Who likes caves? There is a mysterious labyrinth beneath the earth’s surface known as Jewel Cave National Monument. Established on February 7, 1908, this is the first cave designated as a national monument. Standing on the surface, you have no idea what lies beneath your feet. This cave is unique in its own right. The only way to experience this is with an astonishing trip underground. The Jewel Cave Scenic tour is one of the best ways to explore this remarkable gem.
In the Black Hills of South Dakota, limestone below the earth’s surface gradually dissolved over 60 million years through water slowly converted to carbonic acid, thus creating this magnificent cave system.
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What Tours does Jewel Cave Offer?
Planning a trip to Jewel Cave? Plan ahead and make a reservation by booking tours online at the recreation.gov. These tours fill quickly. Online reservations are available 90 days to 72 hours in advance and only during summer. First come, first served tickets will be available on a limited-basis in the park visitor center. On the National Park’s website, you can find updated information about Jewel Cave tours and prices. Currently, they offer four remarkably different tours offered at various times of the year. We chose the most popular ranger-guided scenic tour.
What JEWEL CAVE Tours are Available Year-Round?
Discovery Tour-This 20-minute tour is short and sweet. They offer the ‘Discovery Talk’ year-round. Visitors view one large room of the cave. The Discovery Tour is the only tour that allows service dogs trained to perform a task for people with disabilities.
Scenic Tour-This tour is moderately strenuous, lasting one hour and twenty-minutes. It provides a great overview of the cave and its formations, including calcite crystals, draperies, stalactites, and stalagmites. You must be able to climb 743 stairs over 0.5 miles descending to 280 feet below the surface. Safety Requirements: Parents may not carry a child of any age. Infants and toddlers can be carried in a front-carrier only and the child must remain in the carrier throughout the duration of the Scenic Tour.
What are the Limited JEWEL CAVE Tours Summer Only
Historic Lantern Tour-During summer only, Historic Lantern Tours take place one mile west of the visitor center in the Historic Area of the park. This one hour and 45-minute tour will take you back in time with only a lantern to guide you. You must be able to climb 500 narrow wooden stairs. Tours are at 9:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. (maximum of 20 participants).
Wild Caving Tour-This caving adventure is a strenuous 4-hours, taking only 5 people at a time. You must be 16 and older to take part. Just outside the theater room is a box that you must be able to squeeze through an 8.5” by 24” to take part in this tour. This tour also begins at the historic entrance.
Rules What You Can/Cannot Bring on the JEWEL CAVE Tour
- Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes ahead of your tour time to check in.
- NOT allowed inside the cave are backpacks, bags & purses, water bottle, food stuffs and selfie sticks. They only allow front baby backpack carriers.
- It’s a constant 49 degrees inside the cave. You will need a jacket or a sweater.
- NO flip-flops or sandals. Closed-toe shoes or hiking boots are required.
- Flash photography cameras are allowed.
- Please do not touch cave formations; the oil from your hands can damage them permanently.
- Be Alert! Watch your head, duck for low hanging ceilings.
- White-nose syndrome, a fungal disease deadly to bats, has been detected at Jewel Cave. All cave tour participants must walk across a decontamination mat when exiting the cave.
Get Your TOUR Started at the Jewel Cave Visitor Center
Jewel Cave does not charge an entrance fee. There is currently no food service available at the park. The Visitor’s Center, Park bookstore, trails, and picnic areas are open every day from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. There is no food service available at the park. We recommend you bring a refillable bottle of water or plenty of water. Snacks are available for purchase and refill stations are on site. There’s nothing better than a picnic lunch.
After you check in for your cave tour, there is usually time before or directly after for a self-guided tour of exhibits. Don’t miss the award-winning introductory park film, “Discovery in the Darkness: Jewel Cave National Monument“ in the theater.
During our tour of the exhibits, we learned the cave is an important hibernaculum for several species of bats. It contains one of the largest colonies of hibernating Townsend’s big-eared bats in the world. Overall, the cave supports nine species of bat.
What Lies Concealed Below at Jewel Cave National Monument
The Discovery and Scenic Cave tours begin at the visitor center. Look for the signs near the elevators. Ranger Aimee led our scenic tour today. Quickly going over the rules, the group (30) entered the elevators, descending 250′ deep underground into the subterranean labyrinth.
Tip: The Ranger will assigned someone to help make sure no one lagged behind and checked with that person frequently. As the caboose, you get photos with no people in them.
Take a Jewel cave Scenic Tour Venturing Through Strange Rooms
As soon as you enter the first room, it is like being on another planet. Why is called the Target Room? Well, during construction of the elevator shafts in 1965, surveyors had to be ‘right on target’ while inside the cave to provide exact coordinates.
Ranger Aimee explained that Jewel Cave is a dry cave at least 99% of it is. Multiple sets of cold metal stairs ending at large landings with benches where Ranger Aimee shared more information about the different rooms. The entire cave is dimly lit by LED lighting. Unfortunately, dim lighting makes photographing the formation truly difficult.
Ranger Aimee pointed out Surprise Loft in the target room. It is a large opening in the ceiling. Lots of cave popcorn dominated this subterranean room. Popcorn is small knobby growths of Calcite, aragonite, or Gypsum that can vary in color and appearance. In areas with high airflow, popcorn usually forms in the shape of ball-shaped nodules of calcite that resemble popcorn. The small nodules reminded me of cauliflower. It made it seem like we were inside a crystal cathedral.
