Giving you the “7-1-1” on Spelunking. Read further to discover 7 types and 11 caves to explore in the National Park System.
I. Karst or Solution Caves
Karst Classic Cave
1. Mammoth Cave
1 Visitor Center Parkway
Mammoth Cave, KY 42259-0007
Mammoth Cave is a karst or solution cave. I use the word classic since the speleogenesis is of ground water passing through a fissure that is composed of a soluble bedrock; this a well known and documented process. Mammoth Cave was formed when acidic ground water percolates through soil and become carbonic acid. Carbonic acid fills cracks and fissures in the limestone and dissolves the rock.
Mammoth cave is the longest cave in the world at 400 miles long. Explore up to ten miles of the 400 miles of mapped passageways within the Mammoth Cave system. Ranked as the world’s longest known cave system. Mammoth Cave National Park was established in 1941, designated a World Heritage Site in 1981 and became the core area of an International Biosphere Reserve in 1990.
Mammoth Cave tours are available year-around, up to 6 months in advance.
The park may only publish the complete schedule or variety 1 to 3 months prior to tour date. All tours begin and end at the Visitor Center. Please note the Self-Guided tour is usually only offered during the busier times of the year of summer and fall.
Alert: The Elevator at Mammoth Cave is not working. According to both recreation.gov and nps.gov confirm that the cave is not handicap accessible at this time due to elevator malfunction.
This elevator malfunction affects several tours.
Available for dates in June and July, 2022:
- Domes and Dripstones Tour
- Historic Tour
- Extended Historic Tour
- Frozen Niagara Tour (sells out quickly)
- Gothic Avenue Tour
- Grand Avenue Tour
- Great Onyx Lantern Tour
- River Styx Tour (almost sold out)
- Star Chamber Tour (sells out quickly)
- Violet City Tour
To book a tour for a specific date and time, see recreation.gov
Tours cost between $8 and $35 with Pass discount good for only the Pass holder. Discount amount for Pass holder is not listed on the recreation.gov website.
Tour offerings and schedules may change in accordance with public health guidance.
2. Great Basin National Park
100 Great Basin, Baker, NV 89311
Lehman Caves
There are 4 processes which have contributed to the appearance of Lehman Caves that we can view today. The first is the formation of the marble. Limestone undergoes extreme pressure and morphs into marble. The second is dissolution which is hypogenic in nature, water that flows upward. The third process is the deposition of speleothems like stalactites and stalagmites from acidic groundwater passing through the marble ceiling of the cave. The final step and recently identified is condensation corrosion. This process can explain how the cave formations look as if they are decaying or disappearing and the caves chambers are increasing in size; this corrosion started within the past ten thousand years.
Dates are released approximately 30 days in advance
- Gothic Palace Tour( June)
- Grand Palace Tour (limited dates in June)
- Parachute Shield Tour (no dates available)
Fees for tours range from $2-$15 (Pass holders get a discount and youth ticket is the least expensive).
Lehman Caves Tickets on recreation.gov website.
3. Sequoia National Park
Located in Sequoia National Park, 6.5 miles along Crystal Cave Road in Three Rivers, California 93271.
Crystal Cave (Closed) due to 2021 KNP Complex fire damage along Crystal Cave Road
https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/crystal-cave.htm
Hypogene Karst Cave
A specific type of Karst Cave known as a Hypogene Cave (Carlsbad Cavern and Wind Cave)
4. Carlsbad Caverns National Park
727 Carlsbad Caverns Highway
Carlsbad, NM 88220
In the Guadalupe Mountains 750 ft below the surface of the Chihuahuan desert, is a system of caverns with spectacular stalactites, stalagmites and columns. Large deposits of gypsum (calcium sulfate) on the floor of caverns lead to the conclusion that sulfuric acid played the role in dissolution rather than carbonic acid. Rocks high in petroleum or oil such as pyrite emit sulfur gases (Hydrogen sulfide) and this plays a role in forming sulfuric acid rather than carbonic acid. Sulfuric acid is similar to acid rain and has been at work for for 4-6 million years creating Carlbad Caverns.
Is a cavern different from a cave? A cavern is the name given to a cave that has speleothems. Carlsbad Caverns has one of the most extensive network of speleothems and if you were to select only one cave to visit in 2022, I recommend that you select Carlsbad Caverns.
Available dates in June and July, 2022
- Kings Palace Tour (some dates in June)
- Self Guided Tour (many available dates in June)
See recreation.gov to book your date and time.
