How to Visit Skyline Caverns in Virginia
- 1). From Reagan National airport, take Interstate 395 south to the Washington Beltway (I-495) and travel west to Interstate 66. Exit west toward Front Royal. Once near Front Royal, take Exit 13 onto State Highway 55 until the U.S. 340 intersection, located within the city. Take 340 south toward Bentonville/Luray, and Skyline Caverns is about one mile on the left.
- 2). From Dulles International, as an alternate airport, take State Highway 28 south toward Centreville. Access Interstate 66 at Centreville and proceed with the aforementioned directions.
- 3). Pay the entrance fee at the gift shop. After descending a few metal steps, a well-dressed tour guide will explain the formations and rooms.
- 4). Make sure the camera shutter speed accounts for the darkness and dim lighting. Even though the colored lights appear spectacular, they generally don’t photograph well with a standard camera.
- 5). Prepare for the area in the cave where Skyline Caverns uses a recorded invocation to God. Don’t be shocked! The invocation is well-meaning and interdenominational, as well as light spiritual fare. The recording offers grace to the creator for the beauty within the cavern. Respectfully, the guide asks permission from his guests to play the recording, and the guests have the option to decline. The cave goes black and a resonant, yet powerful, voice speaks for a few moments. Apparently this has been a part of the Skyline tour for decades, and considering its locale in the Shenandoah Valley, the tradition is apropos and respected.
- 6). Visit the room of the Anthodites: small, spiked formations, sprouting everywhere along the cave walls. White in color and seemingly very delicate, Anthodites are a rare find within caves throughout the world.
- 7). Recognize the major cave formations as per their given name. Part of the joy of these tours is seeing the resemblance in the formation.
- 8). Return to the surface and take the children on the miniature train, or if the children are old enough not to get confused and frustrated, experience the mirror maze.
- 9). Dine and stay in Front Royal. The city is the northern gateway to Shenandoah National Park, and therefore has all the amenities for any traveler. Otherwise, return to the Washington area for many more choices.
