Wind Cave National Park guide · 2 min read
Choosing Your Cave Tour at the Visitor Center
Every cave tour at Wind Cave National Park is led by a ranger and departs from the visitor center, so the cave cannot be explored on your own.
Begin in the exhibit rooms, which explain how the cave formed, then pick a tour based on how much stooping, climbing and walking you want to do.
The Natural Entrance Tour takes one hour and fifteen minutes and covers two-thirds of a mile. Expect about 300 stairs, some steep, slick and dimly lit, plus bending, stooping and uneven paths. You enter through a man-made doorway and descend to the middle level, where boxwork, a rare honeycomb-like formation, is plentiful. The route passes the natural entrance, the cave's largest opening, then an elevator carries you back to the surface. It suits families well.
The Accessibility Cave Tour is an accessible tour by request, a half-hour introduction to the cave and its formations. It reaches a few limited areas suited to wheelchair users and people with limited mobility. You ride an elevator down and back up, and the elevator building, with accessible parking beside it, stands roughly 200 yards to the south of the visitor center. To arrange it, phone the visitor center or stop by the information desk.
Every visit requires a ticket. Some tours can be reserved in advance, and booking ahead is strongly advised. Remaining tickets go on sale first come, first served at the visitor center, where lines can run long and popular tours may fill soon after the doors open. The cave holds a steady 54 degrees year round, so bring a layer.
Without a tour, you can still reach the natural entrance in a minute or two by following the Prairie Vista Nature Trail from the visitor center. Though only about ten inches wide, the opening lets wind flow because air pressure inside the cave differs from the air outside.
