Description: A venerable roadside attraction, Luray Caverns is a true piece of Americana. Few of my travel experiences have seemed so, well, American as standing in line for 15 to 20 minutes in a gift shop that exists only to sell you any and every kitschy items that can fit the words "Luray Caverns" on it.
I loved it. Even before we descended into the caves below, I was digging the feel of this place. I could imagine people in the 1950s standing in line waiting to get a peak at the wonders below. Of course, I imagined this scene in black-and-white, like an episode of "The Andy Griffin Show." I may be a sentimentalist, but only in gray scale.
Anyway, I loved that the stairs were well worn by a century's worth of feet shuffling through here. I found the straightforward "we want you to buy a postcard and your child to leave with a Luray Caves T-shirt" feel of the place to be honest and refreshing, unlike the slick, scripted pitch that was intended to get us to buy a timeshare at Massanutten Resort about 40 minutes south of here.
Keeping with the roadside attraction nature of the place, the caverns aren't the only thing to do at this place. A car museum and a garden labyrinth also are on premises. We had no desire to take in either.
Now, on to the star of the show—the caverns. They're pretty awesome. Dramatic lighting maximizes these subterranean scenes and the play of light and shadow on the mineral formations is well orchestrated. The walk is not physically difficult—as is the case with the road to hell, these slopes are gradual and the path is paved. Your guide, if he's anything like ours, will be competent and will pass along interest tidbits about the formations and how they were discovered.
The highlight of the caverns is a mirror-smooth underground pond. No more than 2 feet at its deepest, the pond, thanks to the lighting, offers an incredible optical illusion, as it perfectly reflects the stalactite above it. Linger here as long as possible to take in this site; it will dazzle your mind as you look at it from different angles.
The rest of the caverns are impressive as well. Billed as the most popular caverns in the eastern U.S., they are an impressive and massive network of tall-roofed caves.
PHOTO ADVICE: Point-and-click cameras (even digitals) will automatically shoot at flash mode, which ruins the dramatic lighting. If you can, turn off your flash, set your aperture as wide as possible, and slow your shutter as much as you dare. If shooting with film, use 800 speed. If you're shooting digital, set your ISO high. If you have a large-capacity memory card, shoot at several settings to ensure you get some keepers.
If near the northern tip of Virginia, this is definitely worth the admission ($19 for adults, $16 for seniors, $9 for children).
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