Caves in South Dakota

Jewel Cave National Monument

Jewel Cave is the world's second longest cave located at about 13 milesaway from the west of the town of Custer(South Dakota) Black Hills. This cave is about 233km of mapped passageways. This cave is lined with calcite crystals and hence its name is 'Jewel Cave' and it became a national monument on February 7, 1908 by Presidential Proclamation. Frank and Albert Michaud discovered the cave in 1900 when they felt that cold air is blowing through a small hole in a canyon. The entrance of the cave is then made wide by using dynamites.

You can also go for hiking on Buckhorn Mountain and the Sunday Gulch Trail which are clearly visible from JCNM. Here you can also see various popular folks from far and near of great wilderness areas. You have to make a two days tour at jewel cave national monument and can camp at Custer Mountain Cabins. There are also other various other entertainments for the individual and the family in the Black Hills. You can visit Rocky Knolls Golf Course, State Game Lodge, Sidney Creek,

Weather:
The weather here in summers is very high during days and cold in nights. During winter the temperature here is very low upto 0's. This place is usually a dehydrated spot and is wettest month with most rain in June and driest month near January.

Contacts:
You can call at 605-673-2288 and fax at 605-673-3294. You can also email at JECA_Interpretation at nps.gov

Visiting Hours:
In summers: 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily and in winters: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. the timings may vary during winters depending upon the weather conditions.How to reach:
The nearest airport to Jewel Cave National Monument is 54 miles away in Rapid City(South Dakota). You can also hire cars for the main Visitor Center and cave entrance which is 13miles west of Custer(SD) on RT 16, 24 miles east of Newcastle(Wyoming) on RT 16 and 54 miles from Rapid City(South Dakota) via RT 16 & 16 -385.


Fees for various tours:

LANTERN TOUR:
This lantern tour is like an 1930's adventures style like carrying candle lanterns to enter the cave through historic entrance and to view the cave from an unpaved trail of about half mile tour route incuding steep, narrow wooden steps, and requires bending and stooping. The whole route takes 1-3/4 hours to finish. The visitors must be atleast 6yrs of age. The fees for adults is $8.00 and for children for 6-16 yrs of age is $4.00. The tour starting time is the beginning of June through labot day. The tickets will be availablr at the Visitor Center and abt 30 mins in advance.


SCENIC TOUR:
In the Scenic tour you visit chambers fully decorated with calcite crystals and speleothems. This tour starts and ends at visitor centre through elevators and lasts for about 1hr and 20mins. The fees for adultes is $8.00 and $4.00 for children from 6-16yrs of age. The tickets can be collected at the visitor center.


SPELUNKING TOUR:

This tour is preferably for those visitors who want to visit the cave in its natural state. The visitors scramble over cave, chimney between cave walls, climbing semi-vertical rocks, belly crawl through narrow passages. The route is about 2/3 mile of cave and also learn about various caving experiences like low-impact caving, caving techniques, safety, and equipments. This tour takes about 3-4hrs to complete and is extremely strenuous. The visitors must be at least 16 yrs old and must provide over the ankle, lug-soled, lace-up boots, elbow and knee pads, gloves and long pants which are stained with manganese. The fees for this tour is $27.00. and reservations are required by calling at 1-800-967-2283 or online http://reservations.nps.gov at the website.