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Jewel Cave
Old Jewel Cave sign, 2021, Emmitt Burns, National Park Service.
Associate Pages
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Visitor Statistics
145,332 Visitors
Jewel Cave National Monument
#211 Most Visited National Park Unit
Source: NPS, Rank among 398 National Park Units 2023.
Park Size
1,274 acres (Federal); 1,274 acres (Total)
Park Fee
Free Entrance to Park
Discover Cave Tour - $6 adults (16+), $3 under 16 and seniors, 6 and under Free.
Scenic Tour - $16 adults, $8 Youth; Free 6 and Under.
Lantern Tour (Summer Season Only) - $16 adults, $8 Youth 8-15. Under 8 not allowed. Wild Caving Tour - $45 (Must be 16)
Although there may be some tours available on the day you arrive, many days sell out prior, so it is best to pre-buy through the website and recreation.gov.
Fees subject to change without notice.
Black Hills Weather
Summer - Moderate to hot depending on day and elevation. By September, cold weather starts to come in, and snow can be seen in higher elevations.
For some reason, Jewel Cave is one of the coldest caves out there, a cool 49 degrees. Dress warmly.
Transportation
Several tour companies in the area provide buses to not only Jewel Cave, Mount Rushmore, and other Black Hills sites. Check with the Visitor Bureaus of the area for suggestions.
Photo above: Several of the early Jewel Cave cavers who mapped out sixty-five miles of the cave, including husband and wife team Herb and Jan Conn, left, and Dwight Deal, far right, between 1959 and 1981. Courtesy National Park Service. Right: Interior photo of Jewel Cave with Scenic Tour group, 2024. Courtesy America's Best History.
Jewel Cave National Monument
What was long ago, okay 1900, stumbled upon by two prospecting brothers, Frank and Albert Michaud, who blew open the Historic Entrance with dynamite and expected to find gold, was rather quickly turned into a tourist attraction. Problem was, it's pretty far from anywhere, so the various schemes; bars, hotels, casinos by the brothers failed. They couldn't even get the government to make it a game preserve. However, the government did something else, they made it the first National Monument devoted to a cavern on February 7, 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt. Today what you'll witness is an amazing labrynth with hundreds of winding paths, most inecessible to the public, but four great tours for you to follow. Some meant for the quick take, others for a scenic tour an hour and one half long with seven hundred and thirty-five steps, and a shorter, more winding and ducking tour with lanterns through the historic, and original, two mile cave. We won't even try to explain the crawling on the belly tour, but for those that like to crawl, have at it. The rangers are great. You'll probably want to take them all, or you'll like to take a hike on the above ground trails and see if you can spot Big Horn Sheep, Prong Horn Antelope, or Bison.
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Jewel Cave Then
Although the native Lakota, Dakota, or Nakota may have known of the cave system prior to the Michaud's, the hole was so small where the wind blew out prior to their dynamite blow, it's possible they did not, or had less affinity to it than Wind Cave. So the Michaud's made their claim and tried for fame with those various schemes, finding about a mile, later two, miles of the cave from the Historic Entrance. This was where all tours started and ended for over sixty years. In the 1950's, Dwight Deal, a caver, introduced the subterranean world to rock climbers Herb and Jan Conn. From 1959 until 1981, they and their friends made seven hundred and eight day and overnight tours into the cave, found those famous large rooms, and mapped out sixty-five miles of cave. With the big rooms found, the National Park Service dug an elevator into one of them, and built the current Visitor Center above it. That is where both the Discover and Scenic Tours descend three hundred feet.
Photo above: Past tour group with Park Ranger outside Historic Entrance to the cave, now site of the two mile Lantern Tour. Below: Another view of the interior of the cave, 2024. Courtesy America's Best History.
Jewel Cave Now
While Jewel Cave has become the lesser visited Black Hills cavern to Wind Cave, they represent different experiences. Jewel Cave has now found more than two hundred miles of passageway and developed four ways for the public to enjoy them. Cavers, ... where did the word spelunkers go, are still going on missions below earth to look for more. It is possible there is up to four hundred more miles to find. It is currently the fifth longest cave in the world and second longest in the USA to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.
