Cumberland Caverns

1437 Cumberland Caverns Rd, McMinnville, TN 37110

931 668 4396

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11 visitor photos

Ranked #3 of 3 attractions in McMinnville

34 Reviews

Type: Caverns/ Caves

Owner description: Tennessee's largest show cave and a U.S. National Natural Landmark; Cumberland Caverns displays some of the largest underground rooms and most...... more » Owner description: Tennessee's largest show cave and a U.S. National Natural Landmark; Cumberland Caverns displays some of the largest underground rooms and most spectacular formations in America. The daily scenic walking tour is offered year-round, from 9:00 to 5:00. Our Underground Ballroom seats 400 and can be reserved for banquets, weddings, birthday parties and corporate events. Discover adventure on one of our daytime or overnight spelunking adventure trips into untamed portions of the caverns.

Useful Information: Activities for young children, Activities for older children

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34 reviews from our community

earthsinger93

Barrie, Canada

Senior Reviewer

9 reviews

Reviews in 5 cities

5 helpful votes

“Unethical, deceiving, mostly dead cave, many, many stairs.....”

Reviewed April 8, 2012

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Imagine my surprise to be more than 300' underground, over 1 mile into the cave and then be informed that the main features and formation of the cave featured a Christian themed light show about Creationism and another 'exlanation' as to how the cave came to be. Really?! I thought they were joking. They were not! Then we were told... More

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Thank you for taking the time to give your honest feedback of your experience of the cave. We can see and understand your concern. On part of our cave tour we do proudly share a historic poem written over 100 years ago by the great African-American poet James Weldon Johnson. The poem retells the story of the creation (Part 1... More

MattInTn

McMinnville, Tennessee

Senior Contributor

29 reviews

Reviews in 9 cities

10 helpful votes

“Great Tour, Fun Guide”

Reviewed March 17, 2012

Great day trip for people in middle Tennessee, especially on a hot summer day. Be prepared to walk the whole time you are there, sometimes on iffy terrain. More

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See 2 more reviews by MattInTn for McMinnville

Thank you for your visit and your review. It’s kind of funny how we were thinking of "hot summer days" in March this year. But yes, the natural 56 degree year-round temp of the cave is great on a hot summer day or any time of the year. Good description of the terrain as "iffy." Please forgive us if we... More

ironranger

indianapolis

Contributor

15 reviews

Reviews in 11 cities

22 helpful votes

“toured caverns with combo of Bluegrass underground concert!”

Reviewed March 3, 2012

person found this review helpful

the tour is awesome, highly recommend it....its 3/4 of a mile long, but requires lots of steps....best be able to climb sets, otherwise you won't be able to see some of the best stuff! More

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Thank you for coming to the concert and taking the cave tour. The combo show/tour ticket is the way to go. It makes for a great day underground. Thanks for your advice on the tour length and the steps. You are correct that it is ¾ of a mile that you tour, which makes it 1 ½ total miles you... More

ComputerGeezer

Madison, Alabama

Contributor

13 reviews

Reviews in 12 cities

8 helpful votes

“Take the Wild Tour”

Reviewed January 22, 2012

The standard tour is, well, standard. But if you have a chance to overnight with a scouting group (and are NOT claustrophobic) take the "Wild Tour" through the ... less accessible ... areas. (You'll have to fit through the box before the tour, so you will know you can fit through.) More

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Our insurance company likes for us to call it our “adventure tour” not our “wild tour” as we have called in the past. Isn’t that funny? Well it is a wild adventure. “The Box” is a good point. We do make all of our adventure guests crawl through a wooden box that is 11” high to show them what they... More

Dingoboy101

calgary

Contributor

13 reviews

Reviews in 11 cities

9 helpful votes

“caving fun”

Reviewed November 28, 2011

This is a fun tour with some reasonable formations although the light show was a bit wierd but the owners put their slant on it so check it out and see. More

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This was a very "reasonable" review. Thanks for offering to others to check it out for themselves. We want to make our tour worth the drive for our guests. So we are glad you found it fun, if not also "a bit weird." Thank you for taking the time to share your review. More

C C

Brentwood, Tennessee

Reviewer

4 reviews

Reviews in 3 cities

4 helpful votes

“Cumberland Caverns is a great Day Trip for the Family”

Reviewed November 28, 2011

people found this review helpful

Cumberland Caverns is an excellent tour in middle TN. Short drive from I-24 near Manchester to McMinnville. Easy access and a good trip for young and old, just note tour has some significant stair climbing on main tour. If you want to tour the wild side and don't mind tight spaces, the wild tour goes .5 mile and takes an... More

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Thank you for your great review. We are glad you were able to experience Cumberland Caverns in different ways. That’s some good advice on the stairs as well. And the tight spaces on the “wild tour” are fun and give you a real sense of accomplishment when finished. Thanks for bringing such a large group too. We hope you all... More

Scott S

Jacksonville, Florida

1 review

2 helpful votes

“Amazing trip.”

Reviewed November 13, 2011

people found this review helpful

My wife and three daughters were in Tennessee for a funeral. We had a day to get away and decided to go to the Cumberland Caverns to get away for the day. This was an amazing trip for the family, and the spiritual lightshow at the end topped the entire trip off. This light show, along with our guide Adam,... More

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What a touching review. We never know what people have done before or what they do after their visit to Cumberland Caverns, but while you are here, we hope to treat you like friends and family while sharing the experience of our beautiful cave with you. Adam is one of our best and I was able to praise him specifically... More

nysstexas

Texarkana, Texas

Contributor

12 reviews

Reviews in 8 cities

6 helpful votes

“Wonderful!!!!”

Reviewed October 28, 2011

people found this review helpful

Were on our way somewhere else when we came across billboards for Cumberland Caverns - were able to get there in time for the last tour of the evening. We were the only four people on the tour so it was like having a personal tour. The tour guide was very nice and knowledgeable. Had an awesome time. The light... More

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We are glad it worked out for your family to be able to have a personal tour like that. Also glad to know that our billboards work. And thank you for your comments on our light show. We are proud to offer that experience to our guests. We hope you can come back again for a visit. Thank you for... More

Caveman19

Collierville, Tennessee

1 review

3 helpful votes

“Fun for the kids but Light Show is Hokey”

Reviewed August 22, 2011

people found this review helpful

This privately owned cave is quite worth exploring, especially for young kids. They all love it-especially overnighting inside the cave. The lighting is subdued and mostly effective in showcasing the cave but the Christian themed "Light Show" is so hokey that I had to restrain myself from laughing out loud. As a nonbeliever I found the presentation quaint and an... More

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Thank you for your visit and your comments. Kids do love our cave, and the overnights are especially fun. We are kind of proud of our "hokey" light show. The audio for the show is an old African-American poem retelling the creation story. It is a slice of our culture. We continue to try to improve the presentation of this... More

Jen T

Nashville, Tennessee

1 review

1 helpful vote

“"Great Bluegrass Show and Great Tour of the Cave After the Show but disapointed in the overall experience”

Reviewed August 21, 2011

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Arrived at the cave from Nashville Tennessee at 11:30 a.m. with 5 other friends for the Bluegrass Underground Concert. We purchased tickets online for the concert and cave tour. The paved parking spots were taken and our vehicle did not do well on the grass hill we had to park on. There was a line inside the gift shop area... More

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Thank you for your review of your day at Cumberland Caverns. We have read and shared this review among our managers and all of our staff. As the Bluegrass Underground concerts continue to grow in popularity, we are having some growing pains. Some of the problems you mentioned we were well aware of, others are good to know. We are... More