The state of Tennessee contains more than 700 known caves and caverns. And, one of the most visited caverns in the state, Tuckaleechee Caverns attracts around 50,000 visitors each year. Located just outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in the city of Townsend, Tuckaleechee Caverns houses a variety of breathtaking spectacles.
Tuckaleechee Caverns originally formed approximately 20 to 30 million years ago. Local legend claims that, long before its documented discovery, Tuckaleechee Caverns was once a Cherokee Indian hideout. Whether or not this is true, in 1850, local sawmill workers witnessed water running into a sinkhole, and, upon further inspection, made the first documented discovery of the entrance to Tuckaleechee Caverns. For many years, prior to this discovery, the sinkhole area had actually been well known for the cool air that circulated up from the caverns, and locals would hang out there during the hot summer months. In addition, the land above the caverns had long been known as "Dry Valley." Once the caverns were discovered, it was revealed that an underground stream drains the water from the ground above, causing the valley to stay dry.
A formal cavern entrance was originally developed and opened in 1931. However, it closed only a year later. In 1953, two men who had grown up in Townsend, and had played in the caverns as boys, bought the land. They built walkways and lighting throughout, and opened Tuckaleechee Caverns to the public, once again. One of those two men, Bill Vananda still owns and operates the caverns.
Tuckaleechee Caverns hosts a number of breathtaking formations. Stalagmites and stalactites, many over twelve feet in length, line the top and bottom of the caverns, along with a number of other highly-intricate cave formations, including helictites and cave draperies. The caverns' "Big Room" measures 300 feet wide by 400 feet long by 150 feet deep---the biggest public-access cavern room in the Eastern United States---and contains 24 foot-tall stalagmites. One of the most majestic features of Tuckaleechee Caverns is a 200 foot underground waterfall, named Silver Falls. This giant double-waterfall is fed by the very stream that drains Dry Valley.
Paved walkways and lights line the mile of caverns open to the public, and guided tours depart the entrance every 30 minutes.
Open every day, from 10 am to 6 pm, the cost of admission to the Tuckaleechee Caverns is $14 for adults, 12 and over; $7 for children, ages five to eleven and free for children under five.
Tuckaleechee Caverns
825 Cavern Road
Townsend, TN 37882
865-448-2274
tuckaleecheecaverns.com
