Georgia Natural Wonder #147 - Caves of Lookout Mountain. 917

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #147 - Caves of Lookout Mountain

We continue our search for the top ten caves and caverns of Georgia. Still part of the Cumberland Plateau along with Pigeon Mountain from our last post, we move a valley over to the Lookout Mountain Plateau.



Now we have been to Lookout Mountain in four earlier Georgia Natural Wonder Post.


Georgia Natural Wonder #10 - Cloudland Canyon



Georgia Natural Wonder #22 - Rock City



Georgia Natural Wonder #81 - Zahnd Tract



Georgia Natural Wonder #90 – Lula Lake Land Trust



But now we are on our top caves of Georgia theme and there are so many caves in Lookout Mountain we are putting all the caves under Lookout Mountain as a whole separate Wonder and Post. Lookout Mountain and Sand Mountain (to the southwest) make up a large portion of the southernmost end of the Cumberland Plateau. The area was lifted from an ancient sea, and worn down by erosion for millions of years. The summit, called "High Point", is located just east of Thompsonville in Walker County, Georgia, with an elevation of 2,392 feet above sea level.



“Lookout Mountain is basically hollow,” says Tripp Lichtefeld, a beloved bartender at the Fairyland Club. “From Point Park to the Fairyland Club there are probably 20 to 30 caves, and that’s less than 3 miles. Lookout Mountain stretches at least 90 miles.”



Our area is known within caving circles as a worldwide destination. But those circles are rather small. The sport remains tight-lipped about cave entrances and maps. Cavers learn the ropes from other cavers, like some underground fraternity.



Lookout Mountain stretches eighty-four miles from downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, to downtown Gadsden, Alabama. Only three miles of Lookout Mountain are located in Tennessee, while thirty-one miles lie in northwest Georgia and fifty miles extend into northeast Alabama.In the Alabama section of Lookout Mountain is the Little River Canyon National Preserve.



Probably the most visited cave in Georgia is on Lookout Mountain, and that would be Fairyland Caverns at Rock City. You walk all through the rock formations and eventually, you will find yourself at the tunnel entrance to Fairyland Caverns.


Vintage Postcard


As seen today

As you walk through a long series of cave-like galleries, elves and gnomes are perched on trapezes and simulated rock shelves.



The amount of work that had to go into putting this place together is incredible, and evident everywhere.



Did I mention that Rock City was in Georgia.


Fishing and Bowling, these must be redneck gnomes.

A beautiful Gnomes Castle, the Carnival of Gnomes brewing moonshine in a still.


Yep, redneck gnomes.

At the end of Cavern, you can enjoy the Mother Goose Village, Little Boy Blue, Humpty Dumpty, Little Miss Muffit and Cow that jumped over the Moon.Rock caves decorated with black light-responsive sculptures. Don't hesitate to make a visit here with kids or grand kids, you won't regret it!



There are the greatly visited caverns of Ruby Falls and the now closed Lookout Mountain Cavern, but that is technically in Tennessee and this is a Natural Wonder of Georgia Forum.



Discovered this by accident building elevator.


Have never been to Ruby Falls, I feel like such a Jack Ass, just like this Ruby Falls rock formation.

There was a time when the most famous of the Lookout Mountain caves was the one in which the natural entrance is located at the foot of Lookout Mountain on the banks of the Tennessee River.  You can see this from I-24. It was known for centuries, first used as a campsite by American Indians, and later as a hideout for outlaws, and a Civil War Hospital.



Many visitors left their traces, and there is even a signature of Andrew Jackson, who also visited the cave.



Tales of this cave’s huge chambers and winding passages have long been passed down from one generation to the next. There were many reports of explorers traveling deep into this cave, as far as 12 miles without reaching the end.


In 1905, the cave was intersected by a railroad tunnel through the mountain, and the entrance was sealed.

To access the cave, a 400-foot shaft was excavated in 1928 and 1929. During this excavation, a second cave, Ruby Falls, was discovered at the 260-foot level.



Both caves were shown commercially for a short time, but extensive deposits of soot from the railroad tunnel have accumulated in the original lower cave, and it was closed to tourists in 1935.

Now I have searched and searched for other caves in Georgia, on Lookout Mountain, and I am only finding one.

Frick’s Cave (closed to protect endangered life)

Frick’s Cave is actually closed off to the general public to preserve endangered cave life. Frick’s Cave is the richest biological cave in Georgia, inhabiting several endangered species of Gray Bats, Tennessee Salamanders, and many others. Impressive systems with very high ceilings and streams.



Frick's Cave is a protected cave on the eastern side of Lookout Mountain. It's home to the rare Gray Bat and is the only known home to the endangered Tennessee cave salamanders.


An miraculous view of Frick's cave.

Frick’s Cave is located on 33.8 acres of land in North Georgia in Walker County near Lookout Mountain. The general public is discouraged from visiting due to the endangered species living inside. However, there is an appreciation day held each winter that allows members and their guests to tour the cave. This is a very rich spelean environment and a truly unique place if you have a chance to see it.



Frick’s Cave is closed, and protected under the Endangered Species act. Unauthorized entry could lead to heavy fines or imprisonment.

Entry into the cave may constitute harassment as defined in Section 9 of the federal Endangered Species Act and is punishable by imprisonment and fines up to $50,000. Please respect the endangered wildlife in this delicate cave.


You can visit the preserve during warmer months to watch the nightly bat flight from the cave.

Adventuring Light had this report and images

The exact location is given along with a permit or an invitation only. This is a closed cave that is open once a year to Southeastern Cave Conservancy, inc. members. It’s absolutely beautiful and this cave alone is worth the $25.00 membership fee you pay when joining the SCCi. 



