Lost River Caverns

One of the attractive limestone caverns in this part of Pennsylvania, Lost River Caverns was discovered accidentally in 1883 when a black powder blast in a limestone quarry (next door, where the parking lot now sits) blew a hole into into the cave. The cave was explored by Lehigh University in 1886, and was evidently open to the public for decades. A dance floor was installed in the late 1800s, so that the cave functioned as a ballroom. With an internal temperature of 11ºC/52ºF, it stayed cool even in the muggy Pennsylvania summers. In later years the cave was also the site of fraternity initiations and (inevitably) bootleggers' stashes during Prohibition.

The cave was bought and converted into a "tour" cave at the end of the 1920s. For decades the owners continued the tradition of hosting special events. A chapel was built inside, and weddings were conducted until 2009.

But, perhaps most importantly, the cave also features an extensive selection of speleothems, the classic cave features formed by precipitation from calcium-carbonate laden water dripping into the cave--stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, draperies, and so on. At one point on the tour the "Lost River" that gives the caverns their name is also visible. It's a through-flowing stream for which the inflow and outflow sites have not been determined. It doesn’t seem terribly mysterious, however, as it probably originates at a spring that then soaks back into the ground.