Natural Tunnel State Park Campground - Campground near Duffield, Virginia, United States - Description

Natural Tunnel State Park Campground

The Commonwealth of Virginia acquired the tunnel and 100 surrounding acres in 1967 from the Natural Tunnel Chasm and Caverns Corp. to establish Natural Tunnel State Park. Approximately 750 additional acres were later acquired and the park opened in 1971.

Natural Tunnel, called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" by William Jennings Bryan, has been attracting sightseers to the mountains of southwestern Virginia for more than 100 years. Today it is the focal point of Natural Tunnel State Park, a park which offers visitors not only spectacular sights but also swimming, camping, picnicking, hiking, a chairlift, a visitor center, an amphitheater and interpretive programs, including guided canoe tours and wild cavetrips. The new Cove Ridge Center offers conference center facilities, both overnight and meeting space.

The creation of Natural Tunnel began more than a million years ago in the early glacial period when groundwater bearing carbonic acid percolated through crevices and slowly dissolved surrounding limestone and dolomite bedrock. Then, what is now Stock Creek was probably diverted underground to continue carving the tunnel slowly over many centuries. The walls of the tunnel show evidence of prehistoric life, and many fossils can be found in the creek bed and on tunnel walls.
Size: 850 acres. The tunnel is 850 feet long and 100 feet high inside.

Natural Tunnel State Park is in Scott County, approximately 13 miles north of Gate City and 20 miles north of Kingsport, Tenn.. To get there, from I-81, take I26 North to US 23 approximately 20 miles past Gate City. Take State Route 871 and go one mile east to park entrance.