In Houston, the underground tours are much more sedate, and elegant, as you shop below the surface of the city to stay out of the oppressive heat aboveground. They are a short distance away from Sam Houston Park, which contains over a dozen of the oldest houses in Houston.

There are also tours of the underground railroad that blacks escaping slavery in the south would have used in order to cross safely into Canada. One of the most popular is the route in Western New York, near Niagra Falls, where Harriet Tubman herself escaped. Motherland Connexions runs fabulous tours for individual and schools.

http://www.motherlandconnextions.com/tours.html

Then there is Carlsbad Caverns in the southwest, and Moaning Cavern Park and Gold Cliff Mines in California, with lots of sights and activities for the whole family. We have dealt with them in separate articles at this site, but just want to mention them here.

Finally, the Crystal Gold Mine in Kellogg, Idaho is a family-friendly tour of the gold mine that was active during the 1880s. In addition, there is no climbing involved and the walkways are well lit. Your family will be able to view hand-steeling demonstrations as well.

There is also an underground gift shop, where you can purchase gold and silver, as well as souvenirs to add to your family vacation scrapbook.

Who would have guessed there were so many underground tours in America, especially designed with kids in mind.

Have you ever gone on vacation with the kids and run out of ideas on where to take them? The national parks are a great idea if you want to go caving, but there are also underground tours in big cities too.

If you are ever in the Seattle area — take the Underground Tour!

Bill Speidel offers a tour through the underbelly of Seattle, where you will be amazed at the passages that used to be the main roads and storefronts of Old Seattle.

Your tour guide will take you through three different underground areas that encompass three blocks. Take a camera along, because it is sure to be an education for the entire family.

Another very popular destination wherein you can participate in an underground tour is at the Mammoth Cave National Park. While there are several tours within park, here is one you may be interested in.

The Historic tour is two hours and two miles long. Here you visit the cave passages and learn why Mammoth Cave became so famous. You will also be able to view some of the artifacts that were left by Native Americans, and learn why the Mammoth cave is the longest cave on earth.

There is also an underground tour in Portland, Oregon. This encompasses locations of the Simpsons-Portland connections, the Shanghai Tunnels, and more.

The tour takes approximately an hour and a half, and participants are with a guide at all times. The tour-goers receive an above-ground orientation, and then the guide will lead participants into the “Portland Underground”, where they will receive the majority of the historical and oral history about this infamous maritime practice of ‘Shanghai-ing’ that gave Portland a notorious reputation throughout the world for white slavery, and other crimes.

Tour participants must be able to handle stairs that lead to and from this hidden world. In addition, there will be dust, dirt, musty smells, and anything else that would be associated with this type of environment, so if you need a dust mask, please bring one.

Also, at each station, people will be required to stand for at least 15 minutes at a time in order to receive the necessary information.

The “Portland Underground” is constantly in transition as more and more sections are opened or restored, which is why some people have taken this tour several times.