Business Trip Report: Show Cave Visits and Lighting Projects in the United States

After three days at Glenwood Caverns, we set off for Boulder. Since we had some free time, we decided to make a detour to Colorado Springs to visit Cave of the Winds. Kathy helped us get in touch with the cave management, and we were able to join a regular guided tour of the cave.

The tour was excellent. Our cave guide was outstanding, which largely compensated for the aging lighting system in the show cave.

After spending a week in Colorado under very wintry conditions, we arrived in Virginia. We had to adjust to a sharp temperature change, from 42°F to 82°F, but that is fairly typical for the United States.

On the first day, there were no caves on the schedule, but we finally had the opportunity to visit two museums at Luray Caverns. On Sunday, we first visited the Classic Car Museum, followed later by the Open-Air Museum. We were very fortunate that Isabel Graves had time to give us a guided tour.

We had ample time to explore the cave under both the new and the old lighting systems, and we had not expected the results to be so impressive. The difference becomes particularly evident upon entering

Cathedral Hall, where the old lighting is still in place. There, the contrast is immediately noticeable: the old lighting appears harsh, overly bright, and too widely dispersed, almost overwhelming visitors’ eyes.

By contrast, the new LED lighting installed by Cave Lighting Team is gentle and soft. It does not feel harsh or glaring, allowing visitors to take their time and fully appreciate the many details of the cave. This is precisely what we value most about it.

The result is truly outstanding, and everyone involved in the project can take pride in what has been achieved. We hope that the second phase of the installation will be just as successful as the first.

Virginia surprised us: we had not realized there were so many show caves located near Luray Caverns. This gave us the opportunity to discover several other caves, over the course of two days.

We began with Skyline Caverns. The cave itself is quite interesting; however, the guided tour was rather mediocre.

As for the lighting, it was difficult to expect much from a system that is already 50 to 60 years old and was installed by an electrical company that clearly had no specific experience with cave lighting. The fixtures appeared to have been installed rather haphazardly, simply to provide basic illumination.

We will address the subject of lighting in show caves in greater detail later in the conclusion.

After visiting Skyline Caverns, we continued on to Endless Caverns. This show cave is located on a campground and is a relatively old, privately operated cave.

The guided tour was significantly better than the one at Skyline Caverns. Although the lighting setup was generally comparable, it was clear that greater care had been taken to avoid blinding visitors and to minimize the growth of lampenflora caused by the lighting.

The tour lasted approximately one hour. The cave guide, a young man, provided very detailed explanations and made the overall experience enjoyable. The cave itself also left a strong impression on us, particularly because of its large chambers and the beautiful stalactite formations on display.

I had already visited Shenandoah Caverns in October 2025 as part of the NCA Convention. At that time, I toured the cave and joined a guided visit.

This time, we unexpectedly met the cave’s general manager, Joe Procter. We had a very interesting and pleasant conversation with him about the cave’s history, the family background of the operation, the development of the show cave, the guided tours, and many other topics. Although the conversation was brief, it was highly informative and engaging.

Mr. Procter then invited us to take another, more in-depth tour of the cave, which we were of course pleased to accept.

The cave itself is a remarkable natural wonder and leaves a lasting impression. Unfortunately, the lighting system in the show cave has clearly aged over the years and no longer meets today’s standards. Several areas with beautiful stalactite formations are poorly lit. Numerous garlands, cables, and wires are visible along the walkways and cave walls, and the lamps themselves sometimes cause glare for visitors.

On the one hand, this still helps preserve a strong impression of the cave as a natural environment. On the other hand, the lighting system as a whole is not truly convincing.

Later that same day, we met with the management team of Grand Caverns. I had already visited this cave in October 2025 as part of the NCA Convention, and even at that time I considered it one of the most remarkable in the region, second only to Luray Caverns.

Since then, I had been trying to establish contact with the cave management, which I finally succeeded in doing. Once on site, we held a meeting of approximately two hours directly inside the cave. During the meeting, we discussed the cave’s history, the existing lighting system, the geological formations, the guided tours, and the management’s future objectives in detail.

I hope we were able to provide useful suggestions and recommendations that may support the future implementation of new lighting projects in the cave.

Lincoln Caverns was the final show cave we visited during our trip to the United States. Although it was not directly on our route to New Jersey, we made a deliberate decision to take a detour in order to visit it.

To our surprise, the staff at the ticket counter already knew who we were, and we were assigned a personal cave guide who led us through both show caves. During the tour, we could clearly see the care and dedication with which the caves are maintained and operated. It was immediately apparent that the staff places great importance on both the preservation and the presentation of the caves.

After the tour, we also had the opportunity to meet with Ann Dunlavy, the general manager and owner of the cave. In a brief but very interesting conversation, we discussed the cave tourism business, as well as the tasks and responsibilities of a modern show cave.

For Ann, it was — and remains — particularly important that visitors are not only shown the beauty of the cave during the tours, but also leave with a deeper understanding of it. The cave is intentionally used as a place of education and learning.