It is the policy of Wind Cave National Park to allow filming and photography when and where possible, while adhering to this mandate.
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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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Wind Cave is the seventh longest cave in the world with 154.2 miles (248.16 km) of explored cave passageways (as of 2021) and the third longest cave in the United States. Above ground, the park includes the largest remaining natural mixed grass prairie in the United States.