Indian Echo Caverns (Hummelstown, PA)

This is the first of several posts on fun outings we've gone on this summer.  There will be a few more "travel" posts in the next couple days and then I'll be back to sharing some projects and crafts.

A few weeks ago, we planned an end-of-summer getaway to Hershey Park.  We weren't going to go into the amusement park until the evening, so I wanted to find a little something else to do in the area that the kids would enjoy.  I came across Indian Echo Caverns in my internet wanderings and the kids were excited to go into a real cave again (we went to Luray Caverns in Virginia a couple years ago and they LOVED it!)

While Indian Echo Caverns is not nearly as big as Luray, we still really enjoyed our underground adventure.  When you purchase your tickets, you're put into a group of about 20 people led by a tour guide.  The walking tours depart about every 10 minutes or so and last about 45 minutes.  The tour guide we had was very entertaining and pointed out a lot of interesting cave formations and facts about the cave.  The temperature inside the cave stays at 52 degrees year round, so I packed lightweight jackets for the kids.  Above-ground, there's a large gift shop, small playground and petting zoo, and a gem mining area.

Some of the cool cavern formations

Me and my cave explorers!

Panning for "gems"

While I don't think the caverns would be worth a special trip to the area, I think they're a really interesting place to spend an hour or so if you're planning a visit to Hershey/Harrisburg.