Chocolate and History at Indian Echo Caverns near Hershey, Pennsylvania

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What's 440 million years old, over 400 feet long and 52 degrees year-round? Indian Echo Caverns, just three miles West of Hershey, Pennsylvania, a beautiful geologic wonder shrouded in legend and folklore.

History of the Indian Echo Caverns

Indian Echo Caverns, open to the public since 1929, is the product of the erosive properties of water flowing over Beekmantown limestone. It was first inhabited during inclement weather by the Susquehannock Indians who lived and hunted in the area, but who disappeared in the 1670s. The first white men to discover the Caverns were most likely French fur trappers traveling along the Swatara Creek in the 1780s.

Touring the Indian Echo Caverns

Today, visitors can travel the same paths taken by the Susquehannocks and French fur trappers, where they will see the dramatic and unusual wonders that lie in this underground, multi-chambered geological treasure chest. Inquisitive visitors don their jackets and take out their cameras and camcorders to fully enjoy and document their Indian Echo Caverns experience.

Knowledgeable guides share legends, explain the formations, and lead visitors through the chambers, past crystal lakes and around columns of limestone on a 45-minute tour. Included is The Hermit's Lair, where William Wilson spent 19 years living on a ledge, grieving the hanging of his only sister in 1785; The Indian Ballroom, the largest chamber; The Wedding Chapel, complete with a Wedding Cake Formation, where cave-loving couples occasionally exchange their wedding vows; the dazzling Crystal Lake; and numerous formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, and cave coral.

Activities at Indian Echo Caverns

Touring the cave is not the only thing to do at Indian Echo Caverns, though! Children will especially enjoy Gem Mill Junction, where they can try their hand at prospecting for minerals and fossils. Visitors often find gemstones as well as chunks of agate, amethyst, jasper and calcite.

The Caverns Gift Shop is the perfect place to find a souvenir, as well as educational toys, rare minerals and handmade Native American artwork. The Caverns also maintains two covered picnic shelters and a playground.

At the end of a day exploring the geologic wonder of Indian Echo Caverns, relax and retire comfortably nearby. The Best Western Inn, less than 4 miles away, and the Comfort Inn at the Park, only 2 miles from the Caverns, both feature complimentary breakfast and newspapers, as well as heated pools and numerous other amenities.