Lights out: Explore East Tennessee's caves this fall

When the sun goes down this fall, the real darkness in the Appalachian Mountains is waiting underground, where caves offer a different kind of Halloween adventure. The Appalachian Mountains are home to some of the region's most extensive opportunities for exploring beneath the Earth's surface. The mountains themselves are about 480 million years old, older than land animals, trees and the Atlantic Ocean. Over time, the range's limestone — formed from calcium deposits left on the bottoms of shallow oceans millions of years ago — has eroded, creating thousands of caves throughout its roughly 2,000-mile range. Most of Tennessee's caves are in the eastern two-thirds of the state, where limestone is prevalent, according to Tennessee State Parks. Limestone is highly soluble, and when exposed to rain and flowing water, it gradually erodes, leaving natural channels and cavities. Bristol Caverns Several caves and caverns are available to explore in the Tri-Cities, including Bristol Caverns in Bristol and Appalachian Caverns in Blountville. Both offer guided tours ranging from relatively easy walking tours to more strenuous excursions through undeveloped sections of the caves. Bristol Caverns social media manager Zach Buchanan said the caverns offer visitors a chance to see what lies beneath the surface of Tennessee, taking them about 120 feet underground. "Everyone from newborns to ninety year-olds can enjoy our Classic Tour with paved walkways and lit paths, where the hardest part is a couple flights of stairs, and those who are looking for something more exciting can join us for one of our Adventure Tours where we go off the beaten path," Buchanan said. Buchanan said the Riverwalk is an excursion offered as an introduction to caving. "The River Challenge is a more intense version where you get to climb up to a new layer of the cave that overlooks the creek," he said, adding, "The Gigantis Tour takes you through the back sections of the cave to see the largest formation in this cave system." For an added layer of Halloween atmosphere this fall, Bristol Caverns is offering its Lights Out Tour. "This fall we hope to focus on our Lights Out Tour, where you can get a more eerie version of our Classic Tour — with the lights out! There may be some black lights involved to keep things extra spooky," Buchanan said. The current Lights Out Tour takes visitors through the cavern by flashlight rather than the normal lighting, offering a darker version of the traditional guided tour. The tour lasts about 45 to 60 minutes and is rated moderate. Bristol Caverns was discovered in 1863 by Samuel Sesler while he was trying to dig a crop cellar. Buchanan said the entrance discovered by Sesler is the same entrance used to bring visitors into the caverns today. "The cave itself is obviously ancient, but despite what the locals tell you, we have absolutely zero traces of any people groups using it," he said. "No Native Americans, no Civil War refugees, not even moonshiners as far as we can tell. We've been taking tours officially since 1944, so we're about to enter our 83rd year as a business." The cavern includes wide-open chambers and unique formations. "We're a unique cave not because of our size necessarily, but because of how wide open we are and how many formations that we have," Buchanan said. "We also have very pronounced vertical bedding, which basically means that the limestone the cave formed in is flipped 90 degrees because of the uplift of the mountains around us. That is likely why we have so many formations." Day trips Other day trips from the Tri-Cities include Ruby Falls in Chattanooga, where you can see a waterfall 1,000 feet below the surface and the Tuckaleechee Caverns in Townsend, which houses "Silver Falls," a 210-foot subterranean waterfall. Lost Sea Adventure in Sweetwater offers guided tours of Craighead Caverns, home to the Lost Sea, an underground lake. The attraction also offers a guided wild-cave experience for groups, providing a way to experience less-developed portions of the cave. Raccoon Mountain Caverns in Chattanooga also offers guided wild-cave experiences in addition to its traditional cave tours. These excursions involve more strenuous exploration and are intended for visitors seeking a more physically demanding experience. Important caving safety tips Cavers should never explore a cave alone. A group of at least three people is recommended, particularly for wild-cave trips. Multiple light sources are essential in caves. On advanced trips, cavers should carry three independent sources of light per person, along with extra batteries. Dressing for the adventure is equally important. A helmet, sturdy footwear and clothing appropriate for mud and water are essential for more advanced trips. A change of clothes should be kept available for excursions involving water or mud. Tennessee State Parks notes that deep caves can remain cold year-round and that wet cavers can face hypothermia even when temperatures above ground are warm. Cavers should also respect the underground environment by following Leave No Trace principles, avoiding contact with delicate formations and leaving wildlife and cultural resources undisturbed. For those seeking a Halloween experience without artificial scares, the darkness beneath East Tennessee's mountains provides plenty of atmosphere on its own.