GossSquatch Outdoor Adventures

Visiting the Cave The cave is open year-round, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Tour schedules and hours shift with the season. Elevator tours run rain or shine; natural entrance tours can be delayed or cancelled for lightning, heavy rain, or snow. The park may occasionally close for snow entirely. No matter what it's doing outside, the cave itself doesn't care — it sits at a constant 49°F year-round, which means it's simultaneously the coldest place you'll want to be in July and the coziest place you'll want to be in January. Pack a jacket regardless of the season on the surface; the cave runs its own weather system and it did not consult you. Tours There are four tours, ranging in difficulty and length. All of them require closed-toe shoes — no Crocs, no sandals. No food, drink, or gum is allowed underground, and that rule extends to backpacks, walking sticks, and tripods too — the cave wants you unencumbered, apparently on prin...

Just when you thought we were done with caves, we have one more story for you. Remember how we mentioned Wind Cave was only the second largest cave in South Dakota? Meet Jewel Cave — the actual largest cave in the state, and somehow still just a national monument, not even a national park. Snubbed. It does, however, hold the record for the nation's fastest elevator, which feels like a consolation prize designed by a committee. History In 1900, Frank and Albert Michaud found a small hole in the ground after walking past it and feeling a burst of cold air, which is either the origin story of a national monument or the opening scene of a horror movie, depending on your outlook. Like Wind Cave, Jewel Cave breathes — inhaling and exhaling based on shifts in barometric pressure. Nobody asked it to. It just does. The brothers started exploring and found the cave packed with crystals, which got their hopes up for gold. It contained calcite. Calcite is, geologically speaking, worthle...