No Respect for Other Tourists
Tourists have officially ruined Luray Caverns with their Cameras. Over this past Memorial Day Weekend, I flew to visit my brother at his apartment in Arlington, Virginia. As always, I had to visit one photogenic nature area. Normally my style is to find hidden, unknown, overgrown, and unpolished placed to shoot. Since the Florida Caverns are the only dry caves that I’ve explored, I couldn’t resistant some comparison.
I don’t mind alot of people, but with the advent of digital point-and-shoot photography, the tour was dreadfully ruined. The hundred people in front of me stopped at every major stalactite formation, took a flash picture, and then walked to the next and the next, each time taking another flash photo. Rarely taking their eyes off of the screen, they would stop and take pictures of eachother at each formation, blocking the walk through.
Because this was a DARK cave, the flashes blinded me every time, even far away. With unlimited shooting, and the narcissistic need to post everything to facebook and flickr, the tourists around me were on a picture-taking-orgy with their new Christmas toys. Without digital, they would have never been able to accomplish this type of amateur photography.
No Respect for Nature
Many amateurs at Luray Caverns were putting tripods right on the rocks. That is a big no-no! Only a few touches with the human hand are needed to destroy the stalactites, since oil will prevent drips of water from reforming and growing the formation.
Further, not even the Luray staff seem to respect the natural wonder they are suppose to protect. Luray has a lit up reflecting pool that they allow people to chuck money into. Yes, your kids can learn to respect nature by throw ing money at a 100,000 year old rock formation. Is this what we are teaching our children?
Some years ago, someone built a pipe organ into some of the formations. What a shameful display of commercialism. Please Luray, remove this!
Walking through, I saw thousands of hanging stalactites broken off, ones not over the walkway. Shameful.
Worst, worst, worst of all: they now only give headphone tours. Nowhere did anyone explain to me the delicate nature of the cave and not to touch anything. What a lazy group of people that run the place.
My Tourist Shooting Style
What about me you ask? With a 5Dmkii and Canon 2.8 fisheye only, I shot completely with available light and used my steady hands as a tripod. First I stared up and enjoyed the spender around me. In some spots, the caves were nearly 10 stories tall! I shoot quickly and quietly, never in the middle, never blocking anyone. No loud noises, no flashes.
Florida Caves are Way Better
The Florida Caverns, the only accessible dry cave in Florida, is far more intimate, pristine, and more challenging to navigate. They also restrict flash photography, and don’t allow tripods. Further, the Florida Caverns is quite a long trip out, with no major metropolitan cities for hundreds of miles, meaning that only the most dedicated and respectful nature lovers will make the trip out to visit.
The caves offer a long walk, but requires ducking and slippery ups and downs. Just walking through is an adventure!
The staff there absolutely love the park and explain, in great length, how to respect the cave and keep it preserved for future generations. The people-led tours are absolutely wonderful. They also reach points where they turn off the lights, make everyone be quite, and see what the cave is really like.
Like all Florida parks, the Florida Caverns offer a discreet peace of mind that allows you to escape technology and life’s pressures. Although I photograph Florida parks frequently, I’ve often found myself going back without a camera or cellphone to unwind and release my mind.
Much of the nations parks are ruined by people. Not that I don’t like people, but without that sense of peace and tranquility, nature is just not nature. At Yosemite, I can’t walk a trail for more than a few minutes without passing people. Florida’s parks are far removed from cities, and weed out the main flock of tourists. They’re also less pampered, less commercialized, and more natural.
Solutions for Luray
Luray Caverns management needs to do a few things.
First, take out the pipe organ.
If people want to donate, have that information in a booth outside. Remove the money fountain.
Explain how to respect nature before entering. Show examples of damaged stalagmite at the entrance, and why they cannot be touched (this is what the Florida Caverns do).
Explain to people how to respect eachother. This includes flash photography.
Limit the number of people entering per hour. Say, 15 people per 30 minutes with a guide, or even 15 every 10 minutes, just to keep people apart in blocks and give a sense of tranquility.
