Service Animals
PENN’S CAVE SERVICE ANIMAL POLICY
Penn's Cave cares very deeply about all of its guests including those guests that are accompanied by Service Animals.
These policies represent careful consideration of federal and state law in the context of our inherently limited natural attraction and were developed in part based upon consultation with staff at the Institute on Disability Awareness at Niagara University in New York. In 2026, Penn's Cave senior staff successfully attended training with two of the amazing leaders at the Institute on Disability Awareness at Niagara University.
While the policies below detail our current capabilities, Penn's Cave continues to plan for ongoing improvements in its offerings to guests that are accompanied by Service Animals. To provide feedback on these policies, please email us at info@pennscave.com.
SERVICE ANIMALS:
Pursuant to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) service animals are recognized primarily as dogs, but can include miniature ponies.
Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, Penn’s Cave employees may ask: (1) if the animal is required because of a disability; and (2) what work or task the animal has been trained to perform.
While Penn's Cave permits Service Animals that are dogs or miniature ponies in its Visitors Center, Cafe and on the immediate grounds of the Penn's Cave Hotel and Visitors Center, due to the nature of our tours, we are unable to accommodate Service Animals on the cavern tour or the farm-nature-wildlife tour.
Penn’s Cave Grounds:
Service Animals that are dogs or miniature ponies are welcome on our grounds around the Visitors Center and historic Penn’s Cave Hotel if they are kept under the handler's effective control, and to the extent they are being cleaned up after. While Service Animals are welcome on the grounds around the historic Penn’s Cave Hotel so long as they are kept under the handler's effective control, for the safety and enjoyment of all of our visitors, and for the safety of our staff and the protection of our wildlife park animals as well as the Service Animals themselves, Service Animals are strictly prohibited from being taken to the Penn’s Cave barn and/or near any of the wildlife enclosures (e.g., bison, long horn cattle, deer and elk and/or wild horses and burros) that are located near the Penn’s Cave Hotel.
Penn’s Cave Café:
Service Animals that are dogs or miniature ponies are permitted in the Penn’s Cave Café so long as they are kept under the handler's effective control, however such animals are not permitted to sit directly at or on the tables (e.g., on the chairs, table surface, etc.) and may not be fed at the tables. Service Animals are permitted to lay down, sit or stand near their owners at the table where the owner eats. Penn’s Cave will ask the individual with disabilities to remove the Service Animal if such animal defecates, urinates, or is otherwise uncontrollable inside the Café; in such cases, the individual with the disability will have the option to remain in the Café without having the Service Animal on the premises.
Penn’s Cave Gift Shop, Miner's Maze and Gemstone Panning Sluices:
Service Animals that are dogs or miniature ponies are permitted in the Penn’s Cave gift shop, the Miner's Maze and at the gemstone panning sluices so long as they are kept under the handler's effective control. Penn’s Cave will ask the individual with disabilities to remove the Service Animal if such animal defecates, urinates, or is otherwise uncontrollable in these spaces; in such cases, the individual with the disability will have the option to remain in these spaces without having the Service Animal on the premises.
Cavern Tours:
Penn's Cave is not a safe attraction for Service Animals and therefore Service Animals are not permitted on the Penn’s Cave cavern tours. Penn's Cave is a natural attraction and we take great care to protect the cave's natural terrain and ecosystem. Unlike other walk-through caverns, Penn's Cave is an all-water cavern and is only viewable by boat. Penn's Cave is unable to safely protect the cave's natural terrain and ecosystem and/or is unable to safely provide tours by any other means without fundamental structural alterations to the natural cavern. At any time within the cavern, visitors may see wild river otters, owls, beavers, bats and other animals. Likewise, visitors may see wild swans and other wild animals on our lake during nesting and/or migration seasons. These various wild animals that visit and sometimes live in our cave and/or on our lake are inherently unpredictable and it is impossible to predict how they may react to outside animals being present on a tour boat. The presence of Service Animals could evoke territorial and/or predatory aggressive behaviors in some of these wild animals that may be present within the cave or on our lake at various times. Therefore for the safety of the Service Animal and the wildlife, Service Animals are not permitted on the cavern tours.
Farm-Nature-Wildlife Tours:
For the safety and protection of the Penn’s Cave Wildlife Park animals, the Penn’s Cave Animal Care Team, and for the safety and protection of all of our visitors and our visitors' Service Animals themselves, Service Animals are not permitted on the Farm-Nature-Wildlife Tour. The Penn’s Cave Wildlife Park houses wild animals and natural predators that are extremely sensitive to other animals, and, therefore, any outside animals could evoke territorial and/or predatory aggressive behaviors in the Wildlife Park animals. In addition to the safety risks, some of the Penn’s Cave Wildlife Park animals will not come into view for the tour buses when they sense an outside animal on such tour bus.
