Our first outing had us headed right outside of Rapid City to explore our first caverns, the Black Hills Caverns.
History of Black Hills Caverns
Discovered in 1882 by gold miners, the caverns opened to the public in 1939. Formed over 60 million years ago by the “Paha Sapa Limestone,” the caves are still growing and are still actively explored.
Rock formations you can expect to find include Logomites, Stalagmites, Stalactites, Helictites, Rare Frost Crystal, Flowstone, Dogtooth Spar Crystal, Boxwork, Cave Flower, Soda Straw Stalactites, Columns, Draperies, Popcorn Crystals, and Nailhead Spar Crystal.
My Thoughts
We love caves and will visit any that we come to. We have been to several caverns spanning several states, so we have seen some pretty impressive formations and have come to be somewhat spoiled in expecting to see them.
We were a tad disappointed with this cavern as we expected to see more formations, although the teenagers thought it was the coolest thing in the world, even if it lacked formations. With saying that, we still thoroughly enjoyed our visit and learned a lot about the area. I would hands down still recommend seeing this one and as such will be leaving it on the Ultimate Black Hills Bucket List.
In their description, it does state that they have several different formations, we just didn’t notice that many. Although, I did love the “River of Ages” formation.
From My Husband:
If you want to see what the inside of a cave looks like, Black Hills Caverns would be a great place to start, however, if you are looking to see different formations, you need to go elsewhere.
Information
Tours: They offer two tours, a shorter 30-minute tour that stays on the first level and therefore is easier for those who may have a harder time with longer walks, and the Adventure tour which is an hour long and travels through several levels of the cave.
Pricing: As always check their website for current pricing but at the time of this post, adults were $15.75, kids 6-12 are $9.75, and kids 5 & under are free for the Adventure Tour (which is the tour we did).
Military Discount: A military discount was offered to my husband and is only good for the active duty card holder.
Address: 2600 Cavern Road, Hwy 44 West, Rapid City, SD 57702
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