Adventure Possible

How to Live a Modern Life of Adventure

15 Steps to Live a Life of Adventure
  • Life of Adventure
  • Books
  • Sponsorships
  • Weekend Adventures
  • Appalachian Trail
  • Bike America
  • RV’ing
  • The Kelleys
You are here: Home / Weekend Outdoor Adventures / South Dakota / Tour Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota

Tour Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota

August 3, 2016 by Mark Kelley Leave a Comment

Share adventure with others

  • Tweet

Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota has about 150 miles of cave passageways. We visited the park one morning to explore about two miles of the 150 on a guided ranger tour.

Wind Cave is different than the other caves we’ve visited. Unlike most other caves, like those at Lewis & Clark State Park in Montana and Linville Caverns in North Carolina, Wind Cave is a dry cave. It doesn’t have the typical wet cave rock features created over millennia by dripping and running water, like stalagmites and stalactites. Instead, it has some interesting rock features called box work and cave popcorn. Shown in the pictures below.

The cave is also interesting in that it sits beneath rolling grasslands, not in a mountainside like I expect most caves. To watch the buffalo and deer grazing on the grassland, you would not expect to find hundreds of miles of hidden cave beneath.

All things considered, ff I were in western Montana and had to choose between Lewis & Clark Caverns Montana State Park and Wind Cave National Park, I would choose Lewis & Clark Caverns. The tour is longer and the cave more interesting.

Here are some of our photos from Wind Cave.

Crappy photographer disclaimer: It’s unfortunate I have no idea how to take photos in low light / near darkness. Any photo taken with a person in the frame was blurry, so the photos of the kids and Katie underground didn’t make the cut.

Hundreds of miles of cave are beneath these rolling hills.

Hundreds of miles of cave are beneath these rolling hills.

Wilson can't get enough of climbing on the generators and the rack on the front of the Tahoe.

Wilson can’t get enough of climbing on the generators and the rack on the front of the Tahoe.

Boxwork cave formation

Boxwork cave formation

Not sure what this is called, but I like it.

Not sure what this is called, but I like it.

Cave popcorn cave formation

Cave popcorn cave formation

Share adventure with others

  • Tweet

More adventure, please!

Filed Under: South Dakota

Share your comments... Cancel reply

Click to Buy eBook

Buy This eBook from AdventurePossible.com ($4.99)

Based on the actual adventure and transformation of Mark Kelley, publisher of this website, who struggled mightily on his hike through the rugged and remote 100 Mile Wilderness on the Appalachian Trail.

Amazon Top 20 Best Seller for Adventure Travel eBooks.

Buy It Now. Support Adventure Possible. ($4.99)

Meet the Adventure Possible Family

kelley family photo

Hi, My Name is Katie and I Married an Adventurer.

Quitting My Job

How can we afford to quit work and to travel for a year?

Are we investing for the future while we travel long term?

How much does it cost to RV around America for a year?

Adventure Possible in the News

Live a Life of Adventure in 15 Steps

Our family has adopted an approach to modern life that builds adventure into life's trajectory. We call it the Adventure Possible … Read More

Adventure in NC

  • Life of Adventure
  • Books
  • Sponsorships
  • Weekend Adventures
  • Appalachian Trail
  • Bike America
  • RV’ing
  • The Kelleys

Dream Big

  • Live a Life of Adventure
  • RV across America
  • Bike across America
  • Hike the AT

Resources

  • Checklists & Tools
  • Adventure Sponsorships
  • Weekend Adventures

Shop

  • Shop
  • Cart
  • Checkout
  • My Account

Get Involved

  • Contributing Writers
  • Buy our Books
  • About The Site
  • Meet the Kelleys

Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Search

© 2013-2016 ProTrack Marketing LLC. Raleigh, North Carolina. Google+ Publisher.