Noel, Missouri: Bluff Dwellers Cave: Move 20 Ton Rock with 2 Fingers
An elaborate series of passages and rooms cut by water through limestone, discovered in 1925. Operates as a commercial cave with tours.
- Address:
- 163 Cave Rd, Noel, MO
- Directions:
- From North: South on Hwy 71 to EE Hwy (Lanagan exit), then west three miles to Hwy 59. South five miles to Bluff in Noel, then left at Bluff two miles to Cave. From South: North on Hwy 71 to Hwy 90. Drive west for 13 miles, through downtown Noel, to Bluff. Left on Hwy 59 two miles to Cave.
- Hours:
- Mar-Oct 10-6, Nov-Feb 10-5, closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 417-475-3666
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
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Visitor Tips and News About Bluff Dwellers Cave: Move 20 Ton Rock with 2 Fingers
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An extremely good day trip attraction, with a tour of the 4,000+ foot cave network beneath the Browning family property in Noel, MO.
[Logan, 01/01/2012]
Two things really stood out for me on my visit. First, there is a spot in the caverns where a 20-ton rock is precariously balanced on another rock formation, enabling one to tip and move this huge stone with just two fingers.
Second, the tour guide -- Brent - was one of the most amazing I had ever had for any attraction I've ever been to. For such a simple roadside attraction, he was a wealth of information -- not only about the local area and the caves, but about caving, spelunking and other interesting places in the area. He was very polite, knowledgible and answered all of my questions. Don't miss having Brent as your guide!
[Levi Combs, 09/19/2009]
Limestone, the stone in which many Ozark caves are formed, covers much of the 60,000 square miles of the Ozark Plateau. It was in a limestone outcrop that Bluff Dwellers Cavern was found and explored in 1925 by the owner of the property, Arthur Browning and two surveyors employed by the highway department, Bob Ford and Bryan Gilmore.
What the Browning family had underneath their farm was astonishing, a network of subterranean corridors channeling the layers of rock like a subway system. With each turn along the many pathways, new wonders came to light. During excavation, artifacts were uncovered that dated back to a Paleo culture that inhabited the Ozarks as far back as 7,000 years ago.
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