Entrance to the Caves is $15 and free for Pass holders and up to 3 additional guests. Tours are $1 each.
Tickets to Caverns on recreation.gov website.
5. Wind Cave
26611 US Highway 385
Hot Springs, SD 57747
As its name would suggest, Wind Cave located in South Dakota is not an eolian/wind/erosional cave. Wind Cave is a karst cave that is hypogene; it’s the sulfuric acid rather than carbonic acid that is the activator in this karst formation. Like Carlsbad Cavern, Wind Cave is hypogene in that the solution comes from the ground rather than from above. The main feature of this cave is Boxwork pattern which is similar to honeycombs.
Wind Cave tours and available dates in June and July, 2022
- Accessibility Tour
- Candlelight Tour (mid June and July)
- Fairgrounds Tour
- Garden of Eden Tour
- Natural Entrance Tour
- Wind Cave Tour (few dates in both June and July)
See recreation.gov to book your date and time.
Fees of the tours range from $7 (accessibility tour) to $46 (Wind Cave Tour) with no discounts for Pass holders.
Wind Cave Tickets on recreation.gov
III. Talus Caves or Scree Caves
6. Pinnacles National Park
Pinnacles Visitor Center 5000 CA-146, Paicines, CA 95043
Talus caves form when boulders fall in a haphazard pattern which creates a cave. The caves are small in size and are associated with unstable conditions, such as rockfalls or landslides.
Bear Gulch Cave
There are no tours listed on NPS website and recreation.gov. There may be guides who offer tours but this is not NPS approved use and sanctioned concessionaire.
The lower half of the Bear Gulch Cave is usually open from mid-July through mid-May each year, depending on the presence of the colony of bats. The entire cave is closed from mid-May to mid-July while the bats are raising their young. The Bear Gulch Cave provides a home to a colony of Townsend’s big-eared bats as they rest there in winter and raise their young in the late spring and summer. Townsend’s big-eared bats are listed as a “sensitive species” by the state of California, and we are required to protect them. The colony in the Bear Gulch Cave is the largest maternity colony between San Francisco and Mexico.
Balconies Cave is open currently. Check on NPS website prior to your trip to Pinnacles National Park
Pinnacles Cave Status on nps.gov website
IV. Primary Cave, Lava Tube or Pyroduct
7. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
1 Crater Rim Drive
Hawaii National Park, HI 96718
Nāhuku or Thurston Lava Tube
A lava tube is also known as a pyroduct. What was once a river of lava at temperatures of 2200°F forms a crust just outside the tube structure, while the hot liquid lava continues to flow inside. Through a process of thermal erosion the lava forces below to increases the radius of the tube. When the lava stops flowing, the hollow tube remains. The surrounding rock is roughly the same age and forms the same time as the tube within. A lava tube may take 1 year to cool down before it becomes a base for microbial “mats” then insects followed by a habitat to support reptiles and small mammals.
It’s out of this world, literally and figuratively, how life begins within lava tubes. From the basaltic walls, bacteria such as Actinobacteria fix inorganic matter and convert it into organic material without carbon sources from outside the tube.
By contrast the microbial mats or biofilms found on the cave walls and speleothems within a solution cave ecosystem get their carbon from outside the cave.
This life anew concept holds significance when it comes to the concept of life on other planets, such as Mars. It opens up the possibility that there could be life under the surface on Mars or another planet that has undergone volcanic eruptions.
Walk through a lava tube on a self -guided tour for no additional charge. This lava tube formed 500 years ago and has dim lights from 8 AM until 8 PM daily. When visiting after dark, be sure to bring a headlamp and sturdy shoes as water on the surface inside the lava tube is common. The photo below shows the entrance to Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube), Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
V. Glacial Caves
8. Wrangell-St Elias National Park & Preserve
Kennicott Millsite, Glennallen, AK 99588
Take a guided tour inside the Glacial Caves at Root and/or Kennicott Glaciers
At the snout or terminus of a glacier are fissures with picturesque blue caves created by rivers underneath glaciers. Glacial caves should not be confused with ice caves. Ice caves are those with ice formations inside caves like those located in Lava Beds in California and Sunset Crater in Arizona.
Glacial cave exploration is not without its risks; it is highly recommended to participate in this sport with a guide service. Among the two available guide services is St. Elias Alpine Guides whom I had guide me on a backcountry trip within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. Their professionalism as well as their expertise puts this guide service into a stellar category; I highly recommend them.
