BELLEVUE, Ohio – Looking for a cool adventure during the summer’s hottest days?
Seneca Caverns is located underground and has a constant temperature of 54 degrees.
The rock formations are also pretty cool.
The caverns, located 110 feet below the Earth’s surface, have seven levels of underground chambers that are open to the public. There is an underground river here, as well as geological features known as Tin Pan Alley, Devil’s Leap, and Duck Rock. (“If you don’t duck your head, you’ll quack it,” remarked guide Trinity Koppus.)
The cave, located beneath farmland in north-central Ohio, was discovered in 1872 by two boys out hunting with their dog. The dog, while chasing a rabbit, fell into a sinkhole. The boys went after their puppy and discovered the underground wonderland.
Don and Fannie Bell purchased the property in 1930 and made the caverns more tourist-friendly by adding a proper entrance and clearing glacial clay to create more underground space. Don Bell, a lawyer in town during the Great Depression, enlisted the help of clients who couldn’t afford him to clear the cave.
“The goal of Don Bell was to make it look like he hadn’t done too much,” said current owner Denise Bell, the Bells’ daughter-in-law, who remembers touring the caves as an elementary school student. “Our philosophy here continues to be to keep this as natural as possible.”
The cave’s geology dates back 400 million years, to the Devonian period. The caverns, made primarily of limestone and dolomite, were formed when a middle layer of rock, gypsum, dissolved over time, leaving cracks in the structure (hence the caverns’ nickname, the “Earth crack.”)
“It’s like a 3D puzzle,” Koppus explained. “Every piece connects to another piece.”
The caverns can only be explored on a guided tour and are not accessible to people with mobility limitations. We spent much of our time climbing up and over rocks.
While physically demanding, this is not a spelunking adventure; there was no crawling on hands and knees through narrow crevices. My feet and hands were the only body parts that touched the cave as I climbed and descended levels, gripping rocks for balance.
Unfortunately, our group was unable to reach the bottom level due to high water levels caused by recent rains.
Just a week ago, Koppus announced that she was leading groups down to Level 7 and the underground waterway, Ole Mist’ry River. Our tour only descended to level 5, which is about 80 feet below ground.
“This is the highest I’ve ever seen the river,” Koppus said, though it wasn’t the highest it’s ever been. The caverns have flooded twice in the last century, in 1937 and 1969.
A drought in the mid-1970s revealed previously unexplored sections, which dropped more than 200 feet to level 12, according to Koppus.
Though we did not see the river on Level 7, we did notice river water flooding the staircase that would have led us down to Level 6.
The water, which is usually cool and crystal clear, had some sediment due to recent storms.
“It’s purified and safe to drink,” Koppus explained, though it doesn’t taste particularly good.
The river flows north to the Blue Hole in Castalia, which has been closed to the public since 1990, and then into Lake Erie.
Other tour highlights included:
Brachiopods and other fossils on the cave walls, older than dinosaurs, Koppus said. “These were created back when this part of Ohio was under water.”
Tiny stalactites forming on the ceiling, a combination of dripping water and calcium. The formations grow at a pace of about 1 inch per 100 years, said Koppus, noting their small size. “We’ve only been preserving the cave for 90 years.”
Etchings and graffiti on the walls in Inscription Hall, more than a century old. Among the stonework: the elaborate signature of C.H. Mason, dated 7-11-21. “That’s 1921,” said Koppus, who estimated it took Mason seven to 10 hours to engrave his name for posterity.
We didn’t see any, but the cave is home to three species of bats: northern long-eared, eastern pipistrelle, and little brown, all of which are similar in size and appearance. “We call them all George,” Koppus explained.
They fly out at night to feed on mosquitoes before returning home to sleep during the day.
Bell stated that it is unclear how big the cave is. Her late husband, Richard Bell, descended more than 200 feet to Level 12 during the 1970s drought, but it could go even deeper. “We don’t know how far it goes,” she admitted. “People have investigated it. However, the extent of the cavern system is unknown.
Which, of course, makes it even cooler.
If you go: Seneca Caverns
Where: 15248 E. Township Road 178, Bellevue, approximately 70 miles west of Cleveland, easily accessible via the Ohio Turnpike and Ohio 2.
When: The cave is accessible via an hour-long guided tour, which departs every half-hour from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day. In May, September, and October, the cave is only open on weekends. Closed from November to April. Reservations aren’t required.
How much: $24 for ages 12-61, $22 for ages 62 and up, and $12 for ages 4–11.
What to wear: Close-toed shoes and a light jacket or sweatshirt are ideal.
Seneca offers special Lantern Tours four times a year, during which the cavern is only illuminated by lanterns and headlamps. The dates this year are Saturdays: June 28, July 19, August 2, and September 13. Reservations are required.
