Introducing Wind Cave National Park
This park, protecting 44 sq miles of grassland and forest sits just south of Custer State Park. The central feature is, of course, the cave, which is known to be 124 miles long and new tunnels are frequently discovered. The cave’s foremost feature is its ‘boxwork’ calcite formations (95% of all that are known exist here), which look like honeycomb and date back 60 to 100 million years. The strong gusts, felt at the entrance, but not inside, give the cave its name. Call the visitor center (605-745-4600; www.nps.gov/wica; 8am-7pm summer, reduced hours rest of year) for details on the variety of tours (adult $7-23, child $3.50-4.50) offered, including spelunking adventures.
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Hiking is a popular activity in the park, where you’ll find the southern end of the 111-mile Centennial Trail . The campground (per site $6-12) rarely fills and backcountry camping (free with permit) is allowed in limited areas.
Last updated: Sep 22, 2008
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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RE: National Parks Road Trip (Badlands, Glacier and Yellowstone)
by MLM192 29 May 2012
The Badlands seems like a very long detour for too short of a stay. I know there are many on the Thorntree who would say skip it, as the…
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RE: Hiking 7 to 10 days - Utah, Oregon or somewhere else?
by SDBH 02 May 2012
You mention...or somewhere else? A great place for hiking is the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota. Fly in/out of Rapid City,…
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RE: 4 Week Road Trip to Northern US
by bzookaj 05 April 2012
>Maryland to around Toledo, OH, stop at Cuyahoga Valley National Park That's a looong day. You're looking at about 8 hours of just driving,…
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