OK. So not exactly in WV, but very close by. We live in the Tri-State area, and Carter Caves is about a 45 minute drive from our house in Huntington. Kentucky State Parks are legendary for their beauty, facilities, and low cost (free!). Carter Cave certainly lives up to the repuation. The park has a number of caves to explore, along with a myriad of hiking trails, camping, canoeing, and group naturalist/recreation programs. A few of the caves have guided tours. Currently, due to the native bat population at risk of White Nose Syndrome, only two caves are open to the public, and are by guided tour only. These are X-Cave and Cascade Cave. We went on the Cascade Cave tour, because it boasts an underground waterfall. The tour guide gave a good overview of history, and flash photography and flashlights were allowed. I don't know how I feel about that last point. Apparently, the policy is merely to not shine lights directly at bats, because it causes them to defecate. Well, you can guess whether or not that stopped people from doing it anyway (ahh, Kentucky). The tour is about an hour, and we got some shots of this column and the underground waterfall.
You have to drive about three miles the opposite way from the visitors' center to get to the parking lot for Cascade Cave. The trail head for the Box Canyon Trail is also near the parking lot, and since it was a gorgeous afternoon, we decided to stay right there after the tour and do the hike. The hike is a 3/4 mile loop trail that goes to the Cascade Natural bridge and passes a number of interesting geologic formations. Despite it's short length, the trail is relatively rugged and hilly. The park also has a series of caches on the trails with history and trivia questions about the area. They were easy to find without any GPS, but they are not meant to have stuff left or taken from them. After the hike we drove back to the visitor's center to find out more about the area. We had just enough time that afternoon for another short hike, so we walked the the Natural Bridge Trail, which starts at the visitors' center. It's an easy 1/2 mile walk that leads to the bridge. The bridge is completely natural, yet supports a paved 2-lane highway, and is considered unique to Kentucky. There are lots of other trails to do, anywhere from a quick jaunt to 10 miles. The camping facilities looked great, and we will consider returning to this park for an extended stay. It would be the only way to take in a good portion of all this park has to offer!
