Diving Deep Into the Foothills of the Fort Lewis Mountains, Courtesy of Dixie - A Visit To Dixie Caverns in Salem Virginia

A Visit To Dixie Caverns in Salem, Virginia

Diving Deep Into the Foothills of the Fort Lewis Mountains, Courtesy of Dixie

By:  a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures

Dear Henry,

Mini-Me #2 drove up from Savannah a couple of weeks ago to help us explore our new city. One of the local spots we checked off our growing list was Dixie Caverns, a short drive from Roanoke in the neighboring town of Salem.

The story of Dixie Caverns begins in the early 1920s, when a man named Bill McDaniel and a friend set out to find McDaniel’s dog, Dixie, who had fallen into an opening in the ground. The dog was retrieved unharmed, and, thankfully, curiosity won out. The two men explored the cavern and soon began offering tours. By 1924, Dixie Caverns was well-known enough to be featured in several early motor route guides, making it a roadside attraction long before “road trip culture” was a thing.

In the beginning, tours were far more adventurous than they are today. Visitors descended with caving racks and ropes until the late 1950s, when a second entrance was opened, steps were added, and a narrow passage affectionately known as the “back scratcher” corridor was widened and cleared. Civilization, it seems, eventually insists on handrails.

Inside, the caverns offer a delightful collection of formations. There is an abundance of flowstone—my personal favorite—and several whimsical shapes, including one formation that looks unmistakably like a Tyrannosaurus rex and another that resembles a wedding bell. The wedding bell has become something of a signature feature, and over the years, quite a few couples have chosen to say their vows beneath it.

I’ve always been drawn to flowstone. I love waterfalls in all forms, and flowstone is essentially a petrified one, water frozen mid-movement, patiently shaping stone over time. Watching how water carves its way through rock is endlessly fascinating. One of the more surprising aspects of Dixie Caverns is that it isn’t especially deep underground at all. Rather than plunging far below the surface, the cavern is a hollowed-out core within the foothill, rarely extending more than about 15 feet below ground level.

Another reason Dixie Caverns is particularly special is its wildlife. The cave and the surrounding sinkholes are the only known home of Plethodon dixi, a species of cave salamander unique to this area. Our guide was kind enough and skilled enough to locate one for us, which felt like spotting a tiny Appalachian celebrity.

You can also see a visible section of the Salem Fault during the tour. Fortunately, it hasn’t been active for several thousand years, which I appreciated more than I probably should have.

The guided tour lasts about forty-five minutes and includes a fair number of stairs. Afterward, we wandered through the gift shop and adjoining antique mall, which is exactly the kind of low-stakes wandering I excel at.

Dixie Caverns is open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except Tuesdays, and tours cost a very reasonable $18.00.

All in all, it was a great little adventure, one of those places that reminds you how much quiet wonder is hiding just off the main road.

xoxo a.d. elliott

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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life

She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.

You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.

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