The Polar Caves have been dazzling tourists to New Hampshire since 1922. Watch our video then read our review below:
It's hard to miss this place, the road sign with huge polar bears stands out starkly amongst the rural neighbors. The Polar Caves park has been around since before I was born but has seen several expansions since my last visit. What hasn't changed is that you will enter and leave through the gift shop! After winding your way through this building you will find yourself in the small animal section. Deer and Ducks await food that will sadly not come during this pandemic, but they will greet you and make for a cute start to our adventure. Take a moment to snap a photo in the giant Adirondack chair before crossing the classic "Kissing Bridge" into the park proper.
Due to the pandemic there were a few closures while we were here, including the cafe' and rock climbing. Due to the need to social distance the rock garden was half open and the caves themselves had a short wait in order to space parties out. Luckily the real attraction, the caves themselves, are totally unaffected by this and are just as awesome as ever. You will walk along a gargantuan boardwalk, up stairs and down through 9 different caves. The caves themselves are well lit, much more then the lost river, and many have concrete steps and railings to aid you.
Most of the caves have fanciful names like "The Lemon Squeeze" or "King Tut's Tomb". Not passing up the opportunity to be cheesy, even the most mundane features have been named, evoking classic tourist traps of old. To the left is "King Tut's Rest" .... literally just a bench to rest on! Luckily there are plenty of places to take such a rest because there's an awful lot of stairs in this park!\
When you think of going into caves you probably wouldn't think of getting an amazing view but the Polar caves biggest surprise is just how high up they ascend along the mountain. From the top you get an incredible view with signs to point out the names of mountains on the horizon. For some reason stairs always seem worse to me then hiking through the woods! Fear not, many caves and even the worst ascending stairs all come with easier bypasses so those less able can maneuver around the park just fine.
Several caves have notable features inside of them that are marked by informational boards. Tools found buried or historical spots such as the smugglers cave.
The final cave is what every kid talks about afterwards. There is a lemon squeeze, a tricky passage requiring you to lift yourself up at an awkward angle through a tight hole and twist mid way through. IF you can't fit though there is an easier orange crush that simply requires you to duck walk under a low ceiling. Although it was dark, we featured this in our video and it was a fun time.
Once you leave the caves you can't come back, each pass is only good for a one way trip. From here you can back track through the park and check out anything else you missed, such as the nature trails.
Ending your journey exactly where it began.
In the Gift Shop.
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