[6] 103 concrete steps, referred to Secret Caverns as the "petrified escalator", leads to the main cave passage.

The tour guides assign names to some of the formations, including "Liberty Bell", "Giant's False Teeth", and "Frozen Niagara".

[5] As part of the Helderberg Plateau, the cave, like others in the region such as Howe Caverns and Tory Cave, is formed in the thickly beded Lower Devonian aged Coeymans Limestone and Upper Silurian aged Manlius Limestone, both part of the Helderberg Group.

The cave has been found to be hydrologically connected to nearby Howes Caverns by dye tracing.

The cave initially fared poorly in the face of stiff competition from the nearby and larger Howe Caverns, but the replacement of the initial ropes which visitors used to climb into the cave with a steel ladder and later concrete stairs increased tourism considerably.

[13] Secret Cavern's eclectic style of folk art advertising developed during the late 1980s and early 1990s by muralist Kurt Piller and cave tour guide Todd DelMarter after being fired from Howe Caverns, and has been described as "psychedelic", "quirky" and "kitsch".