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1-605-666-4599
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Caving & Spelunking

It's been said that much of the beauty of the Black Hills lies underground. That's an overstatement, but the Black Hills is home to perhaps the largest cave system in the world. This fact has only recently come to light as scientists now believe most of this caves here are interconnected.      As it stands, the two caves managed by the National Park Service -- Wind Cave National Park and Jewell Cave National Monument -- separated by 30 miles on the surface, may in fact be connected.        If you like touring caves, there are eight to choose from. Six (Rushmore, Sitting Bull, Wonderland, Crystal Caverns, Stagebarn and Black Hills Caverns) are operated commercially. Wind and Jewell caves are operated by the National Park Service.        Additionally, there are many other caves known only to spelunkers.        Tours range from short and even handicapped accessible, to complete spelunking packages.       By the way, please don't ask which is the "best" cave. There's no simple answer to that. Certainly the most convenient to Keystone is Rushmore Cave just six miles out of town. This cave is easy to tour without too many steps and has one of the largest "rooms" of any cave.        Our personal favorite is the messy Spelunking Tour at Jewell Cave, but it's wet, cold and grimy -- and takes most of the day. We guess that means it's not for everyone, but it is a real experience.       For more about caves click HERE.  For more about spelunking click HERE.       Links to Cave Pages: Wind Cave Jewell Cave Rushmore Cave Sitting Bull Cave Wonderland Cave Crystal Cave Stagebarn Cave Black Hills Caverns