Dixie Caverns in
Salem (VA)

We had a great learning experience! We had a group of 14. I called in advance and spoke to Bo because I couldn't get into the main line. He was wonderful!! Ben gave us the tour and was great with the younger kids in our group, but engaged all ages. He had jokes and great info flowing the whole time. Everyone was so kind and the store was awesome! Highly recommend! (Cave was 55°+, tour was about 50mins on the hour, every hour, first come first serve, 350 steps).

Mac was the best tour guide so witty very smart and knowledgeable I love this cave it’s very beautiful

We always enjoy the tours at this location. The guides are funny, caring, and knowledgeable. Bring a light jacket because it does get cool inside if the cavern. Pay attention to the surroundings because there are a lot is snakes in the area surrounding the caverns. Be sure to visit the gift shop! It's always amazing to!

This was a very cool experience! Very beautiful inside the cavern. Our tour guide was great. I recommend a jacket as it is chilly in there!

The park was easy to find. It is located just off of I 81. There is pavement all the way. Signage is adequate. Check in was self serve. If you don’t have the correct cash, the operator will follow up at the site. The rules are fairly basic. The interior roads are graveled and in good condition. Our site, 59, was a gravel based pull thru that was easily long enough for our Coach and Towed. Services (30 amp, water and sewer only) were to the left side. Distancing is very close for a rural park. Each site has a table and a fire pit. The fire pit was very rough. Just a few stones tossed on the ground. Our site was flat and even. Overall the park was pretty old and rustic but not a bad overnighter We did not use the park included wifi and we could not get the cable TV to work. We did not find any OTA channels. Satellite might be difficult. We did not use the washrooms or showers as they required a code and we did not need them anyway. There are a number of permanents and many were pretty trashy. There are no restaurants or stores within easy walking distance but just a short drive away you can find food, shopping and convenience stores. We found this park to be an okay overnighter. We paid $50.00 per night inc tax and we feel we received poor value. We will not be back.

My recent visit to Dixie Caverns was a fantastic experience! The tour was well worth the $18 admission fee, and though there was no military discount, the value was still excellent. The tour itself was a comfortable length, lasting about 30-45 minutes. The cavern's interior was refreshingly cool, and it was fascinating to learn about its history, especially how it got the name 'Dixie.' It's a truly unique and beautiful natural wonder, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting and educational stop.

Tours are every hour beginning at 11:00 a.m. over 300 stairs but not difficult, plenty of time to catch your breath. It's worth a visit. If you stay at the campground, there is a discount on tickets.

Fantastic well kept cavern. It started with parking, we had no issue finding a spot. We purchased tickets on site and prices were reasonable. What's super cool is it's attached to an antique store and rock store you can browse while waiting for the tour to start. Highly Recommend getting there early to do this (or can do after). We had an amazing female guide who was super knowledgeable about the cavern. I hate that her name escapes me at the moment as she deserves mucho credit! She is a regular guide there. Just a heads up, this is a moderately intense cavern due to the changes in elevation via stairs, lots of up and down, so be mindful of that. There aren't ramps or elevators. This cave was beautiful with a fun backstory to it! So many cool features and quite the range of formations in there. Highly recommend! The family absolutely loved it - I won't give it away but the name of cavern is adorable once you learn its origin!

A great place to stop and browse the awesome and eclectic gift shop and antique mall or take a cavern tour into the cool (literally and figuratively). Lots of steps and sometimes slippery floors so dress appropriately. My family really enjoyed the whole experience. Also there's a gas station next door with pretty decent food and drink options.

Went on a Saturday and loved it. Andrew was our guide and he did an amazing job. If you are ever near this area please visit this place. It is very cool and something unique to do. Highly recommend it. If you go in the summer you'll see salamander if you go near winter then you'll see bats.

We had a great time. Perfect stop on our long road trip. We have a 6 year old girl and 3 year old boy that absolutely loved it. We all did. Our tour guide was knowledgeable, entertaining and compassionate to anyone that needed anything.

This is a great stop! This was our second visit to this cavern! Our tour guide Maren, is excellent! She also led us through the caverns at our last visit! It is a lot of stairs! So plan accordingly! All staff were friendly and there is a neat little antique shop and gift shop to explore!

Dixie Caverns is a cool roadside stop near Roanoke with a fun, guided cave tour full of unique rock formations. The guide was knowledgeable, and the short walk underground stayed a comfy 55°F. Bonus: there’s a quirky gift shop and antique mall on-site. Great stop for families or road-trippers!

This place was a neat cavern to explore. The group we were with was small and that made it nice to be able to enjoy what we were looking at and we had time to take plenty of photos. It was a bit warm and humid in the cavern though lol. There was a lot of wet spots and areas where you need to be careful and watch your step. The guide we had did really great with giving us a heads up about where to watch our steps at. Check out this place! It’s pretty cool!

Great cave, great history - but be forewarned - you're in for a workout! This is a one hour tour that is almost all stairs. Do you like stairs? Then you'll love this tour! Ten feet into it the tour guide announces you will be climbing "Jacob's Ladder" - which is an eight story flight of steps. While that's the longest continuous flight of steps in the tour, the rest of it is a series of shorter up/down steps. This is not a cave for mobility challenged people. I reached my exercise goal for the day six minutes into the tour and the tour lasts for an hour! That said, it's a great little cave. The history of the discovery is amazing, and this is the only cave I've been to where you can see an actual earth fault line from below ground, which is amazing. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and the time passed quickly. There was no dead time. I would definitely go again, but I'd do some cardio first!

