Natural Tunnel Trail

The Natural Tunnel Trail delivers one of Southwest Virginia's most astonishing geological experiences, descending via a 45-passenger chairlift from the canyon rim to the floor of Stock Creek gorge, where an 850-foot-long natural tunnel bored through a limestone ridge stands as one of the most impressive geological features in the eastern United States. William Jennings Bryan reportedly called it the eighth wonder of the world upon his visit in the late 19th century, and the tunnel's scale justifies the superlative: it spans approximately 100 feet wide and soars to 175 feet high at its maximum, large enough that the Norfolk and Western Railway ran active tracks through it for more than a century, and those tracks remain in use today. The trail loops around the tunnel entrance, where the cool air flowing from the interior creates a natural air conditioning effect even on the hottest summer days. Massive chert-studded limestone walls rise dramatically on both sides of Stock Creek, carved by millions of years of dissolution and downcutting. The chairlift ride itself provides spectacular bird's-eye views of the tunnel portal and canyon. Cave formations including stalactites are visible in some of the side passages. The return chairlift ascent passes over the same limestone bluffs that create the tunnel feature.