The Historic Entrance is still there, as well as the Civilian Conservation Corp, CCC, Ranger Station that was used as the Visitor Center prior to the new. That area, known as the Historic Area, has a parking area for a longer 3.5 mile trail that takes you to both Visitor Centers as well as other areas of the park, but we just liked walking past the old ticket booth and 1930's Ranger Station to the historic entrance even though we were taking the Scenic Tour. Yes, there was wind blowing out of it.
Minute Walk in History
Take a walk through part of Jewel Cave with Ranger Joe as he explores one of the longest caves in the world. Through an elevator beneath the visitor center, you get a perspective of what the original founders, Albert and Joe Michaud, discovered the first mile, thinking it was a gold mine, then Herb and Jan Conn and friends found much of the rest that can be toured.
T-Shirts and Souvenirs
Bedazzle yourself with this design on Jewel Cave National Monument T-Shirts and Souvenirs. Great for cavers or Black Hills fans.
Jewel Cave National Monument
Things You Should Not Miss
1. For those that are capable, take either the Scenic and historic Lantern Tour. Both are about an hour and one half; the paths for the Scenic Tour are paved, but there are those seven hundred and thirty-five steps. The Lantern tour has plenty of steps and is more rugged due to unpaved pathways and more ducking. It is two miles long today, only one mile back with the Michaud's.
2. Watch the film in the small theater to the left of the Visitor Center entrance. It will give you a good understanding of just how this cave was found, as well as what type of draperies, and calcium carbonate created flowers, calcite crystals, and frostwork abound. Perhaps less typical stalacmites and stalagtites than in some caves, but some unique formations seen nowhere else.
3. Three trails are available above ground. One, the Roof Trail, is located starting at the Visitor Center, and only one quarter mile. It's a good time killer for those waiting for their cave tour time. The 3.5 mile Canyons Trail is more for those that are there to hike. The third, per us, not the Park Service, is the exploration of the Historic Area and the old, but still used, original entrance. Take care wherever you walk and bring lots of water. FYI, the bats only use the original entrance. FYI, the wind you feel there proves that it, as well as Wind Cave, are breathing caves.
Visitor FAQ
What's There Now
Jewel Cave Visitor Center - Located down steps from the Ticket Booth and parking lot, it's hard to see if you park far back, and because the lot is narrow, you might have to. There are exhibits, a small book and souvenir shop, and the place you will gather for the Discover or Scenic tours. Visitor information also available. The bathrooms are outside across from the Theater.
Two park suggested trails; 0.25 mile Roof Trail, and 3.5 mile Canyons Trail.
Plenty of picnic tables in the parking lot area, but no food to buy, so bring your own. There are also some tables in the Historic Area.
Photo above: Exhibit inside the Visitor Center of Jewel Cave National Monument, 2024. Courtesy America's Best History.
Lodging, Camping, Wildlife
The area of the Black Hills had many motels, hotels, cabins, and campsites to spend the night in and around towns like Keystone and Custer, the closest to Jewel Cave. If you are an outside family, the Black Hills National Forest, which surrounds most of the attractions has defined campgrounds all over the place. Less, but still many, are located in Custer State Park. There are no campsites at Jewel Cave.
It you like to camp a little more glampy, there's are typical KOA with its high prices, or many private campgrounds with more amenities around almost every winding turn.
Photo above: Big Horn Sheep along the side of the road near the entrance to the Jewel Cave Visitor Center, 2024. Courtesy America's Best History.
The Founders
Yes, Frank and Albert Michaud found the cave, at least European settler site, in 1900, but they don't get a lot of credit for creating the tourism side. That could be because there was very little new exploration done, even after it was made a National Monument in 1908 and taken over by the National Park Service in 1933. They started their tours at the old entrance in 1939. At that time, only two miles of the cave were known.
It is because Herb and Jan Conn took those two miles and multiplied it by thirty that their work gets more credit. That's a whole lot of spelunking on your hands and knees and rock climbing. When they retired from active cave discovery in 1981, others took over, expanding the known areas to two hundred and twenty miles, per 2024. Herb had been an electrical engineer for the Navy during World War II and the couple lived on the East Coast until his discharge from the Service. That is when they began to climb the rocks of the United States far from Washington, D.C. and eventually became cavers at Jewel Cave after purchasing twenty acres near Custer, South Dakota. And yes, they do have a tie to Mount Rushmore, Herb did maintenance work on the statue.
Photo above: Another part of the amazing stalacmites, stalagtites, crystals, and more at Jewel Cave National Monument, 2024. Courtesy America's Best History.
