Kids and Family Cave Tour

Kids and Family tour testing the temperature of the River Styx at the cave entrance with Ranger Neil

NPS/Rob Parenti

This is a family-friendly, kid-centered, ranger-led tour. Visitors can expect energetic youngsters and age appropriate content. Tour is 90 minutes and limited to 12 people. Available in the summer. Tickets are available first come first serve, but Reservations are recommended. Go to Plan Your Visit for dates and times offered.

Children: This tour is intended especially for visitors with children 13 years of age and younger who meet the 42 inch height requirement. (Children must be accompanied by family member 16 years or older.) The cave route is not safe for small children. Children cannot be carried through the cave.

Physical Considerations: Please be aware that the cave tour is physically demanding. It requires the ability to walk and stoop through narrow, twisting passages, including an 88-foot (27m) passageway with ceilings as low as 45 inches (114 cm), and the ability to ascend and descend over 500 steps, many of them steep, uneven and/or without handrails.

To ensure the safety of the entire group, all visitors are asked to demonstrate the physical ability to navigate the cave tour route. During the introduction, the guide will ask visitors to crouch down to approximately 45 inches (114 cm) and take several steps. If a visitor is unable to do so, they will be invited to visit Watson’s Grotto, the first room of the cave, but may need to exit at that point. (Watson’s Grotto is 75 feet [23 m] from the entrance and requires stooping as low as 51 inches [130 cm]).

This tour is moderately strenuous and not recommended if you have a heart condition, breathing issues, poor balance, trouble walking, issues climbing stairs, or have back, knee, hip, ankle, or foot problems.

To protect the resource, visitors are asked not to touch the cave walls or features along the tour route. An exhibit in the visitor center does provide an opportunity to tacitly experience the cave.

What to Bring: Warm clothing; the cave is 44 degrees Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius).
Good walking shoes – do not wear open-toed shoes, flip-flops, or sandals.

What not to Bring: No flashlights, backpacks, large purses, walking sticks or tripods.

Protect our Bats: Do not wear or bring clothes, shoes or other items used in a cave, mine, or other bat habitat. Spores carried on personal items spread white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease that kills bats.