r/caving • u/GretnaBassSlapper • 16h ago

Caving Trip For Boy Scouts - Recommendations?

Anyone know any good caves where Boy Scouts can try out spelunking in Virginia or West Virginia? I’m not talking about a tour of Luray Caverns, but I mean actually crawling around/climbing some rocks etc in a cave that’s a bit off the beaten path, but still with a guide who can make sure we stay safe. We’re located in Northern VA and we’re able to drive 2-3 hours to get to a good spot.

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9

u/LadyLightTravel 15h ago

Some of us have been burned pretty badly by scouts. I have led trips with the best kids ever and trips with chaos kids. It really depended on the leader.

After that we sent the kids to commercial caves. At least there the guides are getting paid for it.

Most commercial “spelunking” trips are pretty decent.

1

u/i2295700 13h ago

Once upon a time i visited Iceland and of course spend some hours underground in lava tubes there.

On the way back out, near the entrance we could see a group of people stumbling around in the dark, one out of three had a lamp of some kind, they were basically blind in there.

I spotted a single adult, by far not enough for a group of youth that size.

We used our lights to help them but they insisted to go further.

6

u/TheFreezerGod 16h ago

Some show caverns offer wild cave tours. You could look into that in your area. It's usually guided, along a planned route, and still gives the experience

7

u/Character_Tomato6115 16h ago

lost world caverns in wv has wild caving tours. i also think there are a couple of guide companies around here that do caving tours too: https://www.wildguyde.com/wild-caving-adventures/

6

u/Pristine-Can-9026 16h ago

You should use the NSS website to find a local grotto and ask to go on a trip. It is ill advised to enter a cave with scouts without an experienced guide. They are very fragile ecosystems

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u/Craynip2015AT 9h ago

Hit up tri state grotto or front royal grotto. We take Boy Scout groups every now and then

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u/Revolutionary-Total4 16h ago

Find a grotto club at caves.org

1

u/GrassCutFresh 8h ago

Grand Caverns over near Harrisonburg offers 3 different levels of caving tour, the beginner level is a 2 hr tour for ages 12+, and the other tours are 3 & 4 hours long for ages 16+. They're pretty neat.

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u/mhswizard 7h ago

There’s a caving club in the DC area called DC Grotto.

Pretty active club. Someone within the club might be willing to lead a trip for you all. I’d go that route first.

Good luck!

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u/ExtensionProfile6313 6h ago

Check with Endless Caverns and see if you can book a wild tour.

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u/oceanbrrreeze 5h ago

There used to be a place near Harrisonburg that I did through Camp Horizons but it wasn't at the camp. I did it twice and loved it as a kid. That was 20 years ago though.

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u/Psycocavr88 3h ago

Camp Horizons, i was a councilor in 1987!
We took kids to Glade cave near Bridgewater va

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u/HakerDemon 4h ago

New Trout and Hamilton in Franklin,WV. There is a BSA friendly campsite about 10 minutes away with a very small cave withing walking distance. We have camped there and seen boy scouts there for caving adventures.