How long should you spend at Wind Cave?

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.



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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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It was unanimous that the Natural Entrance Tour is the best tour to take. You can see the natural entrance of the cave and the extensive boxwork.

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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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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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Unlike other caves in the NPS system, Wind Cave has few stalactites and stalagmites because it's quite dry. What it's most known for is its calcite boxwork formations—Wind Cave contains 95% of the world's known boxwork.

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