Over the course of millions of years, drops of water carved out the expanse of the Smoke Hole Caverns. And drop by drop, the stalactites and stalagmites that fill the caves were formed through the slow accumulation of minerals. Though West Virginia has more than 4,000 caves, Smoke Hole is one of the few commercial caves (that is, caves for visitors who don’t want to go full-on spelunking). The Smoke Hole Caverns first opened to the public in 1940, but stories about it— both historical and lore— date back to…
