Aside from ocean depths, few places on the planet remain underexplored. Yet travelers tend to overlook one deep category: caves.
My first visit underground was unplanned. When I was 10, my family moved from Louisiana to Idaho. Early in our wintry epic road trip, my brother got sick. We detoured to rest in Carlsbad Caverns, my first national park. I had never seen anything like it. Many years later, my subterranean tours, including Kartchner Caverns in Arizona and Luray Caverns in Virginia, became trip highlights.
In addition to three obvious places—Carlsbad, Wind Cave, and Mammoth Cave—other national parks have caverns. For example, the marble Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park will reopen this summer after four years of closure.
The temperature inside caves is usually stable all year—it’s about the average annual temperature for its location—offering a cool respite in summer. (A cave in Arizona is likely to be warmer than one in Oregon; before you visit a cave, check its website for this information.) Many are open year-round; tours at national and state parks tend to be closed in winter months. Wherever you venture underground, it’s a good idea to buy your tickets in advance. They average $25 to $30 for adults.
These lesser-known parks have scenic caverns, with fewer visitors. Here are several to explore—no spelunking skills required.
Kartchner Caverns State Park
Arizona
These underground wonders by the Whetstone Mountains were only discovered half a century ago and first opened to the public in 1999.
“Look but do not touch” is a standard guideline at caverns. At Kartchner, this warning is strictly enforced. Additionally, visitors cannot take anything on the tour: no water bottles, backpacks, cameras, strollers, or cell phones. You’ll spend an hour underground. (A two-hour photo tour occurs once a month for $125.) These limits help protect the many ancient and fragile formations, including a 21-foot soda straw stalactite and the 58-foot Kubla Khan column. At 70 degrees, this is a warm, humid place.
How to visit
Nearly all of the drive, less than an hour southeast of Tucson, is on Interstate 10.
Alabaster, a typed of gypsum, formed here after an ancient inland sea evaporated.
Courtesy of Alabaster Cavern
Alabaster Caverns State Park
Oklahoma
Alabaster is a white, translucent mineral lighter and softer than marble, formed after an inland sea evaporated. Alabaster Caverns is the nation’s only gypsum show cave. On daily guided tours of 45 minutes, visitors leave behind cell phones, cameras, flashlights, and baby strollers to walk in the dark.
Traverse 330 steps on the way to such distinctive chambers as the “Devil’s Kitchen” and the “Crystal Vault.” Wild caving (spelunking) is allowed with a permit in several undeveloped caves, which are closed October through March to protect hibernating bats.
How to visit
This park, in the Oklahoma panhandle, is midway between Wichita, Kansas, and Oklahoma City—each about 150 miles away, a two-and-a-half-hour drive.
The 4,500-acre Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve was established in 1909, but its caves were formed over millions of years.
Photo by Greg Vaughn/Alamy
Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve
Oregon
This large preserve is free and open year-round. To view its marble halls, buy a ticket for the underground tour. Park rangers lead the way through narrow passages and 500 steps. (Dress for a temperature of 44 degrees.) Available from late spring to early fall, one tour is aimed at families with kids; another is a candlelit exploration. Bonus: As of late 2024, the 4,500-acre area is Oregon’s second International Dark Sky Park.
How to visit
Near the border with California, this remote spot is 20 miles east of the small town of Cave Junction; the narrow, winding road means you’ll need about 45 minutes for that drive.
The caves in Onondaga Cave State Park are a few of the 7,500 recorded caves in Missouri. The clear water contains stone “lily pads.”
Photos by Brandon B/Shutterstock
Onondaga Cave State Park
Missouri
At this locale, which is also a National Natural Landmark, you get a twofer: Onodaga Cave and Cathedral Cave. Tickets are available for tours of either or both. While Cathedral Cave is much larger, it requires at least a half-hour walk to reach it, and its tours, two hours and lit by lanterns, are available only on weekends, from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Daily tours at the more easily accessible Onondaga Cave take 75 minutes.
Onondaga tours, first offered in 1904, are open April through October. Besides speleothems (formations, such as stalagmites), travelers will encounter the Lost River Caverns, a meandering waterway complete with stone lily pads.
How to visit
Drive 85 miles southwest of St. Louis on I-44.
Lost Sea Caverns
Tennessee
Here you can view rare and dramatic anthodite formations, needle-like crystal clusters also known as cave flowers. During the 75-minute guided tour—available daily and year-round—a short, steep walk takes you 140 feet down to the “sea”: the largest underground lake in the USA, discovered by a 13-year-old boy in 1905. The water is cold, clear, and about 70 feet deep. You may even spot rainbow trout while exploring the lake on a small pontoon-like boat. Above ground, this family-friendly spot has a general store and ice cream shop.
How to visit
Lost Sea is midway between Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tennessee, seven miles off I-75.
