Howe Caverns

Howe Caverns The largest show cave in the Northeast. Howe Caverns is an underground world of natural wonder. As you exit into the Vestibule, your imagination takes hold.

Imagine stepping into an elevator that takes you 156 feet below the Earth's surface. When the elevator stops, the doors open into a prehistoric underground cavern six million years in the making. The air down here is different. A constant 52 degrees Fahrenheit and 70-75% humidity, year round. As your eyes adjust to the underworld, shadows hide secrets in every crack and crevice. Every sound echos

off the walls and ceiling, reminding you of just how deep you have descended and what surprises await you in this underground wonder! You don't have to be a serious caver or spelunker to appreciate the geology of Howe Caverns. Your specially trained tour guide will help you negotiate the cave and learn more about the magnificent limestone stalagmites and flowstone, and the tremendous conservation effort underway to protect and preserve Howe Caverns for future generations. When you've completed your tour, come back to the surface and mine for gemstones or crack open a geode to reveal your treasure at the Howe Caverns Mining Co. You will also find above ground our Gift Shops, Rock Shop, Sweet Shop with homemade fudge and truffles, and our Cafe with delicious home-cooked food. Plan your visit to New York’s coolest getaway soon!

09/01/2026

NEW in the gift shop! 🦇❤️

You left your tour to take pictures?!Excuse me.I’m sorry. I am verklempt. I need a moment. PEOPLE.PEOPLE!!!YOU ARE IN A ...
09/01/2026

You left your tour to take pictures?!

Excuse me.

I’m sorry. I am verklempt.

I need a moment.

PEOPLE.

PEOPLE!!!

YOU ARE IN A CAVE.

The guide is talking.

Your group is moving.

Everybody is together.

What happens? You have a photo moment and think to yourself, “Hmm. Lovely. Educational. Fascinating. BUT I HAVE NOT YET PHOTOGRAPHED THIS ROCK FROM SEVENTEEN DIFFERENT ANGLES. WAIT! I NEED TO GET THAT PICTURE!”

AND OFF YOU GO.

BY.

YOURSELF.

WHAT ARE WE DOING?!

You are not a National Geographic photographer.
You are not America’s Next Top Cave Influencer.

YOU CANNOT LEAVE YOUR TOUR.

You cannot decide that your family needs to go over there because there’s “a better angle.” You cannot wander down another passage because the lighting is “really good over there.” You cannot fall 40 ft. behind your group because you were trying to “get the perfect shot of that formation.” You do not need 900 million pictures of it.

STAY. WITH. YOUR. TOUR.

Why?

Because WE NEED TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.

The other day, a family left their tour and wandered off somewhere else in the cave.

The guide didn’t know they left.

The tour continued.

Another guide began shutting the cave lights off…

WHILE THESE PEOPLE WERE STILL SOMEWHERE IN THE CAVE.

HELLO?!

This is how our blood pressure gets involved.

WE WANT YOU TO TAKE THE PICTURES! In fact, take so many pictures that your phone starts sending you threatening messages about its storage limit. Take your selfies. Take your family photo. Take your “LOOK MA, I’M IN A CAVE” picture.

But take those pictures WHILE STAYING WITH YOUR TOUR.

Your guide is responsible for you.

We do not want to play “WHERE IN THE CAVE IS CARMEN SANDIEGO?” We will see you with our not-so-secret cave cameras and you WILL BE ESCORTED OUT OF THE CAVE.

OH, WE KNOW WHAT SOME OF YOU ARE THINKING…

“But I didn’t have enough time to take all my pictures.”

DARLING, YOU HAD. AN. HOUR. AND. A. HALF.

How many pictures do you need?

And PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, DO NOT LEAVE US A ONE-STAR REVIEW BECAUSE WE WOULDN’T LET YOU WANDER AROUND A CAVE UNSUPERVISED SO YOU COULD GET YOUR 900,000,00 PICTURES.

What are you going to write?

