Caves you can visit

Managed by the White River National Forest, Fulford Cave has been visited by the public since 1890.

The cave is complex with multiple levels, so route-finding can be challenging. There are pits and slippery surfaces within the cave, so caution is warranted.

The cave includes a small underground stream and a waterfall that is the destination of most visitors.

The Forest maintains a small public campground at the trailhead to the cave. A Civilian Conservation Corps trail leads to the entrance. A culvert with a ladder provides entry into the cave.

Visitors must request a free online permit to enter this cave. The Forest seasonally closes this cave for bat use.

This White River National Forest cave is located southeast of Buford, along the South Fork of the White River.

The cave has a well-maintained foot trail leading to it from a WRNF campground.

Spring Cave is known for its large underground stream. This stream floods the cave in the spring, with water occasionally flowing from the entrance. Deeper in the system, the stream fills the entire passage, requiring wading and swimming in cold water.

Visitors must request a free online permit to enter this cave. The Forest seasonally closes this cave for bat use. There is an entrance gate that is closed and locked outside of the standard summer visiting season.

Rifle Falls State Park is located along the southern flank of the White River Plateau north of Rifle. The park is primarily known for its large waterfalls, but within the tufa that creates the falls, several interesting small caves can be explored.

Many cave visitors use flashlights and no gear, but those who are properly equipped with caving gear will have a safer and more enjoyable visit.

To the north of Rifle Falls is Rifle Mountain Park, part of the City of Rifle parks system. The park includes several large shelter caves in limestone well worth visiting, particularly in the winter, when massive ice formations can be viewed. No lights or special gear are needed for these shelter caves.

Camping is available at established campgrounds at both parks. Entrance fees apply.

This privately-owned cave in western Glenwood Canyon near Glenwood Springs was originally exhibited as a commercial show cave. From 1886 to 1896, the cave was open for public tours.

Today, little remains of the commercial era. Part of the Defiance Cave Preserve, the cave is open to trips with knowledgeable and experienced trip leaders

Access to the cave is through free application to the preserve manager. You must download, complete and submit a signed visitor liability waiver prior to entry. Cave of the Clouds is gated and locked, and seasonal closures apply during the winter season and in June and July when bats are present.

The 45-acre preserve includes the popular Puoux rock climbing area, with climbs on limestone rated from 5.7 to 5.13d.

Contact the cave manager by email to schedule cave or climbing visits. You will need to download and complete a visitor liability waiver for access. For cave visitors, a key is necessary to open the cave gate. Parking is permitted in a gravel parking area along Interstate Highway 70 west of No Name. No overnight camping, fires, or hunting is allowed on the property. No commercial paid trips of any type are permitted in the cave or on the rocks. There are no restrooms or water on the property.

Located in the Pryor Mountains’ Custer Gallatin National Forest near the Wyoming state line, Big Ice Cave provides an interesting cave experience for visitors.

The cave is open seasonally and is known for the extensive ice found in the cave’s entrance chamber.

A small picnic ground is located near the cave entrance.

The Black Hills Cave and Nature Conservancy owns several caves in the Dahm Spring Cave Preserve west of Rapid City. The 46 acre preserve includes 7 caves, including Dahm Spring Cave, Brooks Cave, and Brooks Jr. Cave.

Qualified cavers are invited to visit the caves or undertake research and other projects, including digging.

Brooks Cave includes a deep pool that has attracted cave divers in the past. Total length of all caves on the property is less than 300 feet, but there is potential for major extensions. Access to both Brooks Cave and Dahm Spring Cave is currently limited.

A former commercial cave, Mammoth Crystal Cave is a National Speleological Society Preserve since 2021. The cave has 3.76 miles of surveyed passage.

Once known as “Old Crystal Cave” and “Bethlehem Cave,” the cave was first opened for public inspection in 1890. In 1952, the cave was donated to Conception Abbey, Order of St. Benedict, of the Catholic Church. The church provided public tours of the cave until 2003.

In 2003, the cave was sold at auction to a family. The Paha Sapa Grotto reached out to the family to establish relations and undertook a complete survey in recent years. It is currently the fourth-longest known cave in the Black Hills.

A Preserve Management Team manages Mammoth Crystal Cave. Access is by permit from the team.

Located in the Ashley National Forest north of Vernal, these two caves have nearly 11 miles of passageway between them. Little Brush is longer, with more than 6 miles of surveyed passage.

Both caves seasonally flood, so care must be taken to not enter during high water conditions or when heavy rain or high snowmelt is expected.

Even during dry conditions, pools of water are found in the caves, requiring wading, or stemming to cross. Limited rope work may be required for some drops. Bad air has occasionally been noted in the caves, owing to organic material that has been washed in during floods.

There are no restrictions in access to these caves.

Review a list of U.S. Forest Service caves in Utah open to public visitation.

Located on Bureau of Land Management land in the Beaver Dam Mountains near St. George, Bloomington Cave is an extensive tectonic cave in limestone.

Passages in the cave are in six levels of this vertical maze. More than a mile of passage has been surveyed.

A free permit from the BLM in St. George is required to visit this cave.

Cave Creek Cave was designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Protection in December 2011. It is located in the remote Shirley Mountains southwest of Casper on Bureau of Land Management land.

The cave is seasonally open for public visitation owing to the presence of a hibernaculum and maternity roost for several bat species.

