For Kids. Ranger guided cave tours, nature trails, and campfire programs are just some of the ways for kids and families to enjoy Wind Cave. Complete the activity book, learn about the park, and take the pledge to earn a Junior Ranger badge.
People Also Ask
Whether it's your first time to the cave or your tenth, there are several things to keep in mind while planning your trip. To go into the cave, you must purchase a ticket. All access is by a ranger guided tour and all tours leave from the Visitor Center.
There are no self-guided tours into Wind Cave. However, the park maintains over 30 miles of hiking trails and three self-guided nature trails where teachers and students are welcome to explore the prairies and forests of the park. Teachers are welcome to take their students on any of these trails.
We experienced two cave tours on our trip to South Dakota, one at Jewel Cave and the other at Wind Cave National Park. I recommend both if you have the time, but of the two, it's safe to say that Jewel Cave held the most allure for the kids.
For the best experience, plan on spending one day in Wind Cave National Park. This gives you plenty of time for a cave tour and to hike the Lookout Point Trail Loop and/or the Rankin Ridge Trail. During the summer months, it is best to do the longer hike earlier in the day, before it gets too hot.
For the wildlife watching enthusiast, Wind Cave is an excellent destination. You are likely to see bison, elk, pronghorn, coyote, mule deer, prairie dogs and several species of hawks. Wild turkeys also roam the park landscape. Elk, bison and pronghorn were reintroduced in 1911, and are now flourishing in Wind Cave.
Garden of Eden Tour is considered the easiest tour, lasting one hour and including a mile of walking and 150 stairs. Guests enter and exit the cave via elevator. Natural Entrance Tour is considered a moderate tour and the most popular.
Highways and Paved RoadsMost visits to Wind Cave National Park take you on US Highway 385 or South Dakota Highway 87, the two main paved roads in the park. Both offer scenic views as well as many pullouts with wayside exhibits and parking for enjoying the scenery or watching wildlife.
The sound led them to a small hole in the ground, the cave's only natural opening. A wind was said to blow with such force out of the hole that it knocked Jesse's hat off. That wind, which gave the cave its name, is created by differences between atmospheric pressures in the cave and outside.