More than 850 feet long and 10 stories high, Natural Tunnel was naturally carved through a limestone ridge over thousands of years. William Jennings Bryan called it the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Other scenic features include a wide chasm between steep stone walls surrounded by several pinnacles, or “chimneys.”
Facilities include two campgrounds, cabins, picnic areas, an amphitheater, a visitor center, a camp store and a gift shop. You’ll also find the Wilderness Road historic area and a chairlift to the tunnel floor.
Guests enjoy cave tours and canoe trips on the Clinch River, as well as the Cove Ridge Center, which offers environmental education, conference facilities and overnight dorm accommodations.
The Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail Interpretive Center at 371 Technology Trail Lane in Duffield is a satellite facility of this park. The center has a museum, library, conference room, gift shop and outdoor classroom. Various events, workshops and programs, which are listed under Natural Tunnel’s events, are held here.
Hours
8 a.m. to dusk
Location
Natural Tunnel State Park is in Scott County, about 13 miles north of Gate City and 20 miles north of Kingsport, Tennessee. To get there, from I-81, take U.S. 23 North to Gate City (about 20 miles). The turn-off to the park is at mile marker 17.4 on Rt. 23. Take Natural Tunnel Parkway about one mile east to park entrance.
Its address is 1420 Natural Tunnel Parkway. Duffield, VA 24244-9361; Latitude, 36.696984. Longitude, -82.738577.
Drive Time: Northern Virginia, eight hours; Richmond, six hours; Tidewater/Norfolk/Virginia Beach, eight to nine hours; Roanoke, three and a half hours; Knoxville, Tennessee, one and a half hours; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, three hours; Lexington, Kentucky, two and a half hours.
Park Size
909 acres. The tunnel is 850 feet long and 100 feet high inside.