Lowmoor Mine and Cave - 3/22/2026
Report by Allie Shellhammer
Members: Allie, Josh, Lillie, Harriet, Scott B, Murphy, Evan, Rachel, James, Kadosa, Tyler, Julia, Kristen, Isaac, Tim, and Josie!
Sixteen of us headed out for a trip into Lowmoor Cave and Mine, a solid group and a smooth day from start to finish. We organized carpools and met up at the Loves before heading out and eventually driving our cars directly into the mine, which is always a fun and slightly surreal way to start a trip—rolling from daylight straight into darkness.
Once inside, we split into two groups. One group started in the mine while the other headed into the cave. Our group took the cave first.
The cave was very active with life—we saw plenty of critters throughout the day, including spiders, cave crickets, bats, and salamanders. We worked our way through many of the well-known sections, moving at a good pace but taking time to look around and enjoy the formations and passages. Eventually, we made our way out toward Fossil Alley, which ended up being one of the turnaround points for the cave side of the trip.
While we were underground, we ran into RASS, who were also out exploring. They had two cave dogs with them, including Banana, the RASS mascot, who was a big hit with everyone.
We all regrouped for lunch back at the mine, and then the groups switched so everyone got to see both the cave and the mine. My group headed into the mine for the second half of the day and explored several passages before heading over to an area I like to call “The Exposure,” where you can look down into a large open section of the mine. It’s a pretty dramatic view and a great place to stop for photos.
Murphy got into position above and took some really great shots looking down at all of us gathered in the mine from that overlook.
Overall, it was a very smooth trip—good group, lots of wildlife, great photography, and everyone had a really good time underground. Thank you so much, everyone, for joining me on my last-ever Cville Grotto Trip!!
