Woodward Cave is a public cave in Penns Valley that is also one of the most important sites in Pennsylvania for winter-hibernating bats.
The limestone cave was created by Pine Creek, which for centuries flowed through it, creating a series of tunnels and large rooms. It is believed to have been used by Native Americans who lived in the area.
For many years, it was known as Red Panther Cave. It was named for a Seneca warrior, who was allegedly struck by lightning after cutting down a sacred tree. He was said to be buried in the cave.
The Woodward Cave Company was founded in 1924 to open the cave to the public. The company consisted of the property owners – Luther Weaver and his sister, Tammy Meyers – along with Oliver Hosterman, whose relatives operated the nearby Woodward Inn.
To make the cave easier to visit, the company had to do something with Pine Creek which ran in front of the entrance and flooded the cave during heavy rains. A ditch and dike were built to divert the creek. Workers removed the clay inside the cave that had built up from the creek and put down gravel for flooring.
Weaver and Hosterman opened the renamed the cave to the public in 1926 with lantern tours. The next year, electric lighting was installed. Later, the floodplain was developed into a campground and a wood-frame dining hall was built near the cave entrance.
With the growing popularity of auto travel, Woodward Cave became a popular summer destination. Tour tickets cost 75 cents for adults and 35 cents for children. Billboards in Centre and nearby counties directed visitors to the remote setting. Newspapers reported that more than 20,000 people visited the cave annually.
Woodward Cave has five large chambers, known as “rooms,” as well as various cave formations, including stalactites, stalagmites, cave coral, cave bacon, and flowstone. It is the home to what is believed to be the largest stalagmite in Pennsylvania, the 14-foot “Tower of Babel.”
The cave is ecologically important as the winter home for bats. At its height, Woodward Cave hosted more than 5,000 bats annually. However, White-nose syndrome – a disease that has devastated the North American bat population starting in 2010 – reduced the number to less than 100.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission monitors the cave regularly and estimates that the bat population rebounded to about 1,500 in 2025, which is more than many other caves in the state. One of the reasons, experts believe, is that the cave is colder than many others, with an average temperature of 48 degrees, which makes it less susceptible to the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome.
Woodward Cave is open for tours seven days a week from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The campground is open from April 15 to October 15.
Ford Risley
Sources:
Patrick, Kevin, Pennsylvania Caves & Other Rocky Roadside Wonders. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 2004.
“Ready for More Tourists This Year,” The Centre Reporter, June 2, 1927, p. 1.
Lloyd Rogers, “The Big One Underneath Penns Valley,” Town and Gown, May 2026.
Woodward Cave, woodwardcave.com (Accessed June 8, 2026).
“Woodward Cave Reported Flooded,” Democratic Watchman, November 19, 1926, p. 8.
First Published: June 17, 2026
Last Modified: June 18, 2026