 Wind Cave National Park offers a wide variety of tours to satisfy the curiosity of almost anyone. Whether you want to take an easy stroll through a cave environment, or put on your headlamp and explore, the National Park Service has a variety of programs for the public to enjoy.
The Garden of Eden Tour is the most basic at Wind Cave. Lasting about one hour, this 1/4 mile tour goes through the upper level of the cave. You enter and exit through an elevator and you will take about 150 stairs. during this tour you will get an excellent opportunity to see cave popcorn, frostwork, and box work. The Natural Entrance Tour starts at surface and exits through an elevator. Although there are 300 stairs, most of is down. This tour is one of the best opportunities to see box work in the world. The tour lasts about 1-1/4 hours and takes you through about 1/2 mile of passageways.
The Fairgrounds Tour take you into some larger rooms of the cave. An even wider variety of cave features can be experienced on this tour, as well as the ever present box work formations that are found here. This 1/2 mile tour lasts about 1-1/2 hours and includes climbing about 450 stairs. Practically anyone can enjoy any of these three tours.
A two hour Candlelight Tour is also offered. The Candlelight Tour offers a historic perspective while carry a candle powered bucket lantern on your tour. The section explored is unlit and unimproved, offering a truly unique adventure. However the tour is strenuous, and will require you to bend, flex, and contort to an extent over this rugged trail. You should be prepared to get dirty! Unlike the tours on the improved trails, reservations can be made for the Candlelight Tour up to a month in advance and are strongly recommended. If you have a problem with claustrophobia, or are of a sizeable girth, you should talk to a ranger at the park before going on the tour.
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