Wind Cave National Park - June 2017


The Black Hills area has a lot to offer and we tried to include as much as we possibly could during our 4 night stay.  Unfortunately, we couldn't squeeze in a cave tour at Jewel Cave National Monument but did get to check out the visitor center and see some pictures.  We did explore Wind Cave National Park and would highly recommend it!

Wind Cave has multiple cave tours - but also lots of above ground sight seeing too!  We saw a few bison while we were there and some prairie dogs too!  There is also a really nice picnic area by the parking lot to relax and have lunch or a snack.

Since we had small children, we chose the Natural Entrance Tour which is described as moderate and family friendly.   There are about 300 steps (mostly down) and it was very family friendly.  You return to the surface level by elevator - so don't worry about having to climb back up all of those stairs!



We brought along jackets as the temperature in the cave is only in the mid-50 degree range.  It was about 75 degrees outside and you could instantly feel the difference as soon as we entered.  Wind Cave is a unique cave as it was not formed by water, hence the name Wind Cave.  Cave formations such as stalactites and stalagmites are not part of the viewing.  Instead, Wind Cave has "boxwork" which is unique to this cave.







There were some pretty narrow gaps along the way before it opened up a bit more.  We took lots of family pictures!  Rachel was given an "official" NPS flashlight from our ranger guide too!




Near the end of the tour, we were about 20 stories below the surface.  There was a really big room with lots more great photo opportunities.  The guide also had an old candle lamp that she lit to show what the early cave explores used to traverse the cave.  Then she gave us a warning and blew out the candle.  We were in complete darkness for about 20 seconds - it was pretty eerie!



Wind Cave is definitely worth the visit!  











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