organ cave

When I arrived, it was drizzling and I was the only car in the parking lot. (This is where you hear the ominous music) There were two bored young ladies on the porch and when I climbed the steps, one of them yelled to someone else that there was a customer. It took a little while for the shop/ticket lady to show up. OK, I'll look around the gift shop, maybe select a post card or two... She came in, breathless, and said she was canning green beans. I'm not sure what that has to do with anything, but that's what she said.She also told me they can't open the cave for just one person unless she charges me $20.21. Gee, I was going to ask for the Senior Discount, but I guess *that's* out. Well, OK, lady, go back to your beans and I'll scratch this off my itinerary forever. I'm not bitter, or anything...

Sorry but this place was really dirty. We liked Lost World Caverns alot better. I think it's because this one is privately owned and they don't have the budget that Lost World does. The owners seemed nice though.

I was a bit disappointed with the formations in the cave. There are a few nice ones especially the one at the end of the formation part of the tour. The cave is very large and has a extensive history. Make sure you wear a jacket. The cave is one of the coldest I have been in it is about 42 degrees. Also the pathways are not well lighted and very slippery. I suggest you bring a flashlight and wear good footwear. This is and interesting cave and I suggest you visit the cave.

This cave was okay but nothing special. Our guide took off so quickly that it was hard to keep up or hear him. It had some Civil War history, but I think the mannikins that were put in there took away from the realness of it. It made it seem more like a set-up for tourists. I don't believe we would ever go here again or recommend it to others.

I don't know how we found out about it originally, but this is one historical site we will visit again. This cave played a very big role in the civil war. If you are into history or even just into a beautiful cave and wonderful people, do not miss this. Good for kids 6 and up. My son (6) loved it. Also, the cave cat is super cool and might join you on your tour.

Real gem of a cave. Outstanding tour with Civil war history. A must to see if you are visiting in the area.

We originally had booked the Gypsum Tour. The website said some tight spaces. When we got there the owner told us it was almost entirely crawling. No thanks! So we ended up having to pay an extra ten bucks to do another tour, the overlook tour. Troy guided us through the cave for what ended up being around 4 hours. He was great, he didn't feel the need to chat us up the whole time and make up stuff to fill the silence. The silence was amazing. It sounded like outside at night when snow is falling. There were some really cute little bats near the cave entrance. Don't let the website fool you, this is essential several hours of climbing, crawling, shimmying and rock hopping. We were so sore after, I had to limp to the hotel. They really need to be a bit more up front on the website. I don't think it accurately describes the tour. I would do it again though! It was a very unique experience.

I enjoyed the entire tour! We had an amazing guide. He was very entertaining and knowledgable about the caves. The caves themselves were beautiful and very interesting to get to see. Overall the entire trip was spectacular

Recently I went to this cave after going to a different one in Lewisburg. Actually my sisters and I stumbled on this one and I am so glad we did! It was so much larger and more interesting. It took several hours for the tour. Be forewarned to wear warm clothing and comfortable shoes for uneven ground. We did feel there were a few inaccuracies so maybe the guide (a guy) could bone up on those details. When I am back in that area I will definitely visit it again with my husband.

This is a very interesting cave tour for a reasonable price. It is a guided tour and took our group about 2 hours total. The cave is magnificent. Another reviewer mentioned some historical inaccuracies which may or may not be the case but nonetheless the cave is huge, spectacular, and well worth seeing. The passages wind around and are mostly fairly large. There are portions that have a low ceiling or close side clearance but I recall only 2 areas like that for a short distance. As far as I'm concerned the historical perspective is their opinion and interpretation. Who knows if a specific person visited 150 years ago? Our guide was a little rough around the dges but was very thorough and accommodating with questions. I wouldn't hesitate to stop back and do the tour again just to marvel at the underground spaces. The gift shop had lots to look at and was reasonably priced, too.

We love caves of all types. We purchased the double tour -- the civil war portion and the formation tour. After descending the stairs the young guide said his flashlight was not working properly. We asked him if he wanted to go back and change his batteries, he said no because our flashlight was working fine . Initially this did not seem to be a problem, as the passageways were lit with electric bulbs and we were confident things would be ok. We should have just gone back at that point and had our money refunded. The civil war portion was interesting, but the young guide stated that Robert E. Lee supervised the work his soldiers did in the cave to retrieve salt peter. We are fairly knowlegeble in the matters of Robert E. Lee and his diaries, and he was no where near this cave. It was interesting though to see the troughs the soldiers used to mine in the cave, but once again the guide said all of the equipment was original, however upon close inspection (remeber, we had the flashlight that worked) we found the holes on the frames machine drilled, not pocket knife carved as he stated. We didn't call him on it, or the history of General Lee, we were trying to be kind. Even though much of the equipment were reproductions, it was interesting to see how mining might have occurred. OK, Civil War Tour over, onto the next loop of the cave, formations. This is where the guide began to tell us that his back was hurting, he was tired from previous tours, he was afraid it might be too damp, how he hated climbing stairs and how he wished he was on a "wild cave" tour instead of the other guide leading that tour and how he wished he could join them. About ten minutes into that loop he declared it was too wet to continue--aka--a drop of water fell on his head--and now we would have to turn around because it would be much too dangerous. So, we did. Within minutes of turning around we passed another group going to the exact same area that did not turn around. When we asked him about this he said that that guide was going to be in trouble. We also asked if it were so dangerous, why were your selling tickets for that portion of the tour (you had to buy 2 tickets, one for the civil war, one for the formations) he stated things were ok earlier when he went through, they just are not now...the guide was probably in his late teens and it just seemed that he would rather be someplace else. We asked if we could get a refund for the portion we did not see and he said no. Very disappointing, I would not recommend these tours to anyone. The guide was ill informed and not willing to fullfil his obligations. We did complete about an hour of what was to be a three hour tour.

