Seneca Caverns Just Outside of Bellevue, Ohio

September 23, 2023

I am fascinated by caves and enjoy touring them when I get the chance. I am not fascinated enough to want to crawl around exploring new caves, like some of my friends. (You know who you are!)

Bellevue, Ohio has Seneca Caverns nearby. Bruce and I rode the motorcycle to them. Every attraction in Bellevue has this same map displayed.

Seneca Caverns has a “mining operation.” You can purchase a small bag of minerals or fossils and taking a pan, you wash away the dirt. The same set up was used at a campground we recently stayed at. They also have a picnic area underneath the trees.

The grounds are free. You only have to pay to tour the caverns.

The gift shop was surprisingly affordable. We bought a long sleeve shirt for me and a t-shirt for Bruce. We put the on to help keep warm as we toured the caverns. If we had thought ahead a little more, we would have brought sweatshirts.

We were the only people for our tour, which made it more fun.

This is not a tour for someone who has mobility problems or is claustrophobic. You climb down steep stairs with no handrails except the cave walls and you have to bend over to get through parts of the cave. You then need to climb the steep stairs and go through the low places to get out of the caverns. A medical advisory is posted at the register and at the waiting area for the tour.

I did ask if anyone had to be rescued from the caverns and was told no.

We learned that Seneca Caverns is the only fracture cave in the U.S. that is open to the public. The earth broke to make this cave instead of water erosion.

“Retained close to its original, natural, wild state, this subterranean tour is truly a unique and educational experience you will always remember. Experts have stated that Seneca Caverns may be the only cave of its kind open for public visitation. The official designation as a Registered Natural Landmark by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, reflects this quality!”

The cavern goes down ten stories for the tour. It is deeper than that, but you can’t get to those areas due to the water. There was a drought many years ago and the owner explored areas uncovered by the retreating water table.

This is a guided tour and our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the cave.

This was an unusual year in that the river was high at this time of year. Normally, the tour would go down one more level.

We saw sections of rock that had come down leaving gaps to make the cave. When the cave was first discovered, the first two levels were filled with glacier clay. I asked the guide if the glacier created the cave and he said that was what he believed.

It was a great experience and if you are in good health, I can recommend it.

If you go, take a sweatshirt or some other non-bulky article of clothing to stay warm. You should also consider bringing hand wipes or hand sanitizer. They don’t have running water and the bathrooms are port-a-potties. The walls of the cave leave your hands a bit dirty.