A Visit to Penn's Cave - Review by Principal Powers

Photo: Heading back into Penn's Cave after turning around on the "lake".

Experiential knowledge is key! So travel and visiting places of interest with your children is a must.

We visited Penn's Cave in Centre Hall, Pennsylvania on May 31st, 2021. The drive through the Centre Hall, Pennsylvania area alone is worthwhile in and of itself. One is able to take in the beautiful scenery while passing by, which includes the lovely farms and well manicured country homes of central Pennsylvania.

The Penn's Cave attraction is reported to be on an 800 acre farm that includes a game preserve, an airplane park, a visitor's center and a seven acre picnic area.

Upon arrival near the parking lot, we first encountered the Penn's Cave House. The Penn's Cave House is a nostalgic example of 19th century architecture and at one time was a 30 room hotel. A famous guest, Alexander Graham Bell, once stayed there. It now houses the organization's corporate offices and at times can be used for special events.

Photo: Penn's Cave House

We then went into the gift shop and ticket office building. While the gift shop itself is quite nice, our first interaction with the Penn's Cave staff was not a positive one. We were greeted at the main desk by a young man, eager to help, however, standing beside him was a very cranky manager. As there is a plethora of ticket combinations for purchase, we inquired about the offerings. The manager, in a very rude and impatient fashion, did not respond verbally at all and in an exasperated fashion, pointed to the congested board above his head. This crowded board contained a variety of information including various pricing. His demeanor was as if to say, "Just read, stupid tourist and don't bother me again!". We came very close to "not bothering him" at all as we heavily considered turning around and leaving the attraction without seeing it, after his rude behavior. The worker standing beside him, however, was a kind, young man and stepped in to do damage control. He was helpful and did the selling of the tickets. The Penn's Cave attraction has several offerings including the traditional tour of just Penn's Cave, the Wildlife Park tour, Prospector Pete's Miners Maze and a Cave Rock Mountain Off-Road Tour. We opted to simply do the Penn's Cave and Wildlife Park Combo tour. The cost for this was $38 for adults and $21 for children (ages 2 and up), plus tax. For our group with two adults and 3 children we were looking at around $140 plus tax - YIKES!

As the tours we were taking (Penn's Cave and the Wildlife tour) leave only every hour, planning helps. It is advisable to call in advance or check the website and find out the times the tours are being offered for the day you plan to visit. We happened upon the venue shortly after a tour had just departed, leaving us to mill around for almost 45 minutes before being able to go on the next tour offered. If you plan ahead, you could bring a picnic lunch and enjoy that as you wait to depart on your tour or just arrive closer to your desired departure time. Also, the giftshop does offer concessions if your looking for a bite to eat while you wait, but they are pricey and not available until a specific time near the lunch hour. Perusing the gift shop or strolling around the outside grounds, is also an option for passing the time as you wait.

Finally, it was time for us to take our tour of the famous Penn's Cave. We had to walk down a paved path to access the mouth of the cave and the departure site for the tour. Along the way we encountered the billboard that tells "The Legend of Penns Cave" and explains from where the area gets the word "Nittany" (as in Penn State Nittany Lions). Tip: It might be advisable to have a wheel chair handy for the elderly or health challenged to use just for getting down to the cave entrance and especially, back up the hill from it.

Photo: "The Legend of Penn's Cave" billboard along the path to the cave.

Now, it was finally time to get a look at Penn's Cave. The Cave's claim to fame is that the tour of the caverns takes place completely by boat. We entered the cave and waited briefly prior to boarding our little boat. Each boat has a tour guide/driver that takes you on your way, giving you lots of great tidbits about the attraction. Our guide was knowledgeable and quite personable. We appreciated that he took his time and was willing to answer questions from the visitors. The tour meandered through the caverns and then exited out of the far end of the caverns for a quick turn around on what they call the "lake". It was a very pleasant excursion by boat, and one that was educational as well. Tip: Bring a light jacket to wear while in the cavern itself.

Photo: The entrance to the boat tour at the mouth of Penn's Cave in Centre Hall, Pennsylvania.

After the jaunt through the caverns, it was time to walk all the way back up the hill (could be a challenge for the elderly or those not in good health) and catch our wildlife tour. This tour was on a open-air type of bus and drove to various sites on the large property to view animals on the tour schedule. Some animals were viewed from the bus, while some viewings required exiting the bus and walking over to where a specific animal was housed. Our tour guide was again, knowledgeable and very personable. We enjoyed getting to see a real "Nittany" lion, a black bear, elk, and some other animals as well. Tip: Put kids on the right hand side of the bus once seated. It seemed many of the animals were on that side during the tour.

Photo: Checking out the animals on the wildlife tour at Penn's Cave.

My review of the day trip to Penn's Cave is a mixed one. Of course, as I am an anti-screen advocate (it is vital we get our kids off these screens), I loved that the day was an all natural sort of experience. The boat ride through the caverns was particularly pleasant and interesting educationally. It was a portion of the day that would be great for grandparents too, as they only had to sit back and enjoy the ride (as long as they can make it up and down the entrance hill). On the flip side, the price was a bit high for a whole family. Also, the animal tour was okay, but as someone who has been to many large zoos, it was a bit basic, though seeing the mountain lion was a treat.

Final Tip #1: This outing is not for toddlers or preschool age students. We had a toddler on our wildlife tour. The young one was exhausted and the parents were struggling to keep the toddler contained or quiet at different ventures in the tour to allow other visitors to enjoy what was happening. The child, who was ready to run, jump, yell and play did not have a good time. Neither did their parent. Additionally, children have to sit in a pretty confined space while on the boat tour. This tour is best for school age children and up.

Final Tip #2: We were hungry once we finished our excursion. Quite near to Penn's Cave attraction, back on the main drag, in the little hamlet of Centre Hall, is Brothers Pizza. We called in our pizza order to this pizzeria and then picked it up once we left the Penn's Cave attraction. The pizza is delicious and is sold a normal prices (unlike some items at the attraction). I highly recommend it. We were able to grab this to go and enjoy it in the car as we started the trip back to our home state. The phone number for Brothers Pizza is (814)364-9817 and the address is 237 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Centre Hall, PA 16828.