Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota is home to the world’s largest collection of box work found in any cave. While this unique formation is found in other caves, such as nearby Jewel Cave, Wind Cave is the best place to see it. But a visit here can go beyond the cave. Above ground, you’ll find a handful of hikes and some opportunities to see some wildlife.
While you may find less to do than at other national parks, there’s still plenty of things to do at Wind Cave National Park.
Things to Do at Wind Cave National Park
There’s really two great things to do at Wind Cave National Park. The first is to venture into the cave, which must be done with a guided tour. The second is to get out and hike.
Tour the Cave
Obviously the best thing you can do at Wind Cave National Park is visit the interior of the cave. To do so, you’ll need to book a ranger led tour. There are a handful of options to choose from, so it’s worth looking at each option to make sure that you choose the right tour for you. There are no self guided options at Wind Cave.
Tours can be booked online in advance through National Park Service’s reservation system. In fact, I recommend that you book your tour in advance. I was talking to a friend who figured he could just buy a ticket the day of but all the tickets were sold out.
Accessibility Tour
For those with limited mobility, this is the tour you should look at. The cave is full of stairs so you’ll be limited by what parts of the cave you can see. However, you will still see examples of Wind Cave’s famous box work up close.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stairs: 0
Effort: Easy
Cost: $7
Candlelight Tour
For a different experience, consider this summer only tour where you’ll be led through the cave by candlelight. This is the same way early explorers saw it. While I haven’t done this tour, I took a lantern tour at Mammoth Cave and the difference between a candle/lantern tour and a tour where all of the artificial lights are turned on is astounding!
Duration: 2 hours
Stairs: 424
Effort: Difficult
Cost: $17
Fairgrounds Tour
This tour leads you through the upper and middle sections of the cave where you’ll see the boxwork, popcorn, and frostwork.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stairs: 450
Effort: Difficult
Cost: $17
Garden of Eden Tour
For an easier tour that still takes you past box work, this tour is ideal for people with limited time.
Duration: 1 hour
Stairs: 150
Effort: Moderate
Cost: $17
Natural Entrance Tour
This is one of the most popular tours at Wind Cave. You’ll see the largest cave opening and many examples of box work and cave popcorn.
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
Stairs: 300
Effort: Moderate
Cost: $17
Wild Cave Tour
For the most adventurous tour, look at the Wild Cave Tour. You’ll get off the beaten track and really explore some areas of the cave. Helmets, knee pads, and other safety gear are provided, so you know you’ll be on quite the adventure.
Duration: 4 hours
Effort: Difficult
Cost: $46
My Recommendation and Experience
I had booked the Natural Entrance Tour as I had read it was the best thing to do at Wind Cave National Park. All was looking good, but about a month before my trip, I got an email stating that the elevator was down for repairs and all tours were suspended. They wouldn’t reopen until weeks AFTER my visit. What a bummer!
So if you have the opportunity, I hope you take advantage of one of the tours offered here. Without a doubt, it’s one of the best things you can do at Wind Cave National Park. The hiking is nice, but venturing in the cave would be awesome.
Hike a Trail
I had rotten luck on my visit to South Dakota. The elevators at Wind Cave were down for repairs for the entire month surrounding my visit. There was no way for any visitors to access the caves. But that didn’t stop my mom and me from visiting.
On the surface, there’s a handful of hiking trails. Even if you can tour the cave, it’s worth checking out some of the hiking. The hikes make great things to do at Wind Cave National Park.
Rankin Ridge Trail
This short one mile trail is a loop that leads you up to a fire tower. While you can’t climb the actual fire tower, you do get some beautiful views of the surrounding Black Hills. If you only do one hike at Wind Cave National Park, make it this one.
I logged 1.0 miles and 243 feet of elevation over 30 minutes. The 30 minutes included plenty of time to stop for pictures.
Cold Brook Canyon Trail
For a slightly longer trail, you can check out the Cold Brook Canyon Trail. This was a trail my mom and I had planned to hike, but we were losing steam late in the day. Instead of hiking this trail, we stopped and did part of the Lookout Point/Centennial Loop Trail instead.
The Cold Brook Canyon Trail is an out and back trail that is 2.8 miles long and has 200 feet of elevation gain. While the views at Rankin Ridge are supposedly nicer, this can also be a good hike to add to your list.
Lookout Point/Centennial Loop Trail
Another, even longer trail you can check out is the Lookout Point/Centennial Lop Trail. This loop is about 4.5 miles and takes you up to the sweeping prairies with nice views all around.
If you’re also touring Wind Cave and doing some other hikes, 4.5 miles may be a bit much, so don’t feel you need to do the entire loop.
My mom and I just walked two miles of this trail (one mile out and one mile back). From the parking lot, we turned right and headed south on the loop. We walked passed a bubbling brook before hiking up a hill and through what can only be described as prairie dog country. We continued out to an open prairie until we hit the one mile mark and decided to turn around.
For a two mile round trip hike, this was an unexpected delight and one of our favorite things to do at Wind Cave National Park.
On our two mile hike, I logged 233 feet of elevation over 53 minutes (which included stops for pictures and to watch the prairie dogs).
How Long Do You Need at Wind Cave National Park
You only need one day to see the highlights of Wind Cave National Park. With that time, you can tour a cave and take your pick of some of the above ground hikes.
On my trip to South Dakota, we combined Wind Cave with a trip to nearby Jewel Cave. Although I didn’t get to tour inside of Wind Cave, that was our original plan. Our plan looked like:
9:00 – Tour at Wind Cave
10:30 – Drive to trailhead and Hike Rankin Ridge Trail
11:30 – Picnic Lunch
12:30 – Drive to Jewel Cave
1:30 – Arrive at Jewel Cave
2:00 – Tour at Jewel Cave
3:20 – Depart Jewel Cave and drive back to Keystone
While a busy day, I still think this would be a doable day.
Nearby Wind Cave National Park
Wind Cave isn’t the only cave in the area, but it does get a lot of attention for its national park status. Jewel Cave is just a short 40 minute drive away. Despite the close proximity, the caves are very different and each worth a visit.
Additionally, you’re in the Black Hills, so there’s much more to do. Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse National Monuments are also nearby. And don’t overlook state parks. Nearby Custer State Park is a true gem.
Where to Stay
Keystone, SD makes a great base for exploring the Black Hills, including Wind Cave. This small town has several hotels and plenty of restaurants. However, it should be noted that it has a very strong “tourist town” feel.
Slightly further away is Rapid City, which has more options, but adds an additional 30 minutes of driving each way.
Final Thoughts
Even though I didn’t get a chance to tour the interior of the cave (stupid elevator), I still enjoyed my visit to Wind Cave National Park. One day I’d like to get back to see the cave, but I’d consider returning for some of the other trails above ground. Don’t overlook those. There’s plenty of interesting things to do at Wind Cave National Park.
Continue Your Adventure
More in South Dakota: Consider visiting South Dakota’s other national park at Badlands National Park. For more caves, visit nearby Jewel Cave National Monument. Plus, Custer State Park is nearby and a fantastic place to explore. And for an itinerary linking everything together, try my 5 Days in South Dakota Itinerary.
More Caves: In Kentucky, visit Mammoth Cave National Park to see the largest cave system in the world. In New Mexico, visit the deepest cave in the United States at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. And don’t just pay attention to the national parks, Maquoketa Caves State Park in Iowa is a fun visit too.