Linville Caverns is a privately owned show cave in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and the state’s only show cavern. Discovered in 1822 by local fishermen, it drew local interest for generations before public tours began in the late 1930s. Visitors still follow a guided half-hour walk through an active limestone cave system formed in Shady Dolomite at the base of Humpback Mountain. The caverns are known for geological features such as stalactites and stalagmites, for local lore including stories of Civil War deserters hiding there, and for hibernating tricolored and little brown bats threatened by white-nose syndrome.