wyandotte caves

walk alot but FUN. Interesting going under ground and seeing inside those caves. different tours for more adventurous people too

Not to hard for the young ones or the older ones. Lots to see. Good and informative guides. Will return.

I have done both tours at Wyandotte Cave Recreation Area. Dripping water creates formations (stalactites, stalagmites, flow stone, etc.), so the tour of the smaller, "wet