I can’t tell you the exact location because 1. You can’t go there on a whim 2. Cave locations are kept private except to NSS members and those who are granted a permit.



You can walk right in the large front entrance and if you want, you can stay upright the whole time.



There are some tight spots that require crawling if you want to enter certain rooms.



There is a little bridge leading to the cave entrance. In front of the bridge, volunteers check your gear and they won’t let you in without a helmet, head lamp and maybe knee pads…they may not care about the knee pads part, but headlamp and helmets are a must.



You must bring proper caving gear. They care and they check. Before you are granted entrance, you are to have washed all of your gear with soapy water or a mixture of water and clorox. This is to keep stuff you may have picked up elsewhere from getting into and contaminating this cave. They take the spread of the fungus that causes White Nose Syndrome in bats, very seriously.



It’s not that big of a cave so I don’t know that a backpack is necessary. I didn’t take one. It’s a good rule of thumb to take 3 or three light sources with you and back-up batteries. I had a cell phone, 2 headlamps and a small flashlight. There were so many covers there that day that I thought it would be safe not to pack batteries.

Wash all of your gear with soapy water, or a mix of clorox and water when you get home.

For goodness sakes don’t wear or take anything in that has a zipper on it. My jacket was almost ruined. The zipper was caked in mud.

A long garden hose and a baseball hat are not considered proper caving gear.

Its crazy hard to get good pics in a cave, as you can see.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press ran this recount


A group enters Frick's Cave on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, in Chickamauga, Ga. The cave is home to rare gray bats and is opened to visitors by Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc., just one day each year. Researchers with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources use the opportunity to survey the cave's winter bat populations and take cultures from bats suffering from white-nose syndrome.


Trina Morris, left, with Georgia DNR briefs researchers and a group of volunteers before they enter Frick's Cave.


A member of Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc., enters Frick's Cave on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, in Chickamauga, Ga.


Pallavi Sirajuddin with Georgia DNR searches for bats.


Looking high.


Looking low. Use to be thousands of bats in here.


Emily Ferrall with Georgia DNR takes a culture from a bat with white-nose syndrome.


A big brown bat is seen in Frick's Cave.


A sign indicates that visitors should be silent to avid disturbing hibernating grey bats.


Emily Ferrall, right, and Leanne Burns with Georgia DNR seal a sample container after taking a culture from a bat.


A tricolored bat suffering from white-nose syndrome hibernates in Frick's Cave.


Emily Ferrall, right, and Pallavi Sirajuddin with Georgia DNR search for bats in Frick's Cave.



Only one day a year can you visit this cave.



The AJC did a visit to the cave.


An Eastern pipistrelle clings to the cave walls during open house day at Fricks Cave in western Walker County in Northwest Georgia. Fricks Cave is the summer home of federally-protected endangered Gray Bats (Myotis Grisescens) and is closed to all visitation without written permission by the Southeastern Cave Conservancy.


Geologist Ron Miller assists a rappeling caver into the upper entrance and Dr. Cathy Borer, professor of biology at Berry College, gives some rope ascending tips just before exiting the vertical entrance/exit of Frick's Cave.


A bat clings to the cave walls during open house day at Fricks Cave.


Caver and geologist Ron Miller, in the Bat Room section of Fricks Cave.


A series of formations known as speleothems. in the bat room section of Fricks Cave.


Some stalactites form as long thin tubes, called soda straws, while others are larger and more irregular in shape. These are also formed by calcite deposition as carbon dioxide is released from the saturated groundwater, as seen here in Little Fricks Cave.


Bill Putnam looks over large stalactites forming on the ceiling of the cave when rainwater seeps through tiny fissures in the bedrock, dissolves some of the limestone, and then deposits the mineral calcite.


Stalagmites form and meet each other to form columns in Fricks Cave.


Caver Bill Putnam, belly crawls headfirst through a tight passageway on his way through Little Fricks Cave.


Dr. Cathy Borer, descends on a rope into the pit entrance into Fricks Cave.


More stalactites in Fricks Cave.

Capture Life Through The Lens had these images.

This past weekend I had my chance as the Southeastern Cave Conservancy Inc. held their annual open house at Frick’s Cave in Chickamauga, Georgia. The cave is only open to exploration one day out of the entire year due to the grey bat, an endangered species, that calls Frick’s Cave its home. During the winter the majority of the bats leave the cave for hibernation elsewhere and cavers are given the opportunity to explore the expansive system during that time. Around 150 people came out on Saturday to do just that. Myself included. I donned a helmet, my lights and my camera gear and headed inside tagging along with Brad Barker and Gavin Warren who were nice enough to help a novice get around the nooks and crannies of being underground!


Wildlife biologist Trina Morris shines a light looking for bat groupings around the entrance


Nikki Castleberry works her way down to the entrance


Doug Carson (left) follows behind six-year-old Elias Chandler as they climb boulders inside Frick’s Cave.


Cavers make their way through the inside of Frick’s Cave.


Cavers make their way past rock formations inside Frick’s Cave.


Gavin Warren (left) and Brad Barker make their way through Frick’s Cave


Adam Evans (right) takes a break halfway up a bunch of boulders inside Frick’s Cave


Lighting is crucial for good cave images.

Box Car Cave

I found these images of Box Car Cave in Dade County on Lookout Mountain.



Box Car Cave, Lookout Mountain, Dade County, Georgia


34 Foot Pit with Manuel Beers (Good name)

OK if anybody has some information about other caves on Lookout Mountain, I would like to add as an addendum. Back to Lady Spelunkers (Vintage Version) for today's Georgia Natural Wonder Gals of the day. Makes you appreciate the modern Gal.