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The Lost Sea is the largest underground lake in the USA and second largest in the world and is found in the Craighead Caverns in Sweetwater, Tennessee. It is about 45 minutes from Knoxville, which means you can easily drive out for a morning or afternoon.

We arrived in the early afternoon on the Sunday before the 4th of July. When we visited you couldn’t buy tickets online or pre-book in any way, and we discovered the next tour we could get would require a 1 1/2 hour wait. Tickets cost $20.95 (less for under 12s).

Nature Trail at Lost Sea

Fortunately, there is a 1/3 mile self-guided trail you can walk along and a period village to explore. The trail was very muddy after all the rains, so I would advise wearing non-slip shoes. It was a pleasant walk and we saw a brightly colored caterpillar. The walk took about 20 minutes.

Caterpillar on trail at Lost Sea

Then we moved to the Old Sweetwater Village (it is open from March to October). It only has a few stores and unfortunately, the glass blower wasn’t at his workstation so all we could see was what he had produced. The sweet store sells ice-cream too so if you need a snack while you are waiting you have plenty of sugary options. We spent the longest time in the gift store just browsing through all they had on sale.
General Store at Lost Sea

We finished walking the trail and looking through the stores in under 45 minutes so still had to wait quite a while before our tour started.

We were ready for some exercise by the time our tour started – and we definitely got a good workout for our legs. There are steep sections so be sure to wear good walking shoes.

Our guide was funny and obviously enjoyed showing people the caves. He shared plenty of interesting facts as we walked.

Stalactites at Lost Sea
When you reach the bottom, you climb on rafts and are taken on to the Lost Sea itself. The water is teeming with fish that are easy to spot.

Then you have to walk back up. Good exercise!! There are occasional benches if you need a rest. The whole tour takes just over an hour.

I always find caves fascinating and love history so enjoyed our time in the caves. We did find the wait long before we went down and there really isn’t a lot to do while you wait.

However, as you can now book online, you can get there in time for the tour you book, wander around afterwards and leave when you are ready.

Visiting the Lost Sea Caverns pin