Skip to content
cavernyas
EN
Grand Caverns

United States United States Show cave

Grand Caverns

12 °C inside, all year.

Show caveStalactitesUnderground river

See the descentHow to visit

P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0

The descent

The entrance, at 373 m.

The real relief above Grand Caverns, measured on the Copernicus model every 30 m, and the cave going down at the same vertical scale.

depth not publishedEntrance441 m1.0 kmvertical × 17.7depth not publishedEntrance441 m1.0 kmvertical × 38.3

The depth is the one published by those who explored it; the shape of the galleries is a sketch, not a survey. No depth has been published for this cave yet.

373m

Entrance altitude

from the 30 m relief model

12°C

Inside, all year

the yearly average outside, at the entrance

68m

Rock above

the highest point within 1.5 km

Inside and outside

12 °C inside, all year.

Deep inside, a cave keeps the average temperature of the year outside: about 12 °C here, in January and in August. In July the afternoon reaches 30 °C at the entrance, 18 °C warmer than inside: take a jacket. The best months to escape the heat are from June to August. The wettest months are in May: water rises fast underground, so never go in without a guide after heavy rain.

outside, at the entrance (373 m)inside
  1. 4°-6°Jan
  2. 6°-5°Feb
  3. 11°0°Mar
  4. 18°6°Apr
  5. 23°11°May
  6. 28°16°Jun
  7. 30°18°Jul
  8. 30°18°Aug
  9. 26°14°Sep
  10. 19°7°Oct
  11. 12°1°Nov
  12. 6°-3°Dec
Inside: 12 °C all yearEscape the heat: Jun–AugFrost outside: Dec–FebWettest: May

Outside: afternoon and night averages for 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the entrance. Inside: the yearly average, which deep parts of a cave keep. Near the entrance it follows the weather a little.

Cave in Virginia, United States

Grand Caverns is a show cave in United States. The entrance is at 373 m. It has an underground river and stalactites and stalagmites. It is open to visitors.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

  • Show cave: open to visitorsUsually with a guided tour; check times and tickets on the official site.
  • Grottoesnearest town · 1.1 km in a straight line
  • Parking 120 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
  • Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport (SHD)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 5 km in a straight lineCar hire at CHO airport (Charlottesville)Discover Cars · sponsored link

Plan the visit

Guided tours, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at CHO airport (Charlottesville)Discover CarsSee prices 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The water

The South River runs highest from March to June and in October.

The South River carries about 7.7 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from March to June and in October.

  1. 2.6 m³/sJan
  2. 5.2 m³/sFeb
  3. 13 m³/sMar
  4. 19 m³/sApr
  5. 20 m³/sMay
  6. 14 m³/sJun
  7. 8.1 m³/sJul
  8. 4.6 m³/sAug
  9. 9.1 m³/sSep
  10. 10 m³/sOct
  11. 8.4 m³/sNov
  12. 4.0 m³/sDec

From about 2.6 m³/s in the lowest month to 20 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 609 km².

Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.

From above.

The ground above the cave, with the relief shaded, the line of the section and what people have mapped around the entrance.

The ground above Grand Caverns (Sentinel-2) N 1.5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6.0 × 6.0 km, north up. The line is the section above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the entrance.

  • 1other cave entrances within 3 kmGrand Caverns
  • 26car parks within 2 km
  • 1information boards and visitor centres within 3 km
  • 4restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • springs within 2 km
  • sinkholes within 3 km
  • caving clubs and spots within 15 km
  • viewpoints within 3 km
  • marked hiking routes within 3 km
  • climbing crags within 3 km
  • named waterfalls within 4 km
  • bus stops within 2 km
  • campsites within 8 km
  • hotels and guesthouses within 8 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the entrance. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

  • Grottoes1.1 km in a straight line
  • Weyers Cave7.5 km in a straight line
  • Crimora12 km in a straight line
  • Massanetta Springs16 km in a straight line
  • Verona16 km in a straight line
  • Dooms17 km in a straight line
  • Bridgewater18 km in a straight line
  • Massanutten19 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Grand Caverns.

The river at the entrance, the waterfalls, the lakes, the mountains and volcanoes above, the canyons, beaches and islands nearby — from our other atlases.

Peakyas14 mountains within 10 km
Cave Hill · 0.5 kmFurnace Mountain · 6.5 kmHall Mountain · 6.7 kmAustin Mountain · 7.3 kmLewis Mountain · 7.9 kmHorsehead Mountain · 8.4 kmBlackrock · 9.4 kmChimney Rock · 9.7 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Month by month

The weather outside, at the entrance.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon461118232830302619126
Afternoon461118232830302619126
Night-6-506111618181471-3
Rain (mm)6063749311411010194104877477
Rainy days8810101414161310878
Sun hours/day4.55.36.06.97.18.38.17.46.55.85.24.2
Snow on the ground (cm)131371000000311
AfternoonAfternoonNightRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan44-6604.5
Feb66-5635.3
Mar11110746.0
Apr18186936.9
May2323111147.1
Jun2828161108.3
Jul3030181018.1
Aug303018947.4
Sep2626141046.5
Oct19197875.8
Nov12121745.2
Dec66-3774.2

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the altitude of the entrance (373 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Inside and around.

Middle River, VA, USA - panoramio (1)
olekinderhook · CC BY 3.0
Middle River, VA, USA - panoramio (2)
olekinderhook · CC BY 3.0
Grand Caverns ink blotter
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain

Recent years

Wet years, dry years.

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020114%87%48%132%53%68%65%169%56%141%124%119%
202162%98%62%64%43%77%50%126%105%83%37%12%
202274%55%61%61%93%58%85%80%67%59%122%88%
202359%108%57%88%41%90%94%43%96%25%79%146%
2024224%81%95%63%84%36%68%161%188%18%52%85%
202583%144%49%55%180%110%178%38%49%63%33%51%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Caves nearby.

Grand Caverns

United States

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 373 mEntrance altitude
  • 12 °CInside, all year

Luray Caverns

United States · 54 km

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 297 mEntrance altitude
  • 13 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Endless Caverns

United States · 40 km

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 350 mEntrance altitude
  • 12 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Shenandoah Caverns

United States · 53 km

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 314 mEntrance altitude
  • 12 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length, visitorsWikidata (Q5594391) · CC0
The relief above, the entrance altitude, the section and the 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Entrances, springs, sinkholes, opening hours and what is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, lakes, mountains, canyons, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit
cavesCavernyasEvery cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.You are here
dark skiesDarkskyasWhere the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Coming soonVisit
viewpointsViewyasEvery viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit
birdwatchingBirdyasEvery bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.Coming soonVisit
forestsForestyaEvery forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit