One day during a recent trip with my sister and brother-in-law at Long View Resort in Bryson City, NC we were trying to find something to do on a rainy day. Even though it would be a two hour drive through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, we decided that the perfect place to spend the day was in Townsend, TN visiting the Tuckaleechee Caverns. Even with the light rain, we enjoyed the mountain views and even spotted elk during our drive

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Like most tourists, William, Ron and I had to snap our photo at the entrance to the caverns. Nothing about the entrance indicated  that this was the “Greatest Site Under the Smokies” and the highest rating Cave or Cavern of the Eastern United States. 

We purchased our $24 ticket for the tour and only waited in the gift shop a few minutes before it began, The first thing the guide said was to make sure you would be able to climb 400 steps and walk more than a mile. If you didn’t think you could do this you should not enter the caverns.

The Caves were first discovered by two young boys in the early 1930’s. They noticed a sinkhole that would never collect rain water and thought that there might be a tunnel going somewhere. They fashioned a lantern by taking a soda bottle filled with kerosene and entered the hole. They were mesmerized by what that found and kept it a secret even into their adulthood. The two boys remained life long friends and after returning from World War II and some attempts at making a living in Alaska they came back to their hometown in Townsend, TN. They were inspired by the opening of Carlsbad Caves in New Mexico and so they purchased the land where they had first found the caves and quickly opened for tours. Even to this day, the caves are owned and operated by descendants of these two boys.

The steps spiraled down into the caverns where we would walk on platforms along side the underground stream at the bottom of the caverns. One of the most impressive formations that we saw was the gigantic Flowstone Falls which is over six feet deep, thirty feet wide and hanging over eighty feet from the ceiling. Since this flowstone formation had stopped growing long ago we were allowed to touch it.

We continued along our mile long exploration of the caverns to the “Big Room” which is larger than a football field. In this room there were stunning formations. Two of the most impressive columns are the Pencil, which is 22 feet tall, and the Palm Tree, which is 23 feet tall and 7 feet round. You can see them in the background behind the four of us. The formations look so small in the picture so it is difficult to imagine the dimensions I just noted.

As we left the Big Room we went to an overlook of the Drapery Room. They look like large curtains hanging from the ledges.

Here are a few other formations in this section of the cave that I found interesting.

The formation below is called the Chandelier. It weighs over 2 tons and is supported and connected to the ceiling by only twenty percent of the actual formation. Look at the very top of the formation and see what a small section is actually attached to the ceiling.

Another section of the caverns was much closer to the water. We really enjoyed walking along the stream and stopping to check out just how cold the water was.

The last formation that I want to share is the waterfall. Although there doesn’t seem to be much water falling from the formation, just imagine if it was raining and just how much water would fall.  It falls 210 feet from top to bottom and is the tallest subterranean waterfall in the Eastern US. In the picture below only 90 feet of the falls are visible.

If you visit Tuckaleechee make sure to stop for a lunch or dinner at the Peaceful Side Social in Townsend for a meal you won’t forget. My favorite pizza was the Fig, Pear, and arugula sour dough pizza.