
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Re: Caves in Maryland

Postby rlboyce » Dec 24, 2013 3:54 pm

Sounds like it is man-made.
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Re: Caves in Maryland

Postby Bob Thrun » Dec 24, 2013 9:13 pm

Greg Jones wrote:"
It turns out that there actually is one in Montgomery County, Maryland. It's called Devil's Den Cave in Paint Branch on the Federal Research Center property in the White Oak area of Silver Spring. It's about 60 feet in length.

I used to work there before it was the Federal Research Center. If I had known about it, I would have checked it out.
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Re: Caves in Maryland

Postby Bumbalawski » Dec 24, 2013 10:38 pm

The caves get better the farther west you in Maryland. Maryland does have some nice caves if you know where to look.
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Re: Caves in Maryland

Postby Scrivy » Dec 24, 2013 11:36 pm

Washington County has 60% of the caves in Maryland. Come join TriState Grotto.
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Re: Caves in Maryland

Postby Bumbalawski » Dec 25, 2013 12:11 am

Allegany County has some large caves, but difficult land owners and a couple very big caves of high skill level makes Washington County a better bet for entry level caving. Join a grotto. A very good place to start.
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