September 8, 2021

WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK

26611 US Highway 385, Hot Springs, SD 57747

“Wind Cave National Park is in the southwestern corner of South Dakota. It's known for the vast, underground Wind Cave, with chambers like the Post Office and the Elks Room. Many of the cave’s walls are rich in honeycomb-shaped calcite formations known as boxwork. The park's prairie and pine forests are home to bison, elk and pronghorn antelopes. Trails include Rankin Ridge, with views of the Black Hills.” ― Google

To be honest, the only reason I came to Wind Cave was because it is a national park. Exploring caves and caverns are not anywhere close to the top of my “Things to See List,” but I am trying to visit as many national parks as possible. That being said, I found Wind Cave to be an interesting visit.

Besides the cave, the park has almost 34,000 acres of forest and prairie on the surface that act as a natural sanctuary for wildlife, such as bison, elk, pronghorn, and prairie dogs. Due to a road closure I didn’t spend much time exploring above ground.

I did take a tour (The Natural Entrance Tour), which was about a 1.25 hour tour with 300 steps (289 of them down) along a 2/3 mile trail through the main section of the cave. The path was fairly well lit and pretty smooth, though there were some narrow parts along with places I had to duck. Luckily, I only brushed my head on some rock a couple of times. Wind Cave’s famous boxwork was abundant along with popcorn and frostwork. Our tour guide did a great job leading us through the cave. I took several pictures along the tour, but looking at them after the tour it is hard to tell what the subject of some of them is, but they must have been interesting at the time.