Top 7 things to do in Wind Cave National Park

Wind Cave National Park, in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota, protects two worlds stacked one on the other. Underground is one of the longest caves on Earth, a three-dimensional maze of more than 160 miles (260 km) of mapped passages under a small patch of ground, decorated with boxwork, thin fins of calcite in a honeycomb pattern that is found in very few other caves. On the surface is one of the last intact stretches of mixed-grass prairie in the country, rolling into ponderosa pine forest, with herds of bison, elk and pronghorn and towns of prairie dogs. These are the seven outings we would put first. The order starts with what the park is known for, then goes by what an outing gives back for the time and effort it takes. Distances are approximate; times are our estimates and do not include stops.

Visitors enter the cave only on ranger-led tours, which fill up in summer: arrive early or book ahead where the park allows. The cave stays at about 54°F (12°C) all year, so bring a light jacket. Above ground, bison are the most dangerous animals in the park: stay at least 25 yards (23 m) from bison and elk, even when they seem calm. Prairie rattlesnakes are common in warm weather, and ticks live in the tall grass. Do not feed or handle prairie dogs, which can carry plague.

1. Take the Natural Entrance Tour

The cave is named for the small hole in the hillside where air rushes in or out as the weather outside changes, strong enough, the story goes, to blow the hat off the Bingham brothers who found it in 1881. The Natural Entrance Tour starts there, then follows the passages down a long series of steps through some of the cave’s finest boxwork, before an elevator brings you back up. It is the best single tour for a first visit.

• Distance: about 0.6 miles (1 km), with some 300 steps, mostly down
• Allow: 1.25 hours
• Start: Wind Cave Visitor Center, off US 385 north of Hot Springs
• When: all year; most often in summer
• Suits: most walkers who can manage stairs

2. Go deeper on a longer or wilder tour

The park runs several other tours, each showing a different part of the cave. The Garden of Eden Tour is the shortest and easiest, with boxwork, popcorn and flowstone. The Fairgrounds Tour climbs and descends hundreds of steps through larger rooms on two levels. In summer, the Candlelight Tour explores an unlit section by hand-held candle lanterns, and the Wild Cave Tour takes small groups crawling and squeezing through passages off the trails, with helmets and knee pads.

• Allow: 1 hour for Garden of Eden; about 1.5 hours for Fairgrounds; 2 hours for Candlelight; about 4 hours for the Wild Cave Tour
• Start: Wind Cave Visitor Center
• When: Garden of Eden all year; Fairgrounds, Candlelight and Wild Cave mainly in summer
• Suits: everyone for Garden of Eden; age limits apply to the Candlelight and Wild Cave tours

3. Watch bison and prairie dogs on the prairie

Bison were brought back to Wind Cave in 1913, from the herd at the Bronx Zoo in New York, and the park’s herd is now one of the few in the country free of cattle genes. The two highways through the park cross open prairie where bison often graze close to the road, with prairie dog towns full of chirping lookouts beside them. In September and early October, elk bugle in the meadows at dawn and dusk. Drive slowly, use the pullouts, and watch from your car.

• Allow: 1 to 2 hours
• Start: US 385 and SD 87, which cross the park north of the visitor center
• When: all year; early morning and evening for wildlife
• Suits: everyone

4. Climb Rankin Ridge

The park’s highest point, at 5,013 feet (1,528 m), is on a pine-covered ridge in the north of the park. A short loop trail circles the ridge top past a fire lookout tower built in 1956, with views over the whole park: the prairie, the forested hills and the granite peaks of the central Black Hills to the north.

• Distance: 1 mile (1.6 km) loop
• Allow: 45 minutes
• Start: Rankin Ridge trailhead, at the end of a short road off SD 87
• When: all year, when the road is clear
• Suits: most walkers

5. Walk the Lookout Point loop

This loop is the best walk on the prairie. It follows the Centennial Trail across grassland and through prairie dog towns to Lookout Point, a low rise with a view over the rolling hills, and then returns along Beaver Creek. Bison often graze along the route, so keep your distance and be ready to detour around them. In June the grass is green and full of wildflowers.

• Distance: about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) loop
• Allow: 2.5 hours
• Start: Centennial trailhead, on SD 87 north of the junction with US 385
• When: May to October
• Suits: steady walkers

6. Look for birds in Wind Cave Canyon

This easy trail follows an old road down a limestone canyon east of the visitor center, between cliffs where swallows, great horned owls and other birds nest. The trees along the stream draw songbirds, and the canyon is the park’s best walk for birdwatchers, especially early on a spring morning. It ends at a fence at the park boundary.

• Distance: about 3.6 miles (5.8 km) round trip
• Allow: 2 hours
• Start: Wind Cave Canyon trailhead, on US 385 just north of the visitor center turnoff
• When: all year; April to June for birds
• Suits: everyone; the trail is nearly level

7. Start the Centennial Trail

Wind Cave is the southern end of the Centennial Trail, which runs north the length of the Black Hills for more than 110 miles (177 km) to Bear Butte. Its first miles cross the park’s prairie and pine forest, and a day hike on it gives a taste of both. Backpackers with a free permit can camp in the park’s backcountry, in the northwest part of the park, and walk on for days.

• Distance: as far as you like; about 6 miles (10 km) through the park
• Allow: half a day for a section in the park
• Start: Centennial trailhead, on SD 87
• When: May to October
• Suits: steady walkers; experienced backpackers for the long trail

Before you go

This list covers what stays the same from year to year. Closures, cave tour schedules and wildlife warnings change, and the National Park Service posts them on its own site. The link is on our Wind Cave National Park guide, with the map and how to get there.