Visited since the late 19th century, the cave has more than 2,000 feet of surveyed passage, including two large rooms, crawlways, squeezes and fissures. The cave seasonally takes water, and is located in a canyon floor.

Access is through the Bureau of Land Management at the Rawlins Field Office. The cave is gated and locked.

With 8 miles of passage, Great Expectations Cave in the Bighorn Mountains is one of the longer wild caves to visit.

A National Speleological Society preserve, the cave includes Wyoming’s largest known room, the Great Hall, which is more than 2,000 feet long and up to 100 feet in height.

The cave is not a beginner’s cave, requiring expert caving skills. It has 1,400 feet of elevation loss from the upper main entrance to the lower entrance, called the Great Exit. A significant section of cave follows a stream passage, requiring rappels, wading, swimming, and crawling in water. This section is known as the “Grim Crawl of Death” and dangerous to unprepared cavers.

Located at 8,500 feet in elevation, a Preserve Management Team manages access to the 40-acre property and cave. Great Expectations is gated and locked. Access is by permit from the team.

Located along the Wyoming/Montana border near Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Horsethief Cave and adjoining Bighorn Cavern has greater than 15 miles of surveyed passage between the caves.

Bighorn Cavern is managed by the National Park Service in cooperation with the Crow Tribal Nation. This cave is gated and locked. A permit is obtained from the Bighorn Canyon Visitor Center in Lovell. An 80-foot rappel on rope is required at the entrance. You must be proficient in rappeling and ascending, as the drop is vertical and free (not against a wall).

Horsethief Cave is managed by the Bureau of Land Management at the Cody Field Office. Permits for entry are required. This cave is gated and locked.

Horsethief Cave features a long, dusty crawl just beyond the gate called Denise’s Crystal Crawl. Most visitors wear dust masks in traversing this passage.

Both caves include large chambers, well-decorated areas, and plenty of caving. Visiting either or both caves is one of the premiere caving trips in the Rocky Mountain Region.

Note that no camping is permitted adjacent to the entrances. A rough, high-clearance road is traversed to reach the area. In poor weather, this road may be impassable.

Contact the federal agency for the cave of your interest to learn more about access, and to arrange a visit.

Wyoming’s Periodic Spring near Afton is a classic ebb-and-flow spring. Geologists believe the interesting pulse nature of the flow from the spring is owing to a syphon within the cave.

While it is possible to crawl into the cave when the water flow is ceased, it is not advisable. A few body lengths of crawling leads to a short pit of about six feet with a rocky floor. Low rumbling from beyond indicates the next pulse of water is coming and it is time to retreat to the surface. Refill time for the syphon in the autumn is usually between 10 and 15 minutes.

Water in the cave is from rainfall and snow melt three to four miles east, where the Madison Limestone is exposed.

Periodic Spring is reached by a three-quarter mile walk in Bridger-Teton National Forest along an established trail.

Sinks Canyon State Park south of Lander features a major insurgence of the middle fork of the Popo Agie River. Water flows from the “Sinks” to the “Rise” a quarter mile down the canyon. During winter, this cave can be entered safely.

Nearby Boulder Choke Cave is open seasonally for visitor tours, led by a park staff member. This cave has more than 1,500 feet of passage. It features a short drop at its entrance, and multiple passageways to explore. Water from the Popo Agie River is found in some regions of the cave. Trips generally are held from mid-August through early spring, early-to-mid April depending on snow melt.

Boulder Choke Cave is gated and locked. Access is through Sinks Canyon State Park.

Spririt Mountain Caverns is located on Cedar Mountain, west of Cody. The cave was discovered by local hunting guide Ned Frost, and was originally called Frost Cave. It was designated as Shoshone Caverns National Monument in 1909 and administered by the National Park Service. Development funding was not available, however, and access was extremely limited during this period.

In 1953, Congress delisted the monument, allowing the City of Cody to take ownership. The city brought in private management to develop a cave tour route with lights and stairways. The company began tours in 1957. The cave was renamed Spirit Mountain Caverns for commercial tours.

The owner went bankrupt by the mid-1960s, and a second private operator assumed management. Tours were not resumed, however, and the cave reverted to city ownership. The city allowed the Bureau of Land Management to acquire ownership in 1977.

Reaching Spirit Mountain Caverns is by a high clearance road from Cody that ascends the mountain. In some weather conditions, this road may be impassable. From the road, visitors follow the abandoned commercial road and a rough trail to the entrance.

The cave has significant vertical relief below the entrance level. Exposed climbs that some visitors may feel uneasy without handlines provide access to the lower levels. More than 4,000 feet of passage has been surveyed.

Spirit Mountain Caverns is gated and locked. Access is by permit from the Bureau of Land Management in Cody.

Tongue River Cave is managed by the Bighorn National Forest.

Located west of Ranchester, the cave is reached by a foot trail that ascends from the canyon floor.

Permits for entry are required. This cave is gated and locked.

Tongue River Cave has been heavily vandalized by past visitors, who left trash and graffiti. In recent years, Wyoming cavers have been conducting conservation trips to the cave to clean graffiti and remove trash.

This is an extensive cave with more than 6,500 feet of surveyed passage. A lower level of the cave features a stream with a 24-foot waterfall.

Preregistration is required for visitation. This cave is seasonally closed to all visitors.

Contact the Bighorn National Forest to learn more about access, and to arrange a visit.