Accessible Experience: Lincoln Caverns

By Jennifer Allen

A journey towards the center of the earth typically requires a lot of stairs. Thankfully, there are now a small handful of exceptions around the globe. One of those is in a small town in central Pennsylvania. For the first time, I was able to take my three children into a cave – something that I wasn’t sure we would ever be able to do.

While the main entrance to Lincoln Caverns is not wheelchair accessible, Lincoln Caverns has created accessible tours through the original entrance, along the highway. From this entrance, we were able to wheel through tunnels towards the heart of the cavern. I don’t know how much of the cavern we weren’t able to see, but I was really impressed by how much we were able to experience. We didn’t feel like we missed out on anything. Our guide showed us all the features of the cave and we followed his lead as we wandered and explored.

For your own convenience, it’s best to call ahead for the accessible tour, since you do need a personal escort.

Luray Caverns in Virginia also offers tours on wide, paved, well lit paths with a barrier free entrance. Due to some moderate grades, they don’t list themselves as wheelchair accessible.