Subterranean adventures less than a day’s drive from Wichita offer cool road trips
Californian Dirk Dole has great memories of traveling around the U.S. by RV for summer vacations with his wife and two sons. One of their favorite activities was to spend an afternoon at a roadside attraction experiencing something they hadn’t seen before.
“So as I did better in business, I wanted to buy one of these roadside attractions and offer it up for folks to make their own family memories,” Dole said. “Lo and behold, we found the cave.”
Dole bought Crystal Cave in 2021 and reopened it in 2022; it had been closed for about a dozen years after the previous, long-time owners and operators of the cave had died. His team spent a year preparing the visitor center/gift shop and the cave for visitors, including improved lighting, repairing railings and converting dirt pathways to concrete.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R24e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R44e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeThe cave is about 10 miles north of Springfield in the southwest Missouri. It is a registered historic landmark that first opened to tours in 1893, making it the second oldest commercial cave in Missouri – nicknamed the Cave State for its approximately 7,500 recorded caves.
The active cave community in Missouri was one of the appeals for Dole to purchase Crystal Cave. The state has nearly 20 show caves, meaning they are accessible to the public for guided tours and are inspected once a year for safety by a state agency.
“I love that the state has so many caves, and just around Springfield there’s what I call a tripod of show caves,” Dole said. “There’s Fantastic Caverns, Crystal Cave and Smallin Civil War Cave, all within 30 miles of each other. Each is completely different with its own history, so you’ll want to visit all of them because they’re all interesting and unique in their own ways.”
Climate-controlled attractions – the caves have a constant temperature between 50 to 60 degrees – are a tempting summer vacation option, though many show caves are open year-round. Expect tour rates ranging from $14 to $34 depending on the visitor’s age.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R29e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R49e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeHere’s a look at several clusters of caves in Missouri’s southern half, an easy drive for Wichitans and other Kansas residents. At each, expect to see stalagmites, stalactites, stromatolites, soda straws, flowstone, massive columns, cave pearls and cave onyx among the formations.
Springfield area caves
Crystal Cave
Hour-long guided tours enter the preserved historic cave through iron gates from the original Springfield jail. More than others in the area, this cave feels like you’re adventuring through it, with low ceilings and narrow pathways in some places.
Crystal Cave is known for its rare helictites formations that are close enough to the walkways for you to see these small, twisting formations that grow horizontally rather than vertically.
Highlights: Legend has it that the Smithsonian wanted to buy and remove a natural formation with a stalagmite growing to resemble the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. When the cave’s previous owners declined, Smithsonian curators replicated the formation. See the formation in the Rocky Mountain Chamber. Among the cave’s other areas: the Ghost Room, Concert Hall, Cathedral Chamber, Chimes Room, Rainbow Falls.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2ge4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R4ge4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeDon’t miss: Above-ground activities include a penny arcade, a gemstone mining and fossil dig station, miniature golf and a newly added Dino Trail featuring 30 dinosaurs along a half-time loop.
More information: visitcrystalcave.com
Fantastic CavernsFantastic Caverns
Billed as the only ride-through cave in the country, this is a great option for anyone who might have trouble walking for the 55-minute tour. Jeep-pulled trams take you along an ancient riverbed through 1 mile of the cave while a guide shares stories of the cave’s development and points out formations illuminated for easy viewing.
Guides share the cave’s colorful geologic and human history, including being discovered in 1862 when a man chased his dog into an opening now called The Hall of Giants. People started exploring the cave five years later – after the Civil War ended – and by the 1880s lights were added. The cave was a speakeasy during Prohibition, a popular venue for concerts in the 1950s and 1960s, and it first offered ride-through tours in 1962.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2ne4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R4ne4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeHighlights: Midway through the tour, a short film explores the ecology of the cave.
Don’t miss: You can see names smudged on a wall of a group of 12 women credited with being among the first explorers of the cave.