My tour guide was Mara, and it was a wonderfully enlightening experience!! I had the good fortune to go in the afternoon on a weekday, and there were only 2 of us + Mara. She was very well informed on the history of the cave, and I learned a lot. If you like caves at all, this one is well worth your time! This wasn't a cave that you walk into and descend downward into the earth, and then come back up to the entrance.... It's built into a hill, so you start by going down a little, then uphill about 8 stories, then back down to the level of the entrance, so it's entirely within a raised hill, and it's the first time I've ever been inside a cave that was ABOVE the entrance. If you find yourself in the Salem (VA) are and you like caves, this is a great experience for a great price, and there is an amazingly large antique shop onsite to browse through. I collect shot glasses when I travel, so I went home with a shot glass and a nice mug. =D

We are traveling with 2 other RV's and we called ahead for overnight camping reservations. They took our "reservation" but no deposit, which is nice and scary at the same time. We pulled in and they had our paperwork and sites ready for us. We did not want to unhook our tow cars, so we had three of the over 25 long pull-thru sites. Staff was friendly and helpful. We would have toured the cavern, but they are closed on Tuesdays.

Awesome tour! The guide was entertaining and knowledgeable! The Caverns are curated and presented very well. Campground is very nice. Will come again!

We made quick visit just to take a break on our way home. Right of the highway. Fairly short wait time even on Sunday. Unfortunately bunch of structures were demaged during 60's while crews were making paths and stairs. Over all good experience.

A Hidden Gem Worth Exploring at Dixie Caverns! I recently had the opportunity to visit Dixie Caverns, and I was blown away by the natural beauty and rich history of this underground wonder! As we made our way through the caverns, our knowledgeable guide shared fascinating stories and facts about the geology, history, and mythology of the area. The tour was engaging, informative, and perfectly paced – we never felt rushed or bored. The caverns themselves are truly breathtaking, with towering stalactites and stalagmites, sparkling crystals, and intricate rock formations. We were amazed by the sheer scale and beauty of the underground world. One of the highlights of the tour was the opportunity to see the stunning formations up close. Our guide expertly illuminated the caverns, revealing hidden wonders and secrets that would have been impossible to spot otherwise. Highlights: - Knowledgeable and engaging guides - Breathtaking natural beauty and unique rock formations - Rich history and mythology surrounding the caverns - Perfectly paced tour that's suitable for all ages Suggestions for Improvement: - Consider adding more interactive elements or hands-on activities to the tour - Provide more seating areas or rest stops throughout the caverns for visitors who may need a break Tips for Future Visitors: - Wear comfortable shoes and dress in layers, as the temperature inside the caverns can be cooler than outside - Bring a camera to capture the stunning formations and memories - Take your time and enjoy the scenery – the tour is well worth the investment! Overall, Dixie Caverns is a hidden gem that's definitely worth exploring. With its natural beauty, rich history, and engaging guides, it's an experience that's sure to leave a lasting impression. Rating Breakdown: - Guide Knowledge: 5/5 - Natural Beauty: 5/5 - Tour Experience: 4.5/5 - Overall: 4.5/5

It was absolutely beautiful inside these caverns. Our tour guide was a delight, he was funny and informative! Make sure you wear a jacket and good shoes!!

It was an easy and fun family outting. The tour guide was funny, and the whole tour took about an hour. I’m tall, and I bumped my head a few times, so you gotta be careful. Reasonably priced and the gift shop was nice too.

This was a cool experience. The tour guide was very informative and I got a few good pictures. The main thing to remember is to not touch the rocks because if you are caught doing so, you will get a 500.00 and sometime in jail overall I thought it was a great experience.

Dixie Caverns is a very neat place! We had an awesome tour guide - Jacob. He was fun. This tour is very informative, and the cavern has a lot of cool features. It is worth a visit just to see the reflecting pool, which looks like a magic portal. I could have stared at that for hours. The tour is about an hour long, there are many steps, and you walk a quarter mile. The walkways are professional using flagstone like pavers, and there are rails and plenty of lighting. This is a limestone cavern with some calcite deposits and cave moss. Among so many other features, you get to see the Salem fault line. I highly recommend a visit.

This was my first ever cave, and overall, it was an awesome experience! The prices for a ticket were worth every cent, and the tour wasn't too short or too long. The staff were very nice and entertaining, and the caves were super cool! Just hold on to the railings, it gets slippery the further in you go. I highly recommend you go here for your first cave! Shout out to our tour guide, Jacob!

What a fun adventure. The tour takes about an hour. Our tour guide was funny and sweet. Cost was $18 per person. It does require navigating stairs. The gift shop is worth checking out. Esp the little consignment booths. All kinds of treasures to be found.

This place is a first rate day-trip destination! I took my sister for a "date" and we chose to visit Dixie Caverns. Absolutely no regrets—we had an amazing experience! Since it was wintertime, we had the tour basically to ourselves (we only had 1 tour mate), and our guide (I forget her name 😬) was incredible. She was very friendly, conversational, and professional. We came away wanting to turn right around and go back in with her! My favorite part was—the whole thing! The gift shop is great, too, a really neat place to kill time if you're waiting for your tour to start. I picked up an adorable soapstone piece that I love more every time I look at it. Wintertime is also the time to see the adorable resident bats who come to the caverns to hibernate each year.