The boats are still running. Every day this November except Thanksgiving, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., a guided tour leaves on the hour into the roughly quarter-mile limestone cavern outside Centre Hall. It is the only all-water cavern and wildlife park in the country, and the only cave in Pennsylvania on the National Register of Historic Places. The property has been listed for sale since late September, and the cave is keeping a regular off-season schedule. The only firm deadline on the property this winter is the Nittany Antique Machinery Association's lease, which ends Dec. 31.
Eight Weekends, Then a Two-Month Closure
The cave's posted schedule moves through clear seasonal steps. From this Thursday through the start of spring, according to Penn's Cave's rates and schedules page:
- The rest of November, daily except Thanksgiving: the visitor center is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and cavern tours run hourly from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- November weekends: the Farm-Nature-Wildlife tour runs Saturdays and Sundays only, at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: closed for Thanksgiving.
- December: the visitor center and cavern tours are open Saturdays and Sundays only, with the last cavern tour at 4 p.m. The wildlife park closes for the season.
- January and February 2027: closed for winter.
- April 1, 2027: the Farm-Nature-Wildlife park reopens after staying closed through March 31.
For anyone hosting guests, the key dates are the four November weekends left after this post goes up: Nov. 7–8, 14–15, 21–22 and 28–29. Those are the last days of 2026 when you can do the boat tour and the wildlife drive in one visit. The wildlife route goes past bison, Texas longhorn, elk, white-tailed deer, wild horses, donkeys, mountain lions and wolves. After Thanksgiving weekend, the drive won't run again until April.
What the Listing Actually Started
The Campbell family has owned Penn's Cave since 1908. In September it began seeking proposals for the full 1,400-acre property, with a $34 million asking price and proposals accepted starting Oct. 1, the Centre Daily Times reported. The property covers more than the cave. Over four generations the family has bought surrounding land and secured water rights, and the property produces up to 11 million gallons of water a day. It also has a maze, gemstone panning, picnic grounds, off-road mountain tours and a private airport.
None of the public announcements set a closing date or a deadline for proposals. Owners Russ and Jeanne Schleiden said in a written statement, quoted by the Centre Daily Times, that they "will continue to maintain the property and business with the same level of commitment and care as we search for Penn's Cave's next owner," and that "continuing the experience we're known for is our greatest priority throughout this transition." The November and December hours above are that commitment in practice.
Why Harrisburg Keeps Coming Up
The September listing followed a summer effort to make Penn's Cave Pennsylvania's 126th state park. State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff and the Centre County commissioners backed the idea, but the state budget passed without his legislation. At a July commissioners meeting, Benninghoff said several investors had offered to buy the land, split it into parcels and develop it, which he said would "be a real shame."
In early October, Gov. Josh Shapiro addressed the question directly. Speaking at a broadband press conference at Bald Eagle Area Middle School and High School, he referred to Laurel Caverns, which he recently announced as Pennsylvania's 125th state park and the first one underground, according to the Centre Daily Times:
"I think that that's a fair ask, and it's one that we're carefully evaluating. I just believe it to be a really, really special place."
Shapiro didn't commit to buying it. The same report says the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has been talking with the owners and the community about a possible acquisition since at least February, and that Shapiro visited the cave this year with Benninghoff. Benninghoff told the paper he sees the acquisition as a priority for DCNR and said he would keep pursuing it if reelected.
County Commissioner Steve Dershem called the property "an absolute treasure to our community," the Centre Daily Times reported. He also made the case in practical terms: "It's set up almost textbook to be a state park-type environment. Plus, you have an attraction there that nobody else has in the whole state of Pennsylvania, which is an underwater cavern."
So the sale track has a family, a price, an evaluating governor and a supportive legislator, but no date. For a fixed deadline, you have to look at the show grounds.
The Date on the Calendar Belongs to the Tractors
The Nittany Antique Machinery Association held its first show at the Penn's Cave farm in September 1975. Since then the shows have settled into a regular pattern: the first weekend after Memorial Day and the first weekend after Labor Day. The association bills them as the largest antique machinery shows on the East Coast. This year's shows ran May 28–31 and Sept. 10–13. The fall show was the 52nd.
The association's current lease at Penn's Cave expires Dec. 31, 2026. The Centre Daily Times reported that the association wants a five-year renewal, while Penn's Cave has offered a one-year lease with new conditions. In a letter included in a court document, the business said its plans for the property are a "strong consideration in entering into this lease negotiation."
In September, the association withdrew its request for a judge to step in. According to the same Centre Daily Times report, it said it hoped the move would "create an opportunity for constructive, good-faith negotiations between the two organizations." The paper also quoted a written statement from Association President Doug Leitch: "We respect Penn's Cave and understand that it has interests and decisions to make regarding its property. Our hope is that both sides can put those interests on the table, listen to one another and find common ground."
That makes Dec. 31 the one date on the property tied to something concrete: where the spring and fall machinery weekends will happen. The association's website still lists only its 2026 shows. Dec. 31 falls on a Thursday, when the cave will already be on its weekend-only December hours. The lease will expire on a day the gates are closed anyway.
A November Saturday, Built Around Both Tours
Since the wildlife drive runs only three times on weekend days, plan the visit around it. The 11 a.m. wildlife tour lets you take a cavern tour right after. Cavern departures run every hour until 4 p.m., so there's plenty of room in the afternoon. The 3 p.m. wildlife tour works for a later start if you take an earlier cavern tour first. The visitor center closes at 5 p.m. For questions about a specific day, Penn's Cave lists its phone number as 814-364-1664.
Thanksgiving weekend needs one extra step. The cave is closed Thanksgiving Day, then open Friday through Sunday on regular November hours. Penn's Cave's Holiday Sights and Lights page still shows last year's event, so check pennscave.com closer to the holiday for the 2026 plans.
After that, the December weekends are for the cavern only. Then the property goes quiet for January and February, while the sale proposals and the lease talks continue out of public view.
Penn's Cave has been part of how Centre Hall shows itself to visitors for generations, and we'll keep following what comes next for the cave and the show grounds. If a change at a local landmark has you thinking about your own plans, Annette Yorks is glad to talk through the Penns Valley side of things over coffee. Let's make your next move.
