The Easter Cave

PORTSMOUTH - When you think of Easter, you might think of cute fluffy bunnies, chocolate eggs, and even Peeps. But Easter is much more than bunnies delivering candy-filled baskets of candy and toys.

Celebrate the traditional story of Easter with a trip to the White Gravel Mines in Minford, Ohio (Scioto County), for a unique take on the story of Christ. A trip through the mines, known in the spring as the Easter Cave, provides a visual journey through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.

The 2024 dates for the Easter Cave are March 15th and 16th, March 22nd and 23rd, and March 29th and 30th from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Before telling the story of Christ, the White Gravel Mines began first as a white quartz gravel mine (part of the geologic layer referred to as the Sharon Conglomerate) at the beginning of the 20th century. It was here that men mined the gravel from under the hills of south-central Ohio, using the power of dynamite and muscle to burrow out a living supply of gravel and sand to meet the growing industrial needs of the region. The mines had been worked through the 1970s, after which they were abandoned and faded to memory except to the local kids and others drawn to their dark mystery.

Fast forward to the spring of 2009, the property passed into the stewardship of White Gravel Mines Productions and was dedicated to promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ through unique and dramatic events offered free to the public. The first production of Cavern of Choices began in 2011, followed by the first offering of the Christmas Cave in 2016. Since then, the mines have become popular as word has grown about their uniqueness and dramatic storytelling of Christ. Tens of thousands have made this unique telling of the Savior’s birth part of their annual Christmas tradition, partly due to the popularity and partly due to the owners’ wanting to finish telling the story of Christ. In 2021, the Easter Cave was added as another event offered to the public. Through a journey of the Easter Cave, you can experience Christ’s life, death, and resurrection and his acts, as recorded in the Gospels.

Admission to any of the White Gravel Mines productions is free of charge. However, a $1 per person donation is appreciated at the entrance to the cave. All proceeds are used for improvements and additions to our positive community events. The story of Easter and Christmas is for all ages. You can walk on by a scene at your discretion. The Cavern of Choices depicts real-life, intense situations with eternal consequences. It is strongly recommended for ages ten and older for this event. Reservations are unnecessary for The Christmas Cave or Easter Cave, but if you travel by bus, advance notice is helpful for parking purposes. Limited group reservations are available for Cavern of Choices. Please bear in mind that there are several different hills to walk up to the mine entrance and that this is a walking tour through the tunnel passageways where the terrain inside is gravel. There are, however, benches throughout for guests who need a break, as well as big-wheeled wheelchairs to help traverse over the gravel. Pets are not allowed except those that are trained service animals. Please visit https://www. whitegravelmines.com/ for more information about the mines and their various events. Visit https:// www.explorescioto.com/ for more information about visiting Portsmouth and Scioto County and to help in your planning efforts.