After more than a year, Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour reopens at McDade Park in Scranton on April 30
From a press release:
Lackawanna County residents and area visitors can dive into a piece of local history once again.
The Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour at McDade Park (1 Bald Mountain Rd., Scranton) is back open for business, beginning this Friday, April 30.
The award-winning tourist attraction will, for starters, be open on weekends – Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays – on a limited basis. The public will be informed of any changes or additions to the schedule of operations.
The mine’s hours will be 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The last tour run will begin at 2:45 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults (13-64), $9.50 for seniors (65+), $9 for military, and $7.50 for children (3-12). Kids under 3 are free. Group Rates are available for schools, motor coaches, and civic groups of 20 or more (based on advance reservations).
The tour, which typically runs from April 1 through Nov. 30 (with the exception of Easter Sunday and Thanksgiving Day), hasn’t been open since the end of 2019, remaining closed for all of 2020 due to COVID-19.
A description for the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour reads:
Descend slowly into the earth in a mine car as you enter the old Slope No. 190. Watch the sky slowly disappear. Soon you’ve reached “the foot.” Then explore 300 feet beneath the earth through an anthracite coal mine originally opened in 1860. Accompany a miner in the winding underground gangways and rock tunnel past three different veins of hard coal, past the mule boy and the nipper, past the monkey vein and the dead chute. Listen as he explains the fascinating methods used, and the heroic efforts involved, in deep mining’s history.
The temperature in the mine is 53 degrees year round. Comfortable shoes and clothing are recommended. The descent down the slope takes 3-4 minutes. The walking portion of the tour is approximately a 1/2 mile and lasts one hour.
The mine is handicapped accessible with some restrictions. A handout has been prepared for the hearing impaired who are not accompanied by an interpreter.
For information, contact the park’s office at 570-963-6764 or email coalmine@lackawannacounty.org.
