Indian Echo Caverns — Attraction in Derry Township

This was the biggest disappointment. My parents took me to the caverns when I was young, and I had such fond memories, so naturally, I wanted to share this experience with my husband and our kids. This place has gone downhill in every category. First of all, let's get this out the way. The price is a total scam. That was disheartening, but I wanted my family to have a good time. This was difficult from the start as our tour guide Maria was rude, weirdly intense, and made us quite uncomfortable. She repeatedly implied that my children couldn't be trusted to follow the no touching rule and that we as parents better keep them in line. She would also seem to get annoyed if eyes weren't on her while she was telling some pretty mediocre stories, but like, we literally paid a hundred bucks to look at these formations... Multiple members of our family are neurodivergent and my daughter in particular became a bit overwhelmed by Maria asking her so many questions and the holding up the tour while my daughter tried to come up with an answer on the spot. She asked her to name her favorite formation out of the 15 or so she had rapid fire named in the previous room, and then seemed a little put off when my daughter couldn't remember or formulate an answer under pressure. The tour both was too short, and it also lagged in areas while the Maria show was going. I would have loved more time to just enjoy the natural sounds and sites of the cavern. Also, when I or others would ask questions that weren't in the tour guide notes, we would get very short annoyed dismissive answers. It's also funny how much they talk about preserving their caverns (the staff speak about it with such greedy ownership) but as soon as you walk in you see the "tipping appreciated" they put on a rock. The fact that they regulate what areas you can photograph on such an expensive tour is also greedy and disrespectful. Also, the place is a death trap waiting to happen. The amount of exposed, unfinished, and non weather proof wiring and electronics, often laying near or in a mineral rich pool of water. It's honestly amazing that no one has been electrocuted. They also specifically tell you to grab their rusty iron handrails so you don't slip on the mineral coated steps, and a few feet away is exposed wiring from an ancient suck pump laying in a puddle of water... the rest of the grounds were a nightmare. Most other things to do were shut down and seemed in obvious disrepair. The animals all look rather sad and sick, definitely some animal abuse/ neglect is definitely happening there. There was little to no history of the local indigenous people on the tour, the gift shop was full of fake mass produced "indian" items, and the whole thing focused on the greed of the guy who discovered the caverns (how he filled in areas with dirt to keep people from getting to see this natural wonder for free. Also, the staff was incredibly disrespectful, watching my husband and son like a hawk like they were going to steal something in their awful gift shop. Everything was overpriced. 8 bucks for the tiniest little bag of polished rocks you've ever seen. Most of the items in the gift shop had absolutely nothing to do with the caverns or anything. The staff was seemingly intentionally obstructive when my husband went to sign the guest book and found that the pen was old and dried up, would write. They handed it around to multiple staff members to check the dead pen and made a big scene about it. I honestly feel bad for giving these people a penny of my money, but I did everything I could to let my children have a decent experience. Not only will we not be back, but we are going to spread the word. From our experience and others I've read on here, I believe the staff are profiling and discriminating as well as running a greedy, unsafe, and rather disrespectful operation. This needs to be shut down and turned into a...

The only reason I gave one star was because I had to to leave a review. This place doesn’t even deserve that.

My family and I went to the caverns this weekend. It was a rainy day in March, so i understood that all of the attractions would not be open. That was fine. I was excited for my kids to have the experience of being in a beautiful, natural, historical site.

The tour of the caverns was the only attraction open. We paid $80 for two adults and two children. There was a fee for paying with a card which was the first clue to how absurd our experience was going to be, but we were fine with in as our kids were going to have an awesome experience.

Our tour started and our guide, Maria, made it a point to make direct eye contact with my partner and I when she mentioned not touching the cavern walls as to not disturb the natural beauty. At first, I was happy to hear that they were making an effort to preserve the caverns, but the verbiage, number of times it was mentioned, and direct eye contact really made it seem like she was questioning our parenting skills (maybe because we aren’t a straight couple, maybe because our clothing was brightly colored, maybe because I look young despite being in my 30s) and ability to keep our kiddos in check which was not warranted because they were both standing quietly the whole time.

Then, we get into the caverns, A GORGEOUS, NATURAL, HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT PLACE and the first thing we see (after hearing about how we need to preserve the natural beauty) is a “tips appreciated” sign. The dichotomy was bizarre.

The history of the site that we heard on the tour was more about how the owners have commercialized it over the years. We heard one or two sentences about travelers and native Americans using it for refuge and shelter but the majority of it was about when it was purchased and how they made it into a tourist attraction. Again, the dichotomy between “We are federally required to preserve this natural site so keep your kids in line” and “the original owner filled in the second entrance because people were sneaking in for free” was jarring.

I wanted to actually spend some time in the caverns, breathe in the natural beauty, and be at peace in nature, but the guide just talked the whole time and seemed annoyed if we weren’t paying attention to her and distracted by the beautiful views. It was obvious that they’re just trying to push through as many tours as possible so they need to keep you on schedule. There is no time to just enjoy it.

Then, we heard a story about the treasure that was found and how the person who found it gave it back to the caverns with the stipulation that it not be removed from the caverns. This statement was followed up with “You can see it in our gift shop after the tour!” So … are we respecting the history or just trying to make a buck?

Then, at the gift shop, most of the items were unrelated and very overpriced. The staff at the desk watched me and my son like a hawk as if they were worried about us stealing. It was very uncomfortable.

The petting zoo was closed, but the animals that we could see did not appear to be well cared for. The fencing and shelters looked dangerous and the animals looked generally unwell.

It was evident that everyone there was just interested in their bottom line despite touting the historical significance and natural beauty. The historical significance and natural beauty went unappreciated due to the way they run their business. It was incredibly saddening to see.

Nature should not be capitalized on to the point that it is cost prohibitive. And the staff should do better to hide their profiling and discrimination.

This is stolen land and you’re worried about me stealing from your overpriced gift shop? I feel like my family had more respect for the history than whatever comical attempt at preservation you are shill for a dollar....

I enjoyed visiting the place. Location is easy to find. There’s ample parking. Getting tickets for the tour is straightforward, you just get them inside the gift shop or online. There’s a gift shop to browse, a playground, and some goats, alpacas, chickens and peacocks to keep you and your kids busy while waiting for the tour.

The 45 minute tour inside the cavern was a chockful of information and stories told by a reliable guide. It went by too quickly though. My group had a lot of people so we crowded each other in some places. Maybe it would be better to limit the number of people in a group tour to avoid instances where some in the group have little time to look at stuffs because they’re way at the back.

The cave is well lighted and well maintained, but shoes with traction are a must because the ground inside is wet and a bit slippery. The guide is very conscientious at reminding folks to watch their heads because there are parts where the ceiling is too low and bonking your noggin is gonna hurt. It’s cold inside so wearing a jacket helps. I forgot to ask the guide if the 52 degree temperature inside remains constant even when it’s minus degree outside. Maybe it does.

Anyway, one of downside is you need to take a 71-steps stair to get to the entrance of the cave. So this might be a challenge or a difficulty for people with bad knees. But all in all, the formations inside the cave are so interesting to look at as well as the mirror lake it has.

I’m taking out one star because they seem to be not taking care of their chickens or roosters in that aviary. The two I saw have severe scaly leg mites. One handsome rooster with a rockstar head feathers and looking like it’s wearing a polka dot white sweater had it bad. He kept pecking at his legs. Another one could barely walk because of the mite infestation. It looked like it was growing another set of feet from the thick scale formation, which oddly reminded me of the stalactites in the cave. Please take care of these chickens and treat their...