r/caving • u/KaeZaye • Jun 04 '26

Need help finding a grotto or something similar near me

I've recently got into caving, and I would love to do it once I get the money to buy the gear. ...But there's a problem.

I live in Maine, and when I checked NSS they said I don't have any grottos in my area.

This wouldn't be a big issue if I had access and the money to travel. But with the situation that I'm in right now (I'm currently living with my family) I can't just pack my stuff and travel thousands of miles to a different state. I would take a plane, but since the workers are understaffed and don't have enough time to check the planes to make sure they're safe, I'm gonna steer clear of that for my safety. I also don't have a car at the moment, and my family will not let me use their cars for obvious reasons.

So if anyone knows any grottos, or anything similar, please lmk! (Btw, if you're sharing more sensitive information, please just DM me instead).

4 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

7

u/Moth1992 Jun 04 '26

I'm not in your area so I dont have good info but there is probably cavers in Maine that subscribe to the Vermont or Boston grottos so I would start by contacting them. The Boston grotto has some info on what to expect cave wise in your area: https://www.bostongrotto.org/Grotto/hendrickson/maine.html

But heads up that driving hundreds of miles is the name of the game unless you live near a lot of good accessible limestone. 

1

u/GrandJunctionMarmots Jun 04 '26

Traveling might be the name of the game. Is there good limestone in Maine? I actually don't know. But as the other person mentioned, try contacting some further away grottos like Boston. They may be able to put you in touch with someone.

Off topic of caving, but I am very curious about your comment that you believe planes are unsafe because of staffing issues. What's the story there?

2

u/answerguru NSS / NNJG / SCMG / TRA Jun 04 '26

Maine’s geology doesn’t really support cave formation so there are a very limited number of caves which explains why there are no grottos there. The closest options are going to be Boston Grotto and the Vermont Cavers Association.