If you want a cool place to spend a day this summer, you should check out Laurel Caverns in Fayette County.

“It’s the largest cave in the northeastern United States,” said David Cale, president of the Laurel Caverns Conservancy.

The property is located in a remote area of Farmington and is surrounded by Forbes State Forest. The cave is in 435 acres of picturesque mountainside that on clear days provides open views of Uniontown and Hopwood toward Pittsburgh.

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It’s a cool place for several reasons. For one, the temperature in the caverns stays at 52 degrees throughout the year. Secondly, the walls of the sandstone natural exhibit are amazing to see with unique features and landscape shapes.

About 320 million years ago, there was a deep sea over the area that eventually formed the passage ways. Cale said the calcium from the sea life glued together the grains of sand and made natural concrete.

“This is a place where you can touch the walls,” he said about calcareous sandstone walls that are mostly sand and about one-third calcium.

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“The beauty of Laurel Caverns is in the walls,” Cale explained about them being sculptured by nature. There are grooved sand patterns along the sculpted passages. “They’re very beautiful in their own design.” 

The four miles of caverns don’t have typical stalactites and stalagmites that people expect to see on cavern ceilings and floors.

One of the highlights visitors see is Calico Falls. It’s a 45-foot high water fall where water flows between levels of the caverns.

Visitors can choose between three trip options that start out at $15 for adults. For those accessing the traditional easy, lighted portion, he recommends wearing a sweater or light jacket. Trail hiking shoes are recommended, but people have worn sandals. The floor is sandy and wavy, he explained.

You can also do a self tour or a combo tour that includes a guided tour and self-guided portion.

Tours are open between  9 a.m. and 4 p.m. until the end of October. “Nobody waits more than 20 minutes for the start of a tour,” Cale said about the tours starting as people arrive.

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The cave is closed over the winter months as bats hibernate in the warm caves during the colder months.

There are also trips into unlighted areas that haven’t received man-made improvements. You can explore unlit places including some of the largest rooms of the cave that have never been disturbed by human impact. “They’re looking at the cave exactly the way it was 10,000 years ago,” he said.

For those wanting to take photos, he said cellphones are able to take quality images in the lighted portions of the facility. “It’s amazing what good pictures people can get in Laurel Caverns.”

Michael Marquis, a tour guide, escorts visitors through the lighted area of the caverns.

He personally enjoys the artifacts that have been discovered near the front of the cave. Native Americans stored food in pottery in the caves. Horseshoes dating back before the Civil War were also found there.

“We do a sound and light show. … Everyone enjoys it and it should be on your bucket list,” he said about different colored lights and music in the caverns.

The caves are popular for a variety of people. Marquis said there have been eight weddings in the part of the cave called the Chapel area. He also likes looking at the sea shell fossils that are in the walls of the caves.

“We have a lot of stuff to do here,” he said about additional activities for children including a scavenger hunt and mining for gem stones.

Cale said the facility is operated as a conservancy. It’s a preservation program to preserve Laurel Caverns for future generations while at the same time using it for educational purposes.

He created and founded the conservancy.  He said his grandfather owned the land and then sold it. Fortunately, the owners realized the cave needed to be preserved and it was sold to Don Shumaker, owner of the nearby Summit Inn.

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Shumaker later sold the property to Cale, who formed the conservancy as a way to keep it operating by people who want to preserve the cave. 

“People can support Laurel Caverns by just coming here and taking a tour. We don’t look for financial support. We don’t take any government money. We are entirely self sufficient just with the people who come here,” he said.

“We just operate with the money that comes in,” Cale said about the 50,000 people who visit the site each year. “We’re here to preserve and educate.”

Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on your website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on social media @whipkeyoutdoors.