I took an 8 year old boy on his first caving adventure on the Gypsum Passage expedition. I was a little concerned because caving can be dangerous, but our guide, Janie, was excellent. She was very attentive to his needs and paid close attention at the potentially scary parts. There were no problems. The expedition itself was pretty low key. It's mostly flat with a large overhead ceiling. There isn't a lot of crawling nor is it very strenuous if you are reasonably fit. There are 3 potential difficult spots. The "birth canal" is about a 6 foot belly crawl that slants upward that might freak you out if you are claustrophobic. There is a ledge to cross coming in that has a steep fall that could get the best of your nerves. There is also a drop of about 12 feet that is a little technical, but if you take your time, you'll be fine. None of it is difficult with the right footwear, but fatigue or fear could get the best of you. I didn't give it 5 stars because the equipment is old, worn, and not the highest quality, but it's good enough to get through. The scenery is lovely. You'll learn a lot and have a good time. It's definitely worth a look.

This is a good experience, not only educational, but also fun and can be scary. Be sure to dress warmly, it is cold. and wear rubber sole shoes for comfort and to avoid slipping. In summer heat, slip sweats over your clothes, plus a jacket. You might even want a hooded face hat. Soldiers actually stayed here.

Spent 4.5 hours on the Keyhole expedition in October 2012, with a group of 11 youth and adults from a Scouting Venturing crew. We intentionally chose a challenging trek, and it met our expectations. The website advises that participants should wear solid shoes & clothes that can get dirty, and should be in decent physical condition, and those are good requirements. It was a challenging rock scramble with some crawling (but nothing too hard even for a claustrophobe), and while there were a couple of times when some of us needed to take a deep breath in order to get over a hurdle, the difficulty was generally more "in the head" than real. Take your time, enjoy the beauty, and appreciate the very good guides. Definitely worth the price of admission.

Organ Cave is three experiences in one. We found the website offered a flexible, interesting trip, and were looking to do something more than the basic caving experience (which the guides describe as a "commercial tour"). But to get any type of tour, you have to deal with the first experience, also the least pleasant: the gift shop. Both on the phone and in person, there's not a lot of customer-service mentality at the store. What you want may not be available. You may even get a hard time for asking. So try to decide as best as you can exactly which tour you want, and deal with the gift shop for a bare minimum of the transaction. (It is worth saying, though, that the prices at the gift shop are extraordarily reasonable for rock/geode hunting types.)The second experience is the commercial tours. These stick to prepared paths and come with lots of narration. You've seen bunches, and quite likely seen better, if you've been to other tourist caves. But the guides are friendly and the property has some interesting history. The rates are good and there are several varieties of discounts to boot.The third experience is the real caving experience – the “wild caving” or the small-group tours. This is the real deal, and an extraordinary bargain. The company provides helmet, lamp, gloves, and kneepads. You provide sweat, determination, and hopefully some decent shoes (which need to be able to keep traction in damp and mud). There are over a dozen different routes; all of them take some exertion, and any of them that involve straddling can put you over an open expanse that may make you think twice. The guides, however, know the cave, and clearly have a love of being in there. They are devoted caretakers of the resource and insist on a goes-in, goes-out policy (no litter AT ALL was seen on the trip), and have strict guidelines to which they adhere when they encounter the occasional wildlife in the cave. You won’t necessarily get any of the history or much of the science that you get on the commercial tour, but you’ll go deep into the rock, get a great physical challenge, and experience something truly uncommon. You may come out filthy, bruised, and exhausted, but extremely proud to have completed the challenge. Several experienced cavers in our group said the equipment was far better than the norm for the price, and nobody came away feeling like they’d had less than their money’s worth. The guides helped the child (about seven years old) in our group through all the challenging parts of a planned three-hour trip that took closer to four. When we got back to the gift shop, we got some terse words from the clerk for being slow – see the downside to the first experience above – but the trip was a great experience overall. For eco-tourism, you probably can’t do better in the area.One last tip: The ideal group size is probably between five and ten. Any less than five and there's not much conversation to be had. Any more than ten and it turns into a zoo, ruining the experience of isolation.