The Dayton Underground Grotto (DUG) was formed in 1992 to bring together cavers in the Dayton, Ohio area. The purpose of DUG is to promote fellowship among cavers and promote the ideals of the National Speleological Society. Our group is made up of men and women, both young and old, with a variety of caving experiences. Our strength lies in the diversity of our members! Anyone interested in speleology is welcome to join DUG! Members need not live in the Dayton area.

DUG is an internal organization of the National Speleological Society. DUG members are strongly encouraged, but not required, to join the NSS. DUG is dedicated to the conservation, protection and exploration of caves. DUG supports the NSS Conservation Policy.

Most of DUG's members go caving primarily in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, West Virginia, Alabama and Georgia. We are even known to visit Ohio caves now and then.

DUG has over 150 members. Regular grotto meetings are open to anyone and are usually held on the second Sunday of each month at 7:00pm Eastern Time. The usual meeting location is at Roger Brucker's house in Beavercreek, 1635 Grange Hall Road, Beavercreek, Ohio 45442. Visit the DUG Meeting and Event page for more information including a map and directions.

The official newsletter of DUG is the Carbide Courier. The Carbide Courier is published monthly and is packed with caving trip reports, grotto news, humor and with information about upcoming cave trips and events. Your membership in DUG includes a subscription to the Carbide Courier. The Courier is published in paper and electronic form. We encourage our computer capable members to receive the electronic form instead of the paper form. By not receiving the paper version you save the grotto, especially our Editor, time and money. The Courier can be downloaded in PDF format from our web site - http://www.dugcaves.com

DUG has many committees and sections. The committees and sections allow cavers to pursue a particular caving interest in more detail. The Vertical Section specializes in rope techniques for ascending and descending into caves. The Survey Section specializes in the making of cave maps. The Landowner Relations committee is dedicated to promoting positive relationships with cave owners. The Conservation Committee sponsors cave clean up projects and specializes in cave protection issues. The Leisure Section specializes in going caving with minimal effort.

DUG's annual caving field event is called the Wormfest. Wormfest is traditionally held at a different location each year to provide our members with a variety of caving experiences. Guided and self-guided cave trips are available. Although Wormfest is open to all cavers only DUG members receive advance notice and pre-registration material. This ensures our event does not get too large to provide the customary DUG hospitality.

For more information about the Dayton Underground Grotto please contact someone listed on the Officers or Committees-Sections web page. Always cave softly!