How many days should you spend in Wind Cave?


How many days should you spend in Wind Cave? How long to stay in Wind Cave National Park: You can see Wind Cave in two days, with one each dedicated to underground and aboveground sights.


Can you just drive through Wind Cave National Park?

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.


What is so special about Wind Cave?

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.


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.


Is Wind Cave the biggest cave in the world?

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.


Is there water in Wind Cave?

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.


Can you take pictures in Wind Cave?

It is the policy of Wind Cave National Park to allow filming and photography when and where possible, while adhering to this mandate.