“One star. They made me stay with the tour. They rushed me. I was unable to photograph this stalactite from every known angle. Absolutely devastated.”

We are not trying to ruin your life.

We are trying to make sure EVERYONE WHO ENTERS THE CAVE COMES BACK OUT OF THE CAVE.

TOGETHER.

Talk amongst yourselves.

New ducks in the Duck Locker. We’re going after that 🏀😍
09/01/2026

New ducks in the Duck Locker. We’re going after that 🏀😍

Happy September! As summer vacations come to a close, it’s time to shift gears. Backpacks are getting packed, alarms are...
09/01/2026

Happy September! As summer vacations come to a close, it’s time to shift gears. Backpacks are getting packed, alarms are being set, and a brand new school year is about to begin! 🍎📚✏️

We’re wishing all students, teachers, and families a smooth, successful, and happy start to the year ahead ❤️

We’re excited to see everyone! Just a reminder: we are open on Labor Day and, as always, open daily year round 🦇

We absolutely loved receiving this wonderful story from Veronique about her son Noah’s 8th birthday visit to Howe this p...
08/31/2026

We absolutely loved receiving this wonderful story from Veronique about her son Noah’s 8th birthday visit to Howe this past Saturday, 29 August

“It was our son Noah’s 8th birthday on Saturday, so our family along with two other families (our friends and our little guy’s besties) drove to Howe Caverns coming from 3 different counties. As we checked in, a really nice employee named JULIAN happily wished our little guy a Happy Birthday and welcomed him, and all of us with a super friendly and warm attitude. He made our son feel very special! AND, he shared with us that it was also HIS birthday! 🎈 After the tour, he personally walked to the sweets shop and offered Noah an ice cream, and when he noticed that one of our friends bought a picture of the tour for our son’s, he reimbursed her the cost! What was already an awesome birthday was made even more special because of Julian. Thank you from two parents who went home late that night (after eating an awesome dinner at The Babbling Brook about half hour away) with a VERY happy birthday boy. 😍”

HOWE AWESOME! Thank you so much for visiting! 🫶🏼❤️

Who remembers Ed from our “driving on the grass/ climbing on the fence post”? It started with a few questionable commen...
08/31/2026

Who remembers Ed from our “driving on the grass/ climbing on the fence post”? It started with a few questionable comments by Ed. Then came the moment we collectively said, “Sit down, Ed.” Jennifer turned it into a graphic. We took it one step too far and actually made the shirt. Lindsay made the drama into fashion 💁🏼‍♀️🤣

If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting these two fabulous ladies yet, allow us to introduce you! The beautiful and ...
08/31/2026

If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting these two fabulous ladies yet, allow us to introduce you! The beautiful and famous Mrs. McGillycuddy and her gorgeous daughter, Kendal- two of our absolute favorite ladies in the world! 🌍 We are SO excited to see them rocking their Howe Caverns gear! There are some very exciting collaborations coming up with McGillycuddy's Naturals, and we cannot wait to share what we’ve been dreaming up together! We really are so lucky to work with such wonderful, talented, and inspiring women. Stay tuned! 💖

08/31/2026

OH, THIS IS BIG! The wait is FINALLY over! 🎉After more than a year of waiting, our very own embroidered plush bats have arrived! They’ve got our name embroidered on them AND “Live, Love, Cave” on their wings. HOWE cute is that?! 😍 Grab yours in the store or online before they all fly away! 🦇🤎

We couldn’t be more excited to welcome our latest & greatest Howie, Kristin! 😁 She’s got the biggest smile and the best ...
08/31/2026

We couldn’t be more excited to welcome our latest & greatest Howie, Kristin! 😁 She’s got the biggest smile and the best sense of humor. We already know she’s going to be such a fun addition to our Howe family. We’re so happy she’s here! We can’t wait for you all to meet her! 💕

Address

255 Discovery Drive
Howes Cave, NY
12092

Telephone

(518) 296-8900

Website

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