Crystal Grottoes Caverns in Boonsboro has millennia-old formations and is the only cave in Maryland open to the public. I make the pilgrimage to the grotto, where third- and fourth-generation owners Jerry Downs and his daughter, Cassie, greet me at the unassuming entry.
“My grandfather built the stone entrance and excavated part of the cave,” Jerry proudly tells me.
The cave was discovered when US Route 40, one of the nation’s first highways, was being built nearby.
“The dynamite charge did not make the usual loud blast; the highway workers came over to see why, and the cave was discovered,” Jerry recounts.
Jerry and Cassie escort me through the main doors to the office, which is its own study in time. There is an old-fashioned charm to the room, with well-worn hardwood floors and dim lighting. I expect to find a gift shop filled with kitsch, but there are only a few posters on the wall and rocks in a display case.
“It’s an easy walk through the cave,” Jerry announces and starts down the few steps leading to the grotto, Cassie’s bare feet illustrating his point.
We head through a narrow grey passageway and emerge in the Crystal Grottoes. The wall to our right is covered with sparkling “crystals,” and overhead, long, slender formations reach down to us from the vaulted ceiling.
“How long did it take for those to form—and do any ever tumble down?” I ask, looking nervously at the heavy rocks above.
“The stalactites are solid rock and will hold tight to the ceiling,” Jerry explains. “They won’t fall on their own accord, and it takes 150 years to form an inch.”
“So, looking at that one…,” I say, pointing to a stalactite taller that Cassie, “it took several hundred thousand years to form?”
“That’s right,” Jerry says. “But it could be finished growing and may have formed millions of years ago.”
That sounds dangerously close to a time theory to me. Fortunately, Jerry guides us to the next room on the tour.
“This is the Blanket Room,” he says.
I consider quipping that I could use a blanket in the cave’s constant 54.6 degrees, but am sure Jerry has heard it before.
The Blanket Room is the largest room in the cave. We are dwarfed by the cascading “blanket” formations. The site has been the focus of millions of years of shifting strata and flows of water, and has also hosted a wedding. A relatively recent one, of course.
“The wedding was a few years ago,” Jerry notes. “There is no evidence of ancient human habitation in the cavern.”
Jerry has explored the cave since childhood, and teams of geologists and physicists have come from around the world to study the grotto and note its age.
Crystal Grottoes is a place where the formations mark the passage of time, and with its quiet, rural location and the insulation of the cave walls, it’s easy to close my eyes and imagine the elements that converged millions of years ago to form this hidden treasure. For once, a time-related theory comes exquisitely to life, and I don’t find it hard to grasp at all.
Crystal Grottoes Caverns is located at 19821 Shepherdstown Road in Boonsboro. Hours vary by season. For more information, call 240-217-7623. And for ideas on other family-friendly things to do while you’re in Boonsboro, visit their website.
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