THE ANTI TOURIST

In upstate New York, west of Albany, there’s a place right outside of the Catskills where hundreds of caves decorate the landscape beneath the surface. Ages ago, a Mr. Lester Howe took it upon himself to develop some of this cave-land into a lucrative destination spot. And so Howe Caverns was built around Lester’s own little chunk of the cave system and it has pulled in visitors from all over the world since then.

Now I like caves. A lot. One of the things I appreciate about caves is that they’re all so different from each other. And Howe is no exception.

The caverns, as a destination spot, really have their act together. Their overly welcoming lodge presents you with all things from gifts and Starbucks coffee to fudge and cheese. Their onsite hotel allows for convenient stays post-caving. (Believe me, you’ll want to stay. The roads out there are winding and daunting; particularly if you’re a city-slicker like myself.)

From the super muddy adventure tour to the traditional boat tour (and I highly recommend both), Howe Caverns is simply majestic.

If you can’t take my word for it or, simply, refuse to believe me, go visit the caverns yourself and leave me nasty comments if you think it sucks. I welcome it-primarily because I’m sure you’ll prove yourself wrong.

By: Elizabeth Seward