St. Elias Alpine Guides (STEAG) website for glacial cave exploration information.
K’elt’aeni– Park newspaper and trip-planning guide includes park maps, information and services, visitor center hours and seasons, safety tips and QR codes to download the free NPS App to your phone or device.
VI. Littoral or Sea Caves
9. Sea Caves at Channel Islands National Parks
1901 Spinnaker Drive
Ventura, CA 93001
Departing from Ventura, California, Island Packers will provide ferry service for a half-day or camping trip to Santa Cruz Island or Anacapa Island. A kayak tour of the sea caves of Santa Cruz Island is the best way to tour Painted Cave, the largest and deepest sea cave as well the opportunity to view the most dense collection of sea caves in the world.
The onboard naturalist goes ashore with the visitors on Santa Cruz Island and takes the Pelican Cove hike to answer questions and assist with the most difficult part of the hike.
10. National Lakeshore / Apostle Islands National Lakeshore near Bayfield, Wisconsin
Meyers Beach, Meyers Rd, Bayfield, WI 54814
A sea kayak tour gets you up close red cliffs and sea caves.
The communication, gear fitting and equipment were all top notch with the guide service. Based on my experience the day of the kayak tour from assembling the group, the dismal attitudes of the guides, mine in particular, and the takeout of equipment, I am unlikely to repeat a trip with the outfitters. Trek and trail
There are a few options to tour Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, the sea caves and learning how to handle a sea kayak safely. It’s only an afternoon and it is not likely that anything can stand in the way of enjoying a day trip when surrounded by red cave walls and green tinted water. Yet it was apparent that only a few members of the kayak tour group enjoyed the Apostle Islands experience.
It’s tough to travel solo when the equipment calls for two people. My guide spent the two hours reminding me through verbal and nonverbal cues of how disappointed she was to be paddling with a client. I am an intermediate paddler and the the few words spoken to me by her was to tell me to slow down as only half our group were fast learners with good strokes and accurate steering, 3 kayaks were well ahead whereas 2 fell behind. At the close of the tour, I gave both guides the standard tip and a farewell greeting.
VII. Rock shelter caves
11. Mesa Verde National Park
Mile Marker 15, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330
Bedrock erosion of insoluble rock describes part of the process for creating rock shelter caves. For example, sandstone overlays shale (soluble) then water dissolves the shale and leaves behind the rock shelter of the erosion resistant composed of sandstone like a shell with a hollowed out center.
Rock shelters have archaelogical significance such as Mesa Verde structures providing shelter or homes to the Ancestral Puebloans. These cliff dwellings can be viewed within one day at Mesa Verde National Park. If planning to take a tour of these structures, two days are recommended due to times and availability of tours within the park. The cliff dwelling structures is an example of a rock shelter cave. The homes of the Ancestral Puebloans, the cliff dwelling structures shown below is an example of a rock shelter cave.
Other types of caves:
Anchialine caves
A scientific article regarding Anchialine caves is a great read for a cave type not featured within this post. Anchialine caves are generally found in brackish water (mixture of sea and non-saline water). The scholarly article discusses findings within karst subterranean estuaries (KSE) that were established after the last ice age. One such ecosystem where the study was conducted is found in Bermuda.
Wind-carved caves or Eolian Cavaes
Formed by erosion of sand, dirt or other abrasive particle that morphs sandstone into caves by force of the wind. An example of a wind cave is antelope canyon.
Glossary:
column
Cave formations from the top 🔝 and ground and meet in the middle.
karst topography
Landscape that is characterized by caves, sinkholes or springs in the absence of surface rivers and lakes. Soluble bedrock such as limestone (calcium), dolomite (calcium and magnesium) and gypsum are dissolved to leave caverns or caves.
speleogenesis
Theories of how a cave is formed.
speleothems
Formations in a cave.
spelunking
The recreational sport or scientific research of cave exploration.
stalactite
A drop of water that hangs on the “top” wall or ceiling of a cave. ct C for “ceiling”, T for 🔝.
There are local names given to stalactite term such as soda straw 🥤, ribbon 🎀 and drapery (curtain).
stalagmite
A drop of water that immediately falls to the ground of the cave and grows upward. gm G for “ground”, M for “mound”.
There are local names for stalagmites such as totem pole, lily pad and cave pearls.