Cumberland Gap National Historical Park contains an untold number of hidden treasures. One of those is a majestic underground cathedral called Gap Cave. Located just underneath Pinnacle Overlook in Claiborne County, TN, the entrance to the cave lies at the tristate area of Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky, just over the border into Virginia.
The cave has been a well-known feature of Cumberland Pass since the outbreak of the Civil War, and now you can tour these historical caverns and take in all the splendor on a 2-hour guided tour. Explore a fantastic hidden world found underground inside the mountains, a world of darkness, grand dripstone formations, and strange animals who have adapted to the cave environment.
The Gap Cave has had many names throughout its recorded history, one of the most notable being Cudjo’s Cave. That’s because in 1864, J. T. Trowbridge published a novel titled Cudjo’s Cave about a slave who had escaped from slavery and was hiding out in a cave in the Cumberland Gap. This book gained quite the popularity in its day, so with the setting being approximately the same as Gap Cave, the cave owners changed the name to Cudjo’s Cave to attract more tourists.
In 1920, Lincoln Memorial University bought the caverns and surrounding land from private owners and re-opened the cave to the public in 1934. About 18 miles of cavern have been explored so far in Gap Cave, with only about half a mile of the cavern and three levels being open to the public during Park Ranger-led tours.
Guided tours of the Gap Cave are offered from May to September.
How to participate in a tour:
Make a reservation (required) by at least noon the day before your desired tour date to ensure availability. Reservations can be made up to 1 month in advance by calling the visitor center at 606-248-2817 or in person between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. daily.
Tour Prices:
Ticket prices are $8 for adults and $4 for an interagency senior pass, interagency access pass, or for children ages 5-12. No children under the age of 5 are permitted in the cave for safety reasons.
Tour Details & Tips:
The Gap Cave tour consists of 1.5 miles of moderately strenuous exploration featuring 3 cave levels and 183 stairs. Explorers must wear comfortable, closed toe/heel shoes. Visitors with certain health or mobility concerns should carefully consider their limitations before participating in a cave tour.
If no reservations are booked by noon the day before the tour, it will be canceled. Tours of the cave are limited to 20 people at a time and are subject to change due to inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances.
