Can you go inside Wind Cave?

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.



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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.

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Highways and Paved Roads Most 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.

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Groundwater is an important resource for the park and, in particular, for Wind Cave. Groundwater drips from the ceiling of the cave at numerous locations and exists in ponds, lakes, and streams on the cave floor.

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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.

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The cave is well known for its outstanding display of boxwork, an unusual cave formation composed of thin calcite fins resembling honeycombs. The park's mixed-grass prairie is one of the few remaining and is home to native wildlife such as bison, elk, pronghorn, mule deer, coyotes, and prairie dogs.

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Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 1 h 58 min to complete. This is a very popular area for hiking, running, and walking, so you'll likely encounter other people while exploring. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime.

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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.

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Krubera Cave (also known as Voronya Cave), in Abkhazia, Georgia is the deepest known cave in the world at present at over 2000 metres/6561 feet but the cave is very cold, with temperatures of 1.0 C at 100 metres depth, rising slowly up to 7.2 C at 2000 m depth.

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Explore this 3.0-mile out-and-back trail near Mesa, Arizona. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 1 h 58 min to complete.

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How Long Does It Take to Go Through Cave of the Winds? On average, it takes 45 minutes to 1.5 hours to go through Cave of the Winds. You can choose to spend more or less time, but I recommend taking it slow to soak it all in. During my visit, I spent about 1 hour and 15 minutes exploring the Cave of the Winds.

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