National Public Lands Day with Free Cave Tours
JEWEL CAVE NATIONAL MONUMENT, SD
– On September 29, National Public Lands Day, Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park will host visitors and volunteers for a special day of service and celebration. Additionally, cave tour fees will be waived at both areas for the day.
Jewel Cave visitors may choose either the Scenic Tour or Discovery Tour as their venture into the second longest cave in the world. The Scenic Tour provides an opportunity to view a variety of beautiful, colorful, and rare cave formations for which Jewel Cave is famous. This half-mile tour is moderately strenuous, follows a paved lighted trail with over 700 stairs, and lasts approximately an hour and twenty minutes. The Discovery Tour is a twenty-minute wheelchair accessible program, conducted in one large room of the cave. Cave tours will begin at 9:20 a.m. with the last tour at 3:35 p.m.
Wind Cave will be offering tours lasting an hour and fifteen minutes every thirty minutes from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visitors will walk along the Natural Entrance Tour and view the boxwork for which the cave is famous. This half-mile tour is moderately strenuous with approximately 300 stairs, most of them going down.
Jewel Cave is also celebrating this date by offering a Wild Caving Tour for interested participants. This strenuous tour takes up to five cavers off-trail into the underground wilderness areas of the Monument. The trek lasts between three to four hours. All cavers are required to fit through an eight and a half inch by 24-inch opening. Participants must be eighteen years of age or older; however, young adults sixteen or seventeen are allowed on the tour with parental approval. The tour requires a reservation and has a ticket fee. The tour begins at 11:30 a.m. and concludes around 4:00 p.m.
The Friends of Wind Cave National Park will be working in the park’s backcountry, on the former Sanson Ranch, rolling up segments of interior fences. The fence will then be recycled and used to replace fence destroyed in last July’s Myrtle Fire.
The day ends at Wind Cave with a ranger program listening for the sound of elk bugling. Beginning at 7 p.m. in the Elk Mountain Campground Amphitheater, a ranger will give a brief talk about elk then the group will drive to a pullout to listen for the elk’s high-pitched bugle. Dress warmly and bring a flashlight.
National Public Lands Day is a time to celebrate the heritage sites of the United States. All visitors are encouraged to explore these natural and cultural treasures and take the time to learn the significance behind each location. For more information, contact the visitor centers at 605-673-8300 (Jewel Cave) or 605-745-4600 (Wind Cave).
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