Wind Cave National Park

Wind Cave National Park was the best "managed cave" that we saw on our trip. Our tour was fun and not to short, and we saw several cave formations. The visitor center has enough inside to make a worthwhile stop for those without time for a tour.

Currently the cave is about 135 miles long. The crazy thing about its length, is that it is under about 1 square mile of prairie. Not a whole lot of geographical sprawl, but intensely packed in that area!

The original hole is pretty small. It's about as big around as a basketball. It's the only known natural entrance to Wind Cave. As the cave "breathes" or adjusts to air pressure differences between the outside and inside air, the windspeed coming out of the cave can get over 35 mph!

Inside the cave we saw cave popcorn, created as the rock "sweats" out the calcium carbonate.

There were large panels of "boxwork" as well. I like caves!

Nearest City: Hot Springs, SD

GPS Coordinates:

Time Needed: 2 hours (if doing the short tour), adjust accordingly if doing a longer tour.

Difficulty: Easy

Kid Friendly: Yes

Additional Info: