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All the United States New York State New York City Lockport Lockport Cave
AO Edited

Lockport Cave

Take an underground boat ride through a former hydraulic raceway that was built in the late 19th century.

Lockport, New York

Added By
David Jarka
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Lockport Cave   sk / CC BY-ND 2.0
Lockport Cave   sk / CC BY-ND 2.0
A view down the Lockport Cave.   sk / CC BY-ND 2.0
Lockport Cave   bobistraveling / CC BY 2.0
Lockport Cave exterior   sk / CC BY-ND 2.0
Lockport Cave entrance   bobistraveling / CC BY 2.0
  Julius Spada / Atlas Obscura User
  Julius Spada / Atlas Obscura User
Location of the upside down train bridge   Julius Spada / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Beneath the City of Lockport, New York, lies one of the longest underground boat rides in the United States. It goes down one of two caverns that exist under Lockport, following the path of the Erie Canal through a manmade hydraulic raceway that was constructed between 1858 and 1900 to supply water to local industries. 

The other cave in Lockport is a naturally-formed cavern in the underlying dolomite and limestone bedrocks and was unsuccessfully attempted to be explored due to funding and flooding issues until its mouth was sealed in 1886. Although the true extent of the natural cave system is unknown, it is estimated to be in an area of several square miles. 

Over the years other entries to the original Lockport Cave have been discovered, and several people made trips into the cave system in the 1960s and 70s. In an interview with the Buffalo News, one of those explorers described a series of complicated passageways and tight tunnels, as well as a wide cavern filled with several feet of sediment and 10-foot waterfall in a side passage.

Today, it's the human-made tunnel that tends to get more attention. The raceway was first opened as a tourist attraction in 1977. Along with the boat ride, a walking tour of the surrounding area is also available. Haunted cave lantern tours are held around Halloween and the cave is open to paranormal research teams after being featured on Syfy's Ghost Hunters in 2012.

Update as of August 2023: The cave is closed indefinitely. 

Related Tags

Engineering Subterranean Sites Underground Caves

Community Contributors

Added By

davidjarka

Edited By

Michelle Cassidy, Julius Spada

  • Michelle Cassidy
  • Julius Spada

Published

May 12, 2022

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  • https://buffalonews.com/news/a-natural-wonder-lost-to-time-lockports-underground-cave-system-was-never-fully-explored-and/article_60adcd67-d3e5-50ba-a5bb-f8ac39cc33f5.html
  • https://lockportcave.com/history/
Lockport Cave
5 Gooding St
Lockport, New York, 14094
United States
43.171889, -78.692588
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

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Explore the Destination Guide

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New York State

United States

Places 807
Stories 45

Nearby Places

Destroyer Park Golf

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New York State

New York State

United States

Places 807
Stories 45

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