Indiana Caverns

The guide was spectacular. No religious stuff was thrown at us. The store lady was super nice. Great tour. The best part was that our guide was the founder of the cave.

We were in the area for a family vacation and decided to make a day trip to see the caverns. It’s my understanding that a privately owned company runs the operations. That said, our family had a pretty good experience. Our tour guide Jay did a nice job. Friendly both with adults and more importantly, with children. Answered questions and just as importantly, knew his stuff!
Other than the tour, there is a small side tour for an additional fee that involves crawling through a separate part of the cave. They give you safety equipment and you’re on your own. They offer panning for gemstones, but it was somewhat pricey and we decided to pass. As noted by another reviewer, the tour ends in a spot where a «hard to miss» sign advises that tipping the tour guides is acceptable. In my opinion, company owners should pay their employees more and take down the sign.
Decent gift shop with snack foods and drinks. Restrooms were clean as was the outside of the main building. Was it worth the time and expense to visit? Yes and we would recommend to others who are considering a visit to the area.
Thanks!

The caves are fascinating, tour guides knowledgable, and the staff polite. Which is why I feel bad giving this spot one star, but I have to. There is creationist propaganda everywhere. If this place insists on teaching religion, I have no problem with that. But do not claim to be a scientifically accurate and educational experience. Claim to be a cave experience that will teach religious values. Is it fair to bring school children to the caves from schools all around the area, only to teach them about your particular religious beliefs? From the bookstore, to the video, there are many examples of inaccurate science and «6000 year» creationism. They are subtly displayed, but are certainly there.

My boys and I surprised my husband with a Father’s Day adventure that started at Indiana Caverns. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience! Our guide, Jay, was knowledgable, friendly and funny. It was around 1 hour and 40 minutes. Make sure you bring a jacket, be prepared for a lot of stairs and tight spaces. We all loved our morning at Indiana Caverns and will definitely be back!

I recommend taking the tour mid day, during the week. No crowds to deal with and it allows for a more intimate experience and photo opts. The tour guide was great! Sweet, young fellow who sounded very knowledgable. I was however, disappointed when he informed us that he and others who work there have been known to eat the cave crayfish. This particular crayfish is actually protected… It’s a privately owned cave so I imagine different rules apply and I don’t think he even knew they were a protected species once I pointed it out.
It’s one of the more enjoyable tours and guided cave experiences in the area. Fascinating to see they are in the constant process of unearthing prehistoric bones of mammals that roamed this region 40,000 years ago. A 35ft waterfall and clear streams running through the earth as you walk 120 ft below ground. A geologic wonder for Indiana.

I read the other reviews and I, for one, am realistic. First of all, this is Indiana, not D.C., it’s a cave, not the Smithsonian, it’s underground, not in a dance club. My guess is that the majority of people that come here will be perfectly satisfied with the tour; minimal educational information with a little historical background & some entertaining banter back & forth. Our tour guide, Jay, did a fine job. I do think that $ 19 is a bit expensive for anyone under the age of 15, but as far as informing the public that your tour guide accepts tips, I don’t see a problem with that. It’s simply stated, not an obligation — and yes, it’s where you can see it, otherwise, what’s the point? For what it’s worth, I think it’s all pretty cool, especially the fact that it’s newly found and its size. The restrooms are clean, the gift shop is nice & well stocked, the employees were kind, the cave was interesting. Here are the issues I saw: #1. They have a seat where you can take a photo of your kids or whomever, the only problem is — right behind the seat is the Restroom sign… I’d move the photo setting. #2. I do think they should inform you BEFORE you pay of the time the next tour will depart and #3. I would figure out a way to improve the return out of the cave, maybe throw in more fun facts, more points of interest, more info on the finding of the cave, whatever, but I felt a bit «rushed» heading back, not as in timing, but as in, well… there’s not much more to say.

I was disappointed for a number of reasons.
1) The tour was given by a young guy who delivered short, superficial vignettes about the cave. I’d like more detailed info about the geology, paleontology, etc. He also had a thick accent and it was difficult to understand him.
2) The owners/​operators are creationists and push this shamelessly both during the tour and in the ‘reference’ materials for sale at the facility. Sorry guys but science definitely does not prove that the earth was ‘created.’ I found it distasteful and disingenuous to have this very religious undertone to what is supposed to be a cave tour to check out the cave itself, the ice age bones, etc.
3) It cost a cool $ 19 per person, which is too much in my opinion. Even so, they make the group stand in front of a big ‘tips accepted’ type of sign at the end of the tour. I find this tacky and suggest the owners just pay the tour guides more.
All in all, disappointing and I can’t really recommend it. The cave itself is beautiful but I didn’t feel it was well-​showcased by the operators.

This cave was beautiful. We loved the underground river and all that jazz, but I can not give this cave a five star review. I was quite bothered that after paying 50 dollars to get in, we were hit up for a tip at the end. We stopped at a sign by the exit stating «tips are welcome.» Listen, I have been to many caves like Squire Boone, Mammoth Caves, Kartchner Caverns, and Carlsbad. I have never been asked to tip a tour guide. I understand it is appropriate to tip some tour guides in Europe, but when it is not industry standard, it just comes off as tacky. It ruined the experience for me. I will not be back.

Great cave tour! We loved seeing the bones, fossils and an actual site of a fossil dig. I liked the combination of a walking tour and underground boat ride.
Our tour guide was knowledgable and affable. He knew how to engage the kids and had tons of interesting information. We will come back.

A group of friends and I visited here in the morning, but no one ever showed up to open the place. We waited for a while but alas, the joint remained closed during their supposedly open hours. I’ll take my spelunking elsewhere…

In interest of full disclosure, this seemed like a really cool thing to do until … I don’t know it’s my near-​sightedness or fear of heights that kicked in, but, going down a spiral staircase that seemed to go on and on … I freaked the hell out! I have never done that before! Just know that if you go on this tour, you will go down about 100+ feet and will eventually have to come up that distance. Honestly, the ramps at the beginning/​end were worse than the stairs. Fortunately, I had an understanding mother-​in-​law who came back up with me. My husband and father-​in-​law really enjoyed the tour. Just don’t go if you have a phobia!

This is a New Cavern/​Cave tour you can do and it is REALLY FREAKING COOL!!! It is super close to Louisville, took us about 40 min’s +/​-​. The staff was ultra friendly and super nice! It was well worth the drive and money!!! They even have a BOAT RIDE in the middle of the tour, an underground river, to freaking cool!!! The tour is about 90min’s +/​-​and you are on a walk-​way through the whole thing (Except when on the boat:) Check them out of Facebook and now here on Unilocal!