Four months after it was flooded by Hurricane Helene, McDowell County tourist attraction Linville Caverns is open again.
Visitors can once again “come see inside a mountain.â€
Linville Caverns reopened on Thursday, Jan. 30.
A look inside Linville Caverns, a tourist spot in McDowell County that reopened on Jan. 30 after being closed due to flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Located in the North Cove section of McDowell, Linville Caverns is one of the few active limestone caverns with new rock formations constantly growing and forming, according to information from the attraction. Linville Caverns is also the home of trout that live in the underground stream, cave crickets and the small bats that hibernate within the rock walls.
Linville Caverns has been open to the public for almost 90 years and over the decades has become one of the top tourist attractions in western North Carolina. It is located at 19929 U.S. 221 North, around 18 miles north of Marion. It is not far from the county line with Avery and Burke.
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The future of the tourist destination was seriously threatened when Hurricane Helene came through in late September. The wind and water from Helene caused catastrophic damage throughout the North Cove community in McDowell.
Linville Caverns was not spared.
Gift shop damaged, trees came down
Manager Alayne Gross said the attraction’s gift shop, where tourists buy their tickets and souvenirs, was particularly hard hit. “The water came in, busted the doors open to the gift shop, and pretty much washed everything around in there,†she said.
The rampaging water from Helene knocked a refrigerator around and moved it from one side of the room to another. The water tore out the showcases, which were attached to the floor. But the water from Helene did not damage the restrooms or the stockroom.
The parking lot was flooded, and numerous trees came down at the site. One large tree came down over the bridge that leads to the parking lot.
Zack Medford is the owner of Linville Caverns. “It’s been a long time coming, but we’re excited to be open,†he said to The McDowell News.
“By the time I was able to get here, the water had receded. But the parking lot had been flooded, and there was still a lot of mud,†said Zack Medford, who is now the owner of Linville Caverns. “The bridge was not destroyed, but a guard rail came down and had to be replaced. A very large tree came down over the bridge.â€
As for the caverns itself, there was no real damage inside. However, the underground wonderland was flooded and full of mud.
“There was a lot of mud inside the caverns from the door all the way back,†Medford said. “The only way we could get that out was with wheelbarrows and shovels and that was not fun.â€
The owner and the staff were assisted in the mammoth cleanup by a crew from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
This photo from Facebook shows what the entrance to Linville Caverns looked like both before Helene and then after, and the catastrophic damage it caused. The caverns reopened as a tourist attraction on Thursday, Jan. 30.
“They were in the area helping out, they found us and they spent a good week or week and a half helping with the cleanup of the caverns,†Medford said. “They took about a month’s work off of our hands with their machinery and assistance, and after that it was me and a few of the employees.â€
Medford and Gross said they are grateful that even though the gift shop was flooded, it was not damaged by a mudslide or a rockslide.
“We are fortunate that the building itself still stood, inside of it was a mess,†said Medford. “It was a blessing to have the building still there.â€
The timing of the disaster was another issue. It happened right before the start of the fall leaf season, which usually results in a lot of business.
“October was always a really good time for us,†said Medford.
In December, both Medford and the caverns suffered a devastating loss.
Death of the owner
Sarah Davis, along with her husband, Ronnie “Stump†Davis, were the owners and operators of Linville Caverns.
On Dec. 12, Sarah Davis died.
“Sarah's career was not just a job to her; it was a passion,†reads her obituary. “She thrived on the interactions with visitors and colleagues alike, always welcoming everyone with open arms and a warm smile. Her genuine love for people was evident in every aspect of her work, and she never met a stranger.â€
Family legacy
Sarah's son Zack Medford said he is making sure his family’s legacy lives on.
“We still have a few little things to do, but our main focus was to get everything repaired so we can open back up,†he said to The McDowell News. “We had a staff meeting last week and pretty much everyone who was on our staff came back.â€
He added that he and his family and staff are happy about finally getting back to normal.
“It’s been a long time coming but we’re excited to be open,†he said.
Visitors welcome
On Thursday, Linville Caverns welcomed tourists again. That included Roger and Ashley Anderson of Kershaw, South Carolina. They were in the mountains of North Carolina to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary.
Tour guide Kyle Woodard inside Linville Caverns.
Linville Caverns is now open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Monday and it is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
“From what we understand, you can travel (NC Highway) 221 pretty easily,†said Medford.
On Thursday, Linville Caverns reopened to the public after being closed for four months because of Hurricane Helene damage. Kyle Woodard is one of the tour guides who leads visitors through the popular attraction.
Here are the staff and owners of Linville Caverns on the day it reopened to the public. They are (from left to right) employee Stefani Maehrlein, employee Kyle Woodard, employee Steven Mistichelli, owner Zack Medford, Zack’s son Jake Medford, Zack’s wife Rachel Medford, son Henry Medford, employee Andrew Quinn, Manager Alayne Lanie Gross and employee Danielle Shaw.
