Cave Lake News:
Quilt Square at Cave Lake
Our HI-Y quilt square/logo is proudly displayed on our Cave Lake office building.
Renewal and Recovery
Thought to be destroyed in its Frost Cave habitat at Cave Lake, our deliberate strategies to protect the cave have resulted in a remarkable recovery of this rare crustacean... [Read more]
A quiet sense of beauty, nature’s majesty, a rare ecological treasure, and an overall spiritual atmosphere all describe Cave Lake. A premier site in its wealth of natural resources, Cave Lake is believed to have more than 150 species of birds, 160 species of trees and shrubs, various non-blooming plants, 350 species of blooming plants, numerous mammals, and other wildlife.
An ecologically significant cave looks out onto the beautiful 42 acre lake, hence its name, Cave Lake. The mouth of the cave is fairly large, approximately 25 feet in height and approximately 55 feet wide. It narrows and extends over 300 feet or more to a very small opening on the ground surface.
Old growth hardwood and softwood forest, a wetlands, the cave, and the lake provide a diverse habitat for wildlife and plant life. This diverse habitat, rich in natural beauty, offers a tremendous number of opportunities for education and awareness of our precious environment. Cave Lake will use this natural setting to expand the Ohio-West Virginia YMCA’s already successful youth programming to include many programs concerned with land stewardship and nature.
Long known for quality leadership and civic development through its HI-Y, Youth in Government, Model United Nations, and Camp Horseshoe programs, the Ohio-West Virginia YMCA expands these efforts and adds new programs with the development of Cave Lake.
The YMCA continues Cave Lake's more than 40-year service as a family campground while site planning and program development are underway. The future will include Youth, Family and Adult Learning Center Villages on about 150 acres currently serving family camping with the remaining 500 acres serving as nature's classroom. Conference and meeting rooms, laboratories, classrooms, library, arts center, dining hall and overnight housing are also in the vision.
