We made our way to Natural Tunnel State Park from Wilderness Road State Park, an easy 1-hour long ride with beautiful scenery and twisting mountain roads. Natural Tunnel State Park is park #3 in our “6 parks in 6 days” mini challenge.

Two different viewpoints of one amazing tunnel in Southwest Virginia

July 8-10 Natural Tunnel State Park

Upon arriving we headed straight to our cabin with just enough time to unpack before a big string of storms hit, which we enjoyed from our rocking chairs on the back porch. This park is located along a mountain with the tunnel at the base of the park and all other amenities (pool, camping, visitors’ center, etc.) scattered up the hillside.

There are two ways down to the tunnel, either via a chair-lift or hike. We headed to the Visitor’s Center first thing in the morning and purchased our chair lift tickets to the tunnel.

We caught the chair lift to the tunnel floor first thing in the morning

You can also walk a short, difficult trail down a series of switchbacks, but the chair lift tickets are inexpensive and fun! After arriving at the bottom we walked a short distance to the mouth of the tunnel. An active train runs through it, so you aren’t actually able to walk into the tunnel, but that hardly matters as the surrounding mountains are truly stunning. We walked the entirety of the trail at the tunnel floor, which was easily accessible and mostly boardwalk and took the chair lift back up to the top.

The Visitor’s Center area is the hub of this park with short trails branching out around it, so we hopped on the Lover’s Leap Trail (0.36 mi) ending at a high cliff vantage point, which legend states is the place two lovers from different Native American tribes concluded their Romeo and Juliet romance. Instead of backtracking on the Lovers Leap Trail we hopped on a portion of the Gorge Ridge Trail (0.27 mi total) to return to the visitors’ center. This was a much easier walk to get to and from Lover’s Leap if you’re not a fan of steep inclines.

From the visitors center we were also able to pick up the Stock Creek Trail 1.03 miles in entirely, but only about 0.5 miles to get to the Northern Tunnel Entrance which was definitely worth the trip and shows the tunnel in its natural glory along the creek. This trail is pretty steep, is all dirt going down and it isn’t a loop so be prepared to walk back up!

The Northern Tunnel entrance, accessible via the Stock Creek Trail

We were slightly amiss when we discovered we couldn’t actually go into the tunnel due to it being on an active train track, however, the park offers many more opportunities to explore. Guided canoe and snorkeling adventures, and cave explorations of other caves on the property. We excitedly signed up for the Bowling Cave guided tour. A cost of $15 per person for a 2-hour guided tour of the cave. This cave, unlike many others you’d tour, is considered “wild” so it’s not rigged with lights, steps, or masses of people.

To get to the cave entrance we hiked about a mile up the mountain while carrying our helmets with lights, knee pads, and gloves. After a brief safety talk we crawled through the entrance, the only lights in the cave were those on our heads and our footing had to be careful as the floor was quite slippery! This was a two hour experience not easily forgotten and guided by a wonderful interpretive ranger who kept our safety in mind while letting us see a truly remarkable piece of this park. 

We crawled (yes crawled) deep into the cave, ducking and crouching when necessary. There are also options to “walk around” if you’re not interested in crawling through portions of the cave. The small groups (15 people max) allowed for ample interaction with our guide and the ability to see these historic natural features up close.

A view inside the wild Bowling Cave with some of the group entering further into the darkness at Natural Tunnel State Park

We spent the remainder of the day cooling off at the pool, another testament to how thoroughly Virginia State Parks make an effort to keep visitors happy! This is a great park for families as the majority of its trails are short and easy, but still show off incredible views of the tunnel and mountains that surround it.

The Blockhouse and beginning of Wilderness Road

We made one final stop before heading out for park #4 of our mini-challenge, stopping by the Blockhouse which is actually the start of Wilderness Road and the location where groups of men would gather to collect numbers before heading west for Kentucky.

If you would like to go on your own adventure to Natural Tunnel State Park and would like more information about this park, click here. 

Guest Bloggers Peter Radlowski and Sarah Sumoski plan to tackle all 36 Virginia State Parks in 2016 and they invite you to come along on the adventure with them.