More information: fantasticcaverns.com
Smallin Civil War CaveSmallin Civil War Cave
Smallin Civil War Cave is the first documented cave in the Ozarks (explorer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft first described it in 1819) and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The cave is about 20 miles southeast of Springfield. Guides will share its history of use by Native Americans, soldiers during the Civil War and eventually locals looking for recreation.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2ve4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R4ve4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeSmallin first opened as a show cave in 1961 though it closed in the 1970s after the owner died. It was privately used and closed to the public for more than three decades until the current owners purchased it in 2009. Tours started in 2010; regular guided tours cover a ½ mile in an hour, following a concrete walkway with handrails and no stairs.
They also offer wild tours that go beyond the trail (must be booked in advance) and at various times will host themed tours with campfire dinners and costumed guides exploring the cave by lantern light.
Highlights: The enormous mouth of this cave – nearly 55 feet high and 100 feet wide – is an impressive start and end to your visit.
Don’t miss: The guide will point out shark teeth, shells and other fossils embedded in the walls.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R35e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R55e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeMore information: smallincave.com
Branson area caves
Marvel Cave
The deepest cave in Missouri is just inside the entrance to Silver Dollar City, Branson’s 1880s theme park. This hole in the ground is the reason the park exists and is a National Natural Landmark.
The cave first opened to tours in 1894. By the 1950s, automobile travel brought large crowds. Marvel Cave was so popular the owners of the cave needed something for visitors to do while they waited in line to tour the cave.
A few buildings to recreate an 1880s mining town popped up and today we have Silver Dollar City. Touring Marvel Cave is included with park admission. Tip: Go on an early tour because the lines get longer throughout the day and space is limited. You can skip the line and reserve a spot for a fee.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R3ce4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R5ce4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeTours last an hour with guides taking you down nearly 600 stairs into the Cathedral Room. The Waterfall Room is the deepest part of the cave at 505 feet below ground. Fortunately a cable train brings you back to the surface at the end of the tour.
Highlights: The Cathedral Room is one of the largest cave entrance rooms at 204 feet high, 225 feet wide and 411 feet long. During a marketing stunt, it held five inflated hot air balloons at once.
Don’t miss: If you’ve done a regular tour here, sign up for the once-daily 90-minute lantern tour. It carries an extra fee and allows you to see additional areas and hear different stories.
More information: silverdollarcity.com/theme-park/attractions/rides/marvel-cave
Talking Rocks Cavern
Talking Rocks Cavern in Branson West was first discovered when two hunters saw a rabbit run into a small opening. The cave is vertical rather than long – you enter by making a vertical descent of more than 500 steps. Because of this landscape, the cave is known for tall formations including 70-foot columns (where stalactites and stalagmites meet).
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R3je4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R5je4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeTours started in the 1920s. Today’s hour-long tours follow a concrete path and go about 100 feet underground. There are stairs to traverse, with handrails.
Highlights: Rockhounds will love the rocks, fossils and minerals from across the globe on display in the gift shop.
Don’t miss: Additional on-site attractions free to guests include nature trails, a lookout tower, crawl mazes and a kids play area. They also have a large rock and gift shop, gemstone mining and miniature golf for a fee.
More information: talkingrockscavern.com
Bridal CaveOther caves of Missouri
If you’re making the drive from Wichita to Springfield, a short detour will take you to Bluff Dwellers Cave (bluffdwellerscave.com) in Noel, in the far southwest corner of the state not far from the Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas borders.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R3re4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R5re4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeThere is another cluster of caves in the Lake of the Ozarks region, less than two hours from Springfield and in central Missouri. Among them: Stark Caverns, Jacob’s Cave, Ozark Caverns and Bridal Cave, where more than 4,000 couples have married. Besides a Bridal Chapel featuring a pipe organ formation, Bridal Cave (bridalcave.com) is known for Mystery Lake, an 18-foot deep clear lake that formed after nearby Bagnell Dam was built.
The cave at Top of the Rock Lost Canyon and Nature Trail might not qualify as a true cave to serious explorers but it could be a good introduction if you’re traveling with small children experiencing a cave for the first time or adults who have anxiety about going underground. It’s a cave that’s been developed to allow visitors to drive golf cars through it as part of a self-guided drive that stretches 2.5 miles inside and outside the cave. There’s a Bat Bar inside the cave selling refreshments.
