Inside the “Devil’s Den”
The Donahue Sea Caves’ Ancient Beauty
DONAHUE SEA CAVES, ARTHUR PARK, BURLINGTON, VERMONT —
The Devil’s Den?
These days, it’s the Donahue (or Intervale, or Burlington) Sea Caves, found on Long Pond in Arthur Park, on the edge of the wetlands in Burlington’s Intervale. It’s only accessible on foot during the winter, when the pond freezes over. Been meaning to explore the site since learning of the Sea Caves’ existence a few years ago. This week, I finally made my way over there.
The Arthur Park trailhead is behind a bust stop, next to some condominiums, across North Avenue from Burlington High School. May seem odd to find an ancient natural wonder in a neighborhood, but that’s the nature of Vermont — even at it’s most “citified”, the natural world lurks around the corner. Or down the hill, behind some condos.
Heading down a snow-covered trail and out over the pond’s ice, I soon found my way to the keyhole-shaped cave entrance, carved out by glaciers in eons past. The water in the cave itself was not yet frozen, unfortunately, so I was confined to the entrance and the left side.
