Exploring Tytoona Cave

This summer, my husband and I have been on a mission to take advantage of the fleeting summer weather and explore as much as we can, that’s close to home. The first stop on our list was Tytoona Cave, located in Sinking Valley, between the cities Altoona and Tyrone. I’m pretty sure that’s how it got its name.

For those of us who frequent Altoona, this would be a simple stop. It’s not difficult to get to. Parking is a pull-off area along Morrow Rd. This does show up on google maps if you’d like to use your GPS. From the pull-off area, the entrance to the preserve is a few steps away. You’ll initially walk down some steps and then come to a large wooden sign that provides some information about the cave. The area is managed as a natural preserve and is open to visitors from 6AM-9PM.

The cave is owned by the National Speleological Society or NSS. They have a website that you can visit here which provides great info about their organization and the caves they manage.

From what I’ve been able to research, the first 1,000 feet are supposed to be easily accessible but after that diving equipment is necessary. We didn’t venture that far in during our visit, my claustrophobia kicks in and I’m OUT. One unfortunate fact I discovered while reading was that diving explorations ended when tragedy struck on June 20, 1988. An experienced cave diver (Roberta Swicegood) died while surveying in a large room from the Arch Spring side. Although she was accompanied by another diver during some of those explorations, she died on a solo cave dive.

I definitely recommend adding this to your list of places to visit. As I stated before it’s not too far out of the way. If you don’t have a ton of time to spend this would be a good trip or you could spend a decent amount of the day exploring all that Sinking Valley has to offer as Fort Roberdeau is just up the road and there are several Amish markets along the way as well. As always thank you for visiting the blog. Feel free to comment below on your experiences at Tytoona Caves or if you have recommendations on other places we can visit.