Cumberland Caverns — Attraction in McMinnville

My son and I recently went on a camping trip with Boy Scouts to Cumberland Caverns. We had a mixed results experience. We went on two tours. The commercial walking tour was excellent. Our guide was knowledgeable and patient as many boys asked questions. The views of the formations in the commercial rooms are outstanding and well worth the visit. The second tour we went on was a disaster. We had 3 guides for 61 people for what was supposed to be a two hour tour. Due to the single file experience and choke points, our tour lasted almost three hours. Much of this time was spent waiting for others to navigate the caves. The adventure tour lives up to it's name, it is an adventure and not for the faint of heart. If you are second guessing the tour or if confined spaces bother you at all, do not go on the adventure tour. There were several people on our tour that were visually and vocally anxious. Due to the confined spaces and waiting for long periods, this ratcheted up the anxiety level for the group. We saw our tour guides three times in the almost three hour tour in the designated larger room gathering spaces. At one point, one of the guides yelled "Everyone stay calm!" which pushed the anxiety level for the group to a boiling point. We were in single file, you can only see 3-4 people in front of you and 1-2 people behind you due to the confines of the cave, so we had no idea what was going on. Once we reached "Bubble gum alley" where the mud starts, the experience became even worse. By that time, we just wanted the tour to end, but of course, there are no other options but to continue forward. People were yelling "I can't do this!" and kids were crying and there were no experienced guides around due to the spacing of the tour. I would strongly recommend only going on this tour in small groups. I feel we had far too few guides for the number and age of the group we had going through. My son and I were really looking forward to the tour. Confined spaces and being underground was not a concern for us at all. I'm 6'4 and 220 lbs and there were definitely spots I had to get creative to squeeze through. The confined spaces still didn't bother me, but seeing all the people around me breaking down and seeing my son becoming upset and just want the tour to end, began to wear on me as well. I'm not writing this review to be negative, but to strongly warn those that are considering the adventure tour to make sure they know what they are getting into before they go. It's a pretty daunting feeling, knowing if something were to happen to someone in one of the confined spaces, there is no way around, no way to get to the tour guides which were all in front of us (we were in the middle of the pack) and uncertain on how to turn around if necessary. The thought of being stuck in a confined space for any longer than we already had been, waiting for help if something were to happen to anyone would definitely give me pause. For the record, I would hesitantly do the tour again, but only in a amall group where you were able to keep a steady pace. Waiting in the confined spaces with others being upset around us, was by far the worst part. Under no circumstances, would I go on the tour again with anyone that I didn't know and have confidence in their ability to...

Cumberland Caverns is a fantastic cave to visit which offers several tour types depending the length of time you are willing to spend. We did both Night crawl and walking tour which were extremely fun! Our cave trip required us overnight stay inside the cave - camping! 6:15 pm to around 9 pm was the crawl tour which was incredible, a big shout out to Zoey our tour guide, she did amazing to go through the instructions and keep the group of 24 intact and safe! The crawl tour requires a person to be fit, be able to crawl through extremly narrow spaces - approx 14 inches or less. If you don't mind muddy, crawly and bubble-gum (sticky, wet and cold) experience - this is an absolute thriller. Camping inside cave is super awesome and the big chamber is sized enough to handle large groups - there are restrooms and handwash sink within the cave. Makes it easy to get cleaned up. The overnight stay was $60 per person aged 6+ and includes both crawl and walk tours, complimentary breakfast the next day. Walking tour was 9:15 to 9:45 pm. This is an easy tour for all age groups and talks about the origin and history of the cave itself.

The gift shop outside is clean and well kept so are the restrooms.

Cave itself is OK, but the cave camping and crawl experience is amazing and...

My boyfriend and I did the Crucible Tour on 8/31 with Brandon as our guide. We have done walking cave tours before, but never a crawling/adventure tour like this. There is nothing like this where we're from in MA and was the highlight of our vacation to TN.

If you are a hiker, that helps a lot, but it's more than that. There were plenty of ropes with knots you use to scale up and down steep rocks, ladders that are sometimes hard to maneuver to, steep, slippery rocks to pull yourself over, and a couple tight squeezes. It was harder than I thought, but it was a good challenge that I don't regret at all. I needed extra help/time a couple times to climb up steep parts, but Brandon was super patient and helpful with describing how to move. We never felt rushed or unsafe. He showed us things we've never seen before -fossils older than dinosaurs, translucent rocks, and so much more. You can tell he's extremely experienced and passionate about caving, and we learned so much from him.

Make sure to bring gloves, which is required, (simple gardening ones from Home Depot worked well) and kneepads (optional but very helpful). They provide the helmet and headlamp. If you are on the fence, just do it! It was such a special experience we will never...