penn's cave and wildlife park
Penns Cave is located at 222 Penns Cave Road in Centre Hall PA 16828. The park provides a tour of their limestone cave entirely by boat as well as a bus tour of their rather large wildlife park. For the more adventures folks the park offers the Mountain Top Tour where a tour guide drives you in a Jeep over obstacles high on the mountain top for some spectacular views. The Mountain Top Tour must be booked in advance and is not appropriate for children under 8 years old, pregnant women, or anyone whom recently had surgery. The park is open 7 days a week from 9:00 A.M. until 7:00 P.M. advertised as rain or shine.
The park also features a small maze to occupy the kids called the Miners Maze, a gift shop with reasonable prices, and a small lunch bar / cafe within the gift shop featuring Bison Burgers and much more. Our experience at Penn's Cave was a pleasant one. My wife, 6 year old daughter and I started out on the bus tour where we were greeted by our guide as we along with about 20 others, boarded a bus. On our journey we drove by some areas as our guide described the animals we were viewing. We also made several stops along the way for a good look, and some photographs of the animals. We also exited the bus for a walk around the bear and mountain lion area to name of few. Our guide was pleasant as well as informative which added to the pleasure of the tour.
We next took the cave tour by boat. It was 80 degrees the day of our tour and a hooded sweatshirt our similar was necessary to enter the cool temperatures of the cave, some 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature. We boarded an elongated john boat and began our tour with a guide instructing as in boarding as well as safety precautions. The guide was careful to ensure there was similar weight balance on both sides of the boat. Entering the cave was nothing short of amazing, the photo's on this site do not do it justice it must be seen. Our guide carefully explained all the details and history of the cave as we stopped several times along the way. After we exited the cave to the opposite side a bald eagle flew by and landed in a distant tree top. I did snap some photo's of the eagle as it was perched in the tree but unfortunately I didn't bring my more powerful telephoto lens to obtain a proper image, not expecting to require it for a cave tour. After we turned our boat around in the large reservoir we proceeded back through the cave for additional information and photo opportunity's.
All in all we had a great day on our mini adventure at Penn's Cave, my daughter enjoyed every bit. All the people we came in contact with were pleasant, helpful, and knowledgeable which adds tremendously to the experience. To all those employees at Penn's Cave thank you for a very special experience. Penn's Cave receives a 5 out 5 star rating from Hill Top Life and lists it as a must do for Pennsylvania day trips..
We next took the cave tour by boat. It was 80 degrees the day of our tour and a hooded sweatshirt our similar was necessary to enter the cool temperatures of the cave, some 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature. We boarded an elongated john boat and began our tour with a guide instructing as in boarding as well as safety precautions. The guide was careful to ensure there was similar weight balance on both sides of the boat. Entering the cave was nothing short of amazing, the photo's on this site do not do it justice it must be seen. Our guide carefully explained all the details and history of the cave as we stopped several times along the way. After we exited the cave to the opposite side a bald eagle flew by and landed in a distant tree top. I did snap some photo's of the eagle as it was perched in the tree but unfortunately I didn't bring my more powerful telephoto lens to obtain a proper image, not expecting to require it for a cave tour. After we turned our boat around in the large reservoir we proceeded back through the cave for additional information and photo opportunity's.
All in all we had a great day on our mini adventure at Penn's Cave, my daughter enjoyed every bit. All the people we came in contact with were pleasant, helpful, and knowledgeable which adds tremendously to the experience. To all those employees at Penn's Cave thank you for a very special experience. Penn's Cave receives a 5 out 5 star rating from Hill Top Life and lists it as a must do for Pennsylvania day trips..