Indian Caverns - Spruce Creek, PA - Largest Limestone Cave in PA

Located at 5374 Indian Trail in Spruce Creek in Pennsylvania, Indian Caverns lies in Huntingdon County. Indian Caverns is the largest limestone cave in Pennsylvania and the second largest cave in Pennsylvania overall.

Indian Caverns is open rain or shine. From June through August, regular hours of operation are 10:00am to 5:00pm daily. In April, May, September, and October, Indian Caverns is open on weekends only from 10:00am to 5:00pm. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, guided tours are offered every hour on the hour from 11:00am to 4:00pm. During the off-season, access to the cavern is available to groups of 10 or more by appointment only.

Tours of Indian Caverns typically last between 60 and 90 minutes. Tours are led by guides that provide a complete history of the cavern system. As part of the tour, a tablet of petroglyphs and several Native American artifacts are displayed. Tour guides also educate visitors on the geology of the rock formations and how they are formed.

Adult admission is $12 per person. Admission for seniors, students, and military is $10.50 per person. Admission for each child between the ages of four and twelve is $6.50. Children ages three and under receive free admission. Discount rates are available for groups consisting of 20 or more individuals.

The cavern maintains a constant temperature of 56 degrees Fahrenheit because it is air-conditioned naturally. Visitors may want to bring a light wrap to prevent feeling chilled. Located in the foothill of Tussey Mountain, Indian Caverns is a horizontal karst cave. The cave is comprised of Ordovician limestone that was most likely deposited approximately 405 million years ago. Primarily formed by carbonic acid that was in the ground water and dissolved the softer layers of rock to form a system of passages, Indian Caverns reaches a depth of 140 feet. It has chambers that are roughly 60 feet high and 40 feet wide.

Indian Caverns is considered to be a "living'' cave, which means that many of the dripstone and flowstone formations remain active to this day. In order to grow one cubic inch of this formation, it takes about 120 years. Indian Caverns features many speleothems, such as cave coral, soda straws, stalactites, stalagmites, helectites, sawtooth, and columns. It also houses the largest sheet of flowstone in the northeast. Many formations within the cave are formed by erosion.

Indian Caverns is home to the Room of the Fireflies, which is also called the White Grotto. The White Grotto is a zinc sulfide deposit that, in combination with the calcite in the cave, causes this section to phosphoresce (glow in the dark).

The Visitor's Center was built using the face of the mountain as a back wall, and the building is based on the southwestern pueblo style. A Pacific Northwest totem pole and a Plains-style teepee are located on the grounds. There is a gift shop onsite that offers a wide variety of Native American souvenirs as well as a range of gemstones, fossils, and minerals.

Picnic areas are available along Spruce Creek's bank. An enclosed picnic pavilion is also available by request. Catch and release fishing and fish feeding are permitted on the grounds. There is a modest fee charged for fishing.

For additional information about Indian Caverns, interested parties can call 814-632-7578 or 570-322-0350.