Tyendinaga Cave


Useful Information

Location: North of Tyendinaga on 2623 Harmony Road, west of Shannonville Road.
Fwy 401 MacDonald-Cartier Fwy between Belleville and Napanee, exit onto Hwy 7 Shannonville Rd north, after 7 km turn left into Harmony Rd.
Open: Victoria Day to Labour Day Mon, Tue, Wed after appointment, Thu-Sun 9-17.
First tour 9:30, last tour 16:30.
[2008]
Fee: Adults CAD 10, Children (5-18) CAD 6, Children (0-4) free, Seniors CAD 6.
[2008]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: L=100 m, VR=12 m, A=145 m asl, T=10 °C.
Guided tours: D=40 min.
Photography:  
Accessibility:  
Bibliography: Donald W. Thomas, M. Brock Fenton, Robert M. R. Barclay (1979): Social behavior of the little brown bat, Myotis lucifugus, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Volume 6, Number 2 / December, 1979, Springer Berlin / Heidelberg, ISSN 0340-5443 (Print) 1432-0762 (Online).
L.Y. Luciuk (1976): Life Science Inventory Checklist: Tyendinaga Cave, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Divison of Parks, Park Planning Branch. 1 p.
Address: Tyendinaga Cave, 2623 Harmony Road, Tyendinaga, Tel: +1-613-478-5708.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1994 property purchased by Charles Koch and his wife Elizabeth.
17-MAY-2008 opened to the public.

Description

Tyendinaga Cave is the youngest show cave of Canada, opened to the public in 2008. It is located on a property on Harmony Road, Tyendinaga, Ontario, which was purchased by Charles Koch and his wife Elizabeth in 1994. The couple started to explore its property and soon Charles Koch started to develop Tyendinaga Cave after he had sealed the natural entrance. The biggest cave was Tyendinaga Cave, some 100 m long with a chamber at a depth of 12 m, which is 7 m high and thus said to be one of the largest chambers in Ontario. They discovered various caves, dolines and other karst features.

This cave had a sinkhole, a karst window in the middle of a field, as its natural entrance, which allowed easy access to both cold air and locals. As a result the cave was often ice filled during winter and spring, which ended abruptly when the cave entrance was sealed. Locals used the cave for purposes like feasting, the new owners had to remove trash including empty beer bottles. But many of the graffitties in the cave are of historic interest. The oldest one with a date is from 1817, another one from 1905. There are numerous initials and dates. But unfortunately there are also traces of vandalizm, like stalactites broken off by visitors. As a result the convertion into a show cave also protects the cave.