We found the two main crystal forms at Jewel Cave are pointy Dogtooth Spar, and blunter, Nailhead Spar. Nailhead spar (rhombohedral form) forms after the prominent dogtooth spar therefore, you may see less of it. They both are referred to as the “jewels” of the cave. There is a lot of cave dirt covering the spar, giving it a dull appearance.
Interesting Fact: As soon as the cave was discovered, the glittery crystals were mistaken for quartz and so were associated with gold.
JEWEL CAVE Scenic Tour-Formations Room-The wet and drippy
Rum Runner’s Lane (dry area) leads us to the Formation Room (a wet area). At Jewel Cave, less than 1% of the cave has substantial water movement. The formations room highlights wet formations that include flowstone, draperies, stalagmites, ribbons, columns, and soda straws. Incredible patterns develop depending on evaporation rates.
Our favorite formation was the flowstone. Flowstone is a speleothem that when water flows in sheets over cave walls, deposits calcium carbonate in a drapery-like formation. As these layers accumulate, they shape formations that appear flowing, smooth, glossy, or even create hanging formations called draperies. With its yellowish coloration, this “river of stone” reminded me of icing on a cake. The bigger draperies kind of made me think of large jellyfish or squid.
An additional speleothem found in the cave is aragonite frostwork, typically found as small crusts on the walls. Frostwork is a delicate formation. The needle-like crystals branch out in different directions may be long or short. It may grow on top of other formations, such as cave popcorn.
Another really cool formation is the Soda Straw. In cave walls and ceilings, soda straws form as water slowly seeps from above to form rings of calcite. This hollow tube gradually lengthens as subsequent drops of mineral-laden water evaporate, elongating the ring. They are quite fragile and relatively rare.
It was in this area when Ranger Aimee had the lights turned off. We found it was quite exhilarating to be in total darkness. All you could hear was the distant sound of water dripping. You could not even see your hand in front of your face. Eerie feeling for sure.
JEWEL CAVE Scenic Tour Into Darkness in Spooky Hollow ChAMBER
In this chamber, the calcite crystals coated are heavily coated with dark manganese. It overshadows most of the “Spooky Hollow” room. Manganese will stain your skin and clothes. Gypsum decomposes to form manganese, which is a gooey substance.
She told us the term “dripstone” comes from the fact that water droplets form and deposit calcite onto cave surfaces. If you experience a drip, they say it brings you good luck! On our scenic tour, we were lucky enough to get a “cave kiss. ”
Interesting Fact: The Big Duh is Jewel cave’s largest room, measuring 570 feet long, 90 to 180 feet wide, and 30 feet high. Wall Street, the cave’s tallest passage, reaches 136 feet in height.
Why is it called the Tape Room?
There are still some orange pieces of flagging tape in the Tape Room, which is what gave it its name. Sequentially numbered, they tell cavers the direction and how far they are into the cave. Moreover, a historical survey marker “D59” located in this chamber was also used to map the cave.
How can you tell them apart a stalactite and stalagmite? One way to remember is that stalactite has a “c” in it, as in “ceiling,” and stalagmite has a “g” in it, as in “ground.”
Hungry? What Exactly is Cave Bacon?
In reality, cave bacon is a flowstone. This type of formation occurs when water flows down the cave’s walls, forming calcite deposits in sheets. Sometimes, the mineral content in the water causes the formation to appear bacon-colored. The 20 foot section we viewed was very remarkable.
YIKKEES! The Torture Room
The Torture Room is the largest room on the Scenic Tour route and it is about 185 feet long, 80 feet wide, and averages 50 feet tall (though the tallest point is 110 feet). So just imagine climbing up and down over rocks with only the light of your headlamp to search for a drip of water. It certainly sounds like torture.
Exiting the cave, returning to the elevators, we all had to step through the decontamination walk for our shoes. White-nose Syndrome, which has been devastating eastern U.S. colonies since appearing in 2006, poses a grave concern for park staff at Jewel Cave. Bats that inhabit this cave have shown the fungus. Rangers want to minimize the spread of the disease outside the cave. If you visit both Wind Cave and Jewel Cave in one day, they recommended a change of clothes to reduce the spread of the disease.
Don’t forget the above ground amenities
Besides underground pursuits, the 1,279 acre park also has above ground surface activities. If you enjoy hiking, check out our Roof Trail. It is only a 0.25 mile hike starting at the visitor center. Grand views from the ridge top of the distant black hills and wooded landscape are amazing. If you have time, the 3.5 mile canyon trail passes by the historical entrance where the lantern tour begins. Wildlife can be seen along much of the trail, even though the Jasper fire in 2000 devastated much of the forest woodland. Ranger programs are offered at both the visitor center and the historical area.
Final Thoughts on our Jewel Cave National Monument Scenic Tour
Do you remember the last time you traveled somewhere and fell in love with it instantly? That was our experience with Jewel Cave. Each cave is so extraordinary, and Jewel Cave is distinctively different from Wind Cave or Carlsbad Caverns. An incredible Jewel Scenic Cave Tour leads you through a series of rooms with crystal-lined walls that are absolutely beautiful. This is a must do if you visit this park. This is a park to add to any national park bucklist. We cannot wait to return again!
What’s the most unexpected place you’ve fallen in love with while traveling? What’s your favorite cave formation that you’ve ever seen? Please share with us in the comments below.
