Given it's vast size and extremely large entrance, this cave must have been known to the American Indians who lived and hunted in this area. There is evidence that the cave was mined for saltpeter just inside the entrance, likely during the War of 1812 era. The major and now-popular sections of the cave were not discovered until a hardy team of cavers in the 1970s penetrated a complex breakdown maze and emerged into one of the largest underground rooms in Tenneessee. The room, named "Expo Hall," was initially reported at roughly 2.5 acres with ceilings towering over 100' tall and contains breakdown boulders the size of school buses. However, reviewing some more recent data, it appears the room might actually be closer to 4 acres. (Despite multiple survey projects, a definitive map of this well known cave has not yet been published)
As they explored further in the cave, they discovered more large chambers, one nearly 1.5x larger as the first with an underground mountain of breakdown at its center. "Echo Hall" remains one of the largest underground spaces in Tennessee.
In the late 1990s, there was another major discovery was in Fall Creek Falls State Park. This was the discovery of the "Rumble Room" inside Rumbling Falls Cave. The Rumble Room has been featured in National Geographic and experienced vertical cavers from around the world travel to Fall Creek Falls to experience it. One must rappel down a 201' pit into this unfathomably large room; it is one of the largest underground spaces in the United States.
Not every caver will be willing to undergo the training necessary to ever see the Rumble Room, but the vast chambers of Camps Gulf are available for exploration by permit from May 1 to August 31. Anyone interested in cave exploration should first seek out their local caving organization for more information about proper gear and safety. Please do not enter any caves without an authorized permit.
Below is a photo of myself in the Rotunda Room, which is the smallest of the cave's 3 most popular chambers.
To claim this virtual cache: Simply include a photo with your log demonstrating that you visited the entrance. Your visit should be after the publishing date of this geocache. There is no need to message/email me with any answers. Bonus points if you include a photo of yourself in one of the vast chambers of the cave, but only if you have obtained a proper permit!
Note: No permit is required to hike to the entrance of the cave. Logs without photos will be deleted unless a photo was sent privately.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.