8 Responses to “Luray Caverns: No Respect”
Next time you are in Virginia, please visit Shenandoah Caverns, where we offer personalized tours and have the state’s only cavern elevator making it very accessible. We have level walkways and 17 cool rooms with very unique and pristine formations. Luray Caverns are beautiful and the most “popular”, but give us try and let our Family of Attractions entertain your Family.
Thanks for your comment Allison. Next time I visit my brother in Arlington, VA I’ll go check it out. I drove through part of the Shenandoah Valley, it was quite beautiful. I’ll eventually post those pictures as well.
I absolutely agree! When Mercedes and I saw Luray Caverns we had the same sad impression. Especially, since we saw the Shenandoah Caverns just one day earlier. There is a big, big difference between the two. We also met the owner of the Shenandoah Caverns in his float exhibit. I would still prefer the Shenandoah Caverns without the gravel floor, but that’s better than the concrete in Luray Caverns. As long as tourists visit Luray Caverns and pay, the owners will keep raping this wonderful peace of natural artwork…
Did you voice your opinion to a member of management or even ask those around you not to touch the formations? As a former employee of Luray Caverns, I find it difficult to hear you compare a small caverns in Florida to the 64 acres that make up the 3rd largest caverns in the United States that is Luray Caverns. The reasoning behind the “Wishing Well” (where the coins are thrown in) is because tourists were throwing coins in all the bodies of water. The management thought the best solution was to designate one area.
Luray Caverns is privately owned, it is not part of any park system. The Great Stalacpipe Organ was created in the 1950′s by a man who specialized in making organs. He had a strict agreement with management to use plastic gloves as he used a rubber tipped mallet to search for perfect tones to fit the notes of the organ. The organ has been recognized by National Geographic, the Guinness Book of World Records (the organ is the world’s largest natural instrument), and even Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. It was produced with the greatest care, and in my opinion should not be taken out.
As for the tourists doing as they please and the use of headsets for tours, I do agree that this hurts the trip for most other people. I was employed by Luray Caverns in the days of guided tours and stricter rules, but with half a million visitors each year, I suppose the headsets are the only solution to keep unruly lines down.
For your enjoyment, I recommend you visit other larger caverns in the United States, such as Mammoth Caverns and Carlsbad, the 1st and 2nd largest caverns in the US. I wouldn’t recommend Shenandoah Caverns, it is small and uses colored lights to make their small formations seem attractive; which isn’t exactly what a photographer of your stature is looking for I’m sure.
I hope I provided a little more insight into your Luray Caverns experience, and next time, please voice your opinion to management!
Enjoyed the posting… I went to the caverns almost every year as a kid growing up in Manassas and my wife and I were thinking of escaping the Charlottesville heat today by bringing the kids up. My very first thought was… I bet it will be really crowded. I remember the groups being so large that I would hardly get to see much as a little kid and always felt crowded. But I also remember loving the caverns and being amazed at the beauty. I was shocked to see flash photography being allowed… I actually remember signs and guides telling us flash photography was not allowed. I also remember being told not to touch anything. I haven’t been since about 1990 so I guess things change.
I would love to see the pics you took of the Shenandoah Valley. I’m sure they are long forgotten in your queue of shots, but you would have at least one admiring blog viewer!!
Hey Lewis, thanks for your comment. As long as you avoid the weekends and especially the major holidays, I think you would be ok to visit. I went there on Memorial Day in 2010, and it was an absolute madhouse. It was very nice and cool inside the cave, and was quite a nice walk. The real disappointment was the touching of the rock formations, which I remember from other caverns was grounds to be thrown out. From other comments and emails, it seems that the private management has fallen apart.
I’ll try to add a few shots of the Shenandoah Valley at the end of the post, I’ll let you know if I do. I remember that it was cloudless and the sun was intense that day, and I didn’t like the photos too much. I’ll take a look through my archives this weekend and see what I did up.
Thanks for commenting!
I posted my short review, although with a different purpose than yours (which I highly agree with), as well as pics I took (without flash or tripod by the way) last weekend. If you have a chance, check out my post. I’m not a photographer like you, but I do love taking pictures! Thanks for your posting by the way.
I checked out your post and other blogs, awesome job shooting with available light! Looks like your family had fun. Adults have to do a little more ducking than kids. Keep up the good work!