We have been to Mammoth Cave (KY), Mystery Cave(MN) and Wind Cave (SD). We enjoy them. Any ideas as to what others would be good? Thanks!
Luray Caverns in VA... is about 10 min drive from Shenandoah national park and skyline Drive....Caverns were a great day trip while visiting the NP. Getting out to Mammoth Cave is on my future camping to do list!! Mike
QUOTE(NorthernIllinoisPlumber @ Oct 22 2013, 06:03 PM) [snapback]35085[/snapback] We have been to Mammoth Cave (KY), Mystery Cave(MN) and Wind Cave (SD). We enjoy them. Any ideas as to what others would be good? Thanks! Your list would not be complete unless you included Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.
I'll second Carlsbad Caverns, if you're heading out that way. The great thing there is that you can just visit on your own following the path, not in a large tour (there may be tours, too.) At times, we could not see or hear anyone else and it was an unbelievable feeling that we had the whole cave to ourselves. Also, if you're not squeamish about bats, it's incredible to see them fly out of the cave at dusk. There is a viewing area where you are safe from any encounter with them. If you want to stay in the east coast area, there are two very close together. We stayed at the Endless Caverns RV Resort in New Market, Va. There is a cave on the property, which you can tour for a reasonable price (they also have a flashlight tour that's really cool!). To boot, you are only about a half hour or so from Luray Caverns, which also has a nice reconstructed village to tour that is part of your admission.
QUOTE(NorthernIllinoisPlumber @ Oct 22 2013, 06:03 PM) [snapback]35085[/snapback] We have been to Mammoth Cave (KY), Mystery Cave(MN) and Wind Cave (SD). We enjoy them. Any ideas as to what others would be good? Thanks! http://stateparks.mt.gov/lewis-and-clark-caverns/ This one is a bit of a distance from you but we enjoyed it. It's not too out of the way from Yellowstone. Darrell
Second the motion for Luray Caverns in VA. There's more to do there than just the cave. As said, it's near Shenandoah NP and also George Washington National Forest. And Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's estate) isn't far. You could even do DC stuff while in the area (under 100 miles).
Kartchner Caverns State Park in Benson, Arizona is also worth a look, and has a decent campsite at the caverns as an added plus.
We've been to many caves and hands down..... go to Carlsbad Caverns and there's no need to spend your money on any others......
We toured most of the caves and caverns mentioned so far in this post while on vacation during our working years. Here are some others we saw during the 70s and 80s while we were still tent campers: Lewis and Clark Caverns SP, MT just off I-90 about 30 miles west of Bozeman, MT. Meramec Caverns just off I-44 about 30 miles southwest of St. Louis. MO. There are several other caves/caverns in this area. Mark Twain Cave just outside Hannibal, MO. Hannibal is a great place to tour if you are into Twain. Wyandotte Cave, IN just off I-64 about 30 miles west of Louisville, KY. Oregon Cave National Monument, in southwest OR about 40 miles off I-5 south of Grants Pass, OR. As others have mentioned, Carlsbad (along with Mammoth) are the top caves in the USA. If you can't make it all the way to NM to see Carlsbad, there are caves in in IN and MO worth seeing. I don't remember ever touring any caves in WI or MI.
Believe it or not, there is even a cave tour in Florida, at Florida Caverns State Park in Marianna. It's not *spectacular* but it does have some interesting formations.
QUOTE(theswedes @ Nov 7 2013, 04:11 PM) [snapback]35242[/snapback] We've been to many caves and hands down..... go to Carlsbad Caverns and there's no need to spend your money on any others...... Same here. Best one we have ever seen. Pretty cool too, to see the bats come out in the evening.
The Sierra foothills about 2 hours drive east of San Francisco have several nice caves. One of my favorites is Moaning Caverns near Murphys CA. If you take the adventure tour you get to repel into the main cavern and spend the next two hour crawling through many small crevasses and exploring small caverns that most people never see. They provide coveralls and a helmet with a light. Bring elbow and knee pads with you. There are also zip lines at Moaning Caverns and there are several other caves to explore within an hour's drive. www.caverntours.com
Since you've been to Wind Cave in SD, have you thought of going back to the area and checking out Jewel Cave as well? You could also come to Colorado and check out Cave of the Winds in Manitou Springs (Outside of Colorado Springs). Not bad, but kind of "touristy", and there are rumors that some of the items in the cave are "staged".
I see your from Northern IL. I know you are looking for major caves/NP`s, but you may want to check out Eagle Cave in WI. for a quick weekend trip! if you`ve never been there. they are west of Madison near the WI. River, Blue River WI. we used to go in the winter to camp in the cave with the cub scouts. they loved it. in the summer they do cave tours and also they do canoe trips on the river. on the longer canoe trips they cater food down to certain spots along the river. great time!
Ditto on Carlsbad Caverns National Park. I've seen Mammoth Cave in KY, but have to rank Carlsbad ahead of Mammoth. Everyone should put Carlsbad Caverns on their bucket list! It may be out of the way and off the beaten path, but it is definitely worth the trip.
