Crystal Grottoes Caverns — Attraction in Boonsboro

I came here with my kids who are 9 and 7 as just something to do while it was raining outside. I had heard of this place but never really had an opportunity to go. We decided to make the 1.5 hour trek as my son has never been to a cavern before.

As we pull up, it is essentially an old house with ample parking. I was nervous that there wouldn't be many people but I am glad I was wrong. The tours have gotten more frequent as more crowds have started coming by. The lobby is a small foyer essentially with 2 bathrooms. The bathrooms are very nice, for the record. They do sell water but it would be nice if they offered more drinks or snacks. The gift shop is essentially the same foyer area with 2 glass cabinets.

The cavern can only be seen with a tour guide which is nice. We were in a party of 21. For those who have been to other caverns, this is much smaller and much more congested with about 50% of the cavern being probably at a height of about 5 feet high. The tour guide was nice and unfortunately had to scold some younger kids who were a bit rowdy but I honestly felt it was warranted as it is a small area where there are delicate formations and if by chance someone did get hurt, it would be very difficult to get help.

I do think kids would like it but if your kids are hyperactive or very touchy, this may not be the best cavern for them. The tour itself probably lasted 40 minutes and we all move together in a group. The guide turns off the lights once we move past an area to decrease the chance of algae colonizing. The pace was great and there is a lot of information on this tour.

I really enjoyed myself and my kids did as well. I have no regrets. I would say that if you are tall or have balance problems or are even claustrophobic, this isn't a great cavern for you. Once we exited the cavern which is actually a different place than the entrance, you have an option to buy a sand kit where you cam sift the sand for items. It is commercial and there is a guaranteed set number of things in each kit, but the kids loved it. The items in the gift shop don't say anything branded and are general gem items but they are extremely reasonably priced.

Overall, it was worth it and I would come again. The cave is still be excavated and it seems the owners are intent on expanding if possible. ...

I'm really upset to write this review because the cave itself is beautiful. It has so many features and it really worth seeing however, the last time I visited I had a TERRIBLE experience!

For Mother's day my boyfriend and I took her out to Fredrick to do some sightseeing and remembered that these caves were close by. I was really excited because about three years ago my boyfriend and I had visited these caves and had a great experience!!

So here's what happened. First I want to mention that the Tour is $20.00 per person. We waited for some other people to join the tour. It was about 10 of us at first, then after we got down there management let another 3-4 people down. Keep in mind, this cave and its passageways are not very big. As the tour began we stayed in the back of the crowd so that we could see everything without holding up other guests. we lagged behind a little bit but not an unreasonable distance (we could still see and hear the rest of the group). The tour guide started to rush us. So approximately 15 people on the tour and all of us were extremely rushed. about halfway through the tour he started following behind us and told us several times that we were lagging behind and to please hurry up. Towards the end he actually said "You three have been behind this whole time and you're holding everyone up."

So here is what's upsetting, when there is that many people in a group its really hard to see everything that the guide is pointing out and then by the time that everyone looks at the section the people in the back don't get to see anything at all. Then on top of that you get a tour guide yelling at you!!

So $60.00 and a tour that only lasted maybe 25 minutes. We were really disappointed.

I hope the owners or management can do something about this problem because the cave is worth seeing but not for a $20...

I have no idea if this place is by some sort of farm and always smells of manure, but boy it was strong the day we went! You soon get used to it though.

There are tours every 30 minutes, although the earlier you go, the better, because they don't do Reservations and they'll just push people into later time slots, which results in oversized tours. The caves are really cramped, so it can be unpleasant when there are too many people on a tour.

While waiting for your turn, you don't have many options. Their gift shop consists of one display case of interesting and pretty jewelry, which I am unsure of if they produce any of it locally.

There really isn't a waiting area inside without it getting cramped really quick, but there are benches outside to feed kiddos snacks and a path to walk along that's by a pretty creek. There's also the option to buy a gem bag and use a water pump to find the treasures within. Or to just wait in your car. Parking is unpaved, but plentiful when we went around 12pm.

I was told that this place has a military discount that is equivalent to a company discount. When I got my receipt, it was for only Active Duty, and it was a measly 4% ($23 for an adult and only $1 off). So for a 30ish minute tour, you're looking at around $72 for a family of 4 (kids 5-12 are $13), and it's $23 for teenagers. Free for kids 0-4 though. This might not be cost affordable for everyone.

The only things redeeming this location are the awesome tour guides, the cool caves, and the numerous cave kisses we all received. This place doesn't have interesting stories like Confederate and Union soldiers shooting at each other like some bigger caverns in the area does, but it has some really cool looking lighting...