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Lynch, Kentucky: Portal 31: Dark Ride Mine Tour

RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report

Address:
100 Church St., Lynch, KY
Directions:
US-119 to Cumberland. Exit at milepost 35, then at the bottom of the ramp turn left onto KY-160, toward Benham and Lynch. Drive 3.5 miles. Just past the overhead coal conveyor, you'll see the Portal 31 entrance on the left.
Hours:
Tu-Sa 9:30-5 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:
606-848-3131
Admission:
Adults $17.
RA Rates:
Major Fun
Save to My Sights

Portal 31.

Portal 31: Dark Ride Mine Tour

A train ride through a real coal mine, with sound and light effects, animatronic miners, and a robot mule. Tourists ride rail cars, often in pitch blackness.

Roadsideamerica.com Report... [07/07/2019]

Visitor Tips and News About Portal 31: Dark Ride Mine Tour

Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.

Portal 31.

Portal 31

Stopped by during a trip to Kentucky. The tour guide was very informative and it was great to see the different time periods of mining through the displays in the Portal 31 exhibition mine.

[C. Plaisance, 08/05/2017]
Portal #31 Underground Mine Tour and Lamphouse Museum

The Portal No. 31 Underground Mine Tour is a new offering; supposedly it opened in late 2006. Lynch was once the world's largest coal camp, and this is touted as "Kentucky's First Exhibition Coal Mine." Groups are transported through the Portal #31 coal mine by rail car, wearing plastic safety helmets "as they enjoy animated exhibits along the tour."

According to the attraction's web site: "Outside Portal #31 stands a black granite monument in tribute to long time president of the United Mine Workers John L. Lewis and a memorial to U.S. Steel District #1 miners who died in mining accidents. The site also features a 1920s lamphouse, bathhouse, L&N train depot and loadout system."

[RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 01/22/2007]

Nearby Offbeat Places

Black Coal Miner MemorialBlack Coal Miner Memorial, Lynch, KY - < 1 mi.
Stone Face RockStone Face Rock, Pennington Gap, VA - 15 mi.
Natural Tunnel State ParkNatural Tunnel State Park, Duffield, VA - 21 mi.
In the region:
Coal Monument, Baxter, KY - 24 mi.

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