I used to think of New York as vertical. Skyscrapers. Cliffs. Mountains. But then I started going underground—and suddenly the state opened in the other direction. Each cave I visited tugged me downward into stone, stillness, and the kinds of sounds you don’t hear aboveground. Rushes of wind. Quiet drips. Your own thoughts echoing back.
Some of these caves were showstoppers, filled with lights and tours. Others were tucked into the earth like secrets. Each gave me a sense of how much New York holds—beneath the forests, beyond the towns, under the noise.
Best New York Caves:
Cave of the Winds
The spray hit my face before I even got close. Cave of the Winds isn’t so much a cave as it is a plunge into the raw edge of Niagara Falls—and every second of it felt like the world had been turned up to full volume.
I wore a poncho, but it didn’t help. Water surged down the wooden walkways. On the Hurricane Deck, I held the rail and thought, “This isn’t sightseeing. This is survival.” The roar was deafening, and I laughed—part nerves, part joy—into the spray.
Afterward, I sat on a bench above the falls and ate a peach and mozzarella sandwich on ciabatta. The bread was still warm, the peach a little overripe and dripping. Sweet, creamy, salty—it was a strange combo that made perfect sense right then. A contrast to the cold, roaring rush I’d just walked through.
Cave of the Winds At a Glance
- Location: Niagara Falls State Park
- Best Time to Visit: Summer and early fall
- Vibe: Intense, wild, loud
- Highlights: Hurricane Deck, views of Bridal Veil Falls
- Facilities: Gift shop, restrooms, ponchos provided
- Cost: ~$20 for adults
- Hours: Seasonal, generally 9am–7pm
- Food Nearby: Grab-and-go options at the park or pack a lunch
Ellenville Fault
It was July, but the cave felt like a refrigerator. I hiked through Sam’s Point Preserve—sun on my back, blueberries along the trail—and descended into the crevice where the air changed. The Ellenville Fault Ice Caves live up to their name: cold air flows up from below, thick and steady like something breathing.
Inside the narrow fault line, ice lingered in deep pockets. The air smelled like stone and moss. I pressed my hand to the wall and thought, “This is the kind of cool that lives year-round, no matter what’s happening above.”
Lunch was a barley salad with mint, cucumber, and lemon. Cold, fresh, and bright—almost too perfect for the chill around me. Each bite tasted like late spring.
Ellenville Fault Ice Caves At a Glance
- Location: Sam’s Point Preserve, Cragsmoor
- Best Time to Visit: Late spring through early fall
- Vibe: Cool, narrow, geologically unique
- Highlights: Cold crevice caves, scenic trail access
- Facilities: Visitor center, restrooms at trailhead
- Cost: Parking fee (~$10)
- Hours: 9am–5pm daily
- Food Nearby: No options onsite—bring your own
Howe Caverns
“You’re going to ride a boat. Underground.” That’s what the guide said, and sure enough—we did. Howe Caverns was part cave, part classic road trip stop, and part theatrical performance. But even through the lights and tour jokes, the beauty was real. Long passageways, mirrored pools, and formations shaped over millennia.
At the boat ride’s turning point, we paused in the dark. The guide hushed the group. And for a moment, there was no voice, no light—just the lap of water and the cool breath of the cave. “This part,” I thought, “this quiet—it’s the real reason I came.”
Afterward, I sat on a shaded bench and ate tabbouleh packed in a mason jar: parsley, tomato, bulgur, and lemon. The lemon was bright, the tomato soft from the sun. I could still smell the cave on my sleeves.
Howe Caverns At a Glance
- Location: Howes Cave, NY
- Best Time to Visit: Year-round
- Vibe: Family-friendly, classic, crowd-pleaser
- Highlights: Underground boat ride, 90-minute tour
- Facilities: Gift shop, café, restrooms
- Cost: ~$25 for adults
- Hours: 10am–4pm daily (seasonal hours vary)
- Food Nearby: Onsite café or bring a picnic
Lockport Cave
This one was different. Lockport Cave was more about history than geology—part manmade, part natural. We took a boat ride through old hydraulic tunnels, carved in the 1800s to power industry. Dim lights lit the stone. It smelled of wet rock, engine grease, and time.
“This was once the future,” I thought, drifting beneath layers of brick and memory.
I brought a wrap with hummus, roasted red peppers, and spinach. It tasted earthy and slightly smoky, like it had absorbed something from the trip. I sat on a canal-side bench to eat, watching the slow water and listening to birds call across the locks.
Lockport Cave At a Glance
- Location: Lockport, NY
- Best Time to Visit: Summer and early fall
- Vibe: Historical, underground, eerie in a good way
- Highlights: Underground boat ride, Erie Canal setting
- Facilities: Ticket office, restrooms
- Cost: ~$21 for adults
- Hours: 10am–5pm (tours on the hour)
- Food Nearby: Local cafés and diners in Lockport
Natural Stone Bridge & Caves
This one caught me off guard. I’d expected a few walkways and a trickle of water. What I got was a massive stone arch, rushing water, and caves carved by the Trout Brook over eons. Some parts were inside, but most were open-air—more like a fantasy canyon than a cave.
I stood above the Stone Bridge, cool mist brushing my arms, and thought, “If a troll walked out of here, I wouldn’t be surprised.” It felt like something from a storybook. A real-life threshold into something older than memory.
I ate crackers with goat cheese and thyme while sitting on a big flat rock near the brook. The cheese was soft and grassy, the thyme a little wild. I could hear the water tumble down the rocks just below my feet.
Natural Stone Bridge & Caves At a Glance
- Location: Pottersville, NY
- Best Time to Visit: Late spring through early fall
- Vibe: Open-air, natural fantasy
- Highlights: Stone bridge, gorge trail, summer cave tours
- Facilities: Gift shop, restrooms, mini-golf
- Cost: ~$18 for adults
- Hours: 9am–5pm seasonally
- Food Nearby: Bring food or head to nearby Chestertown
Tory Cave
This was the only cave I had to find. No tour. No signs. Just a short hike up a wooded trail in Shawangunk Ridge. Tory Cave is more of a crevice, but it’s steep, quiet, and shadowy. Legend says a Loyalist hid here during the Revolutionary War. I crawled partway in, let my eyes adjust, and just sat.
The cave smelled of damp leaves and lichen. I listened to birds above and wind pushing through trees. “This isn’t a destination,” I thought, “it’s a pause.”
I had a sliced apple and almond butter with cinnamon in a jar. It was sweet and grounding. No sounds but my own crunching and the forest around me.
Tory Cave At a Glance
- Location: Shawangunk Ridge, near Sam’s Point
- Best Time to Visit: Spring through fall
- Vibe: Remote, quiet, rooted in history
- Highlights: Hidden crevice cave, Revolutionary War lore
- Facilities: None—wilderness access only
- Cost: Free
- Hours: Daylight only
- Food Nearby: Bring your own snack—nowhere to buy nearby
Conclusion: Into the Underside
I came out of each cave blinking, quiet, and a little changed. Maybe it’s the cool air, or the old rock, or the way sound moves differently underground. New York's caves weren’t just escapes—they were thresholds. Places where the world narrowed, then opened again in a different shape.
I carried those moments with me—cool stone against my hand, the scent of thyme and moss, the rush of wind under a waterfall. And the deep, steady thought that beauty doesn’t need to be loud to echo.
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