Jewel Cave is the fifth longest cave in the world and second longest in the United States! It was discovered by prospectors Frank and Albert Michaud in 1900. They discover the cave after feeling air blowing from a small hole in the canyon. They enlarged the hole with dynamite and discovered it was lined with calcite crystals, which led to them naming it Jewel Cave. Unfortunately for the Michaud brothers there were no valuable minerals in Jewel Cave to mine, so they did their best to turn it into a tourist destination by widening the entrance and building staircases. The remote location of the cave made tourism difficult, and the brothers eventually let their mining claim revert to the forest service.

When President Theodore Roosevelt heard about the largely unexplored cave in South Dakota, he proclaimed it a national monument in 1908. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps built several improvements at the monument. The National Park Service provided its first tours of the cave in 1939.

By 1959, only two miles of the cave had been explored, but that’s when local rock climbers Herb and Jan Conn began mapping the cave. By 1979, the Conns mapped over 64 miles of Jewel Cave. Based on scientific calculations of airflow, it is believed the cave extends for about 440 miles.

Jewel Cave Tours

The National Park Service offers four different tours:

• Scenic Tour – the most popular tour offered takes about one hour and 20 minutes. A ranger leads visitors around a half mile loop that includes 734 stairs. It features all the different types of calcite crystals found in Jewel Cave as well as many other well known cave formations.
• Discovery Tour – this express tour lasts only 20 minutes, but allows visitor to see dog tooth spar and calcite crystals in the Target room.
• Lantern Tour – this tour allows visitors to step back in time as they are lead by a ranger in a 1930s style uniform through the cave by lantern light. It is a more exclusive tour limited to 15 guests, and also more rugged with over 500 stairs.
• Wild Cave Tour – this extremely strenuous tour is only for the bravest park guests. If any of you take it, let us know how it goes!

Tickets can be purchased in advance on Recreation.gov, or at the box office outside the visitors center.

The Scenic Tour

Our Jewel Cave Scenic Tour was the best cave tour we’ve ever been on. Ranger Ben led our group. He was knowledgeable and friendly, and told the right amount of jokes to keep the experience fun. The tour begins with a descent down the elevators and into the Target Room. After a set of instructions and introductions, it was off to explore the passage ways of the cave.

While 734 stairs seems daunting, we really didn’t notice much physical strain. The paths are well lit and often feature aluminum boardwalks that are not difficult to traverse. We’d highly recommend taking Ranger Ben’s tour if you get the chance.

Touring Jewel Cave with an Infant

Our brand new baby girl joined us for the Scenic Tour. Visitors are allowed to carry infants in a front carrier on the Scenic Tour or the Discovery Tour. The Discovery Tour also allows guest to use strollers. Our baby did great on the tour. She enjoyed a nice nap in her carrier thanks to Jewel Cave’s peaceful darkness.

Discovery Tour

While we were on the Scenic Tour, our daughter’s grandparents took a Discovery Tour. With limited mobility, the tour was right for them. They learned about the history and geology of the cave and saw the famous dog tooth spar formation without the need to climb stairs or ladders.

Visiting nearby Badlands National Park? Check out our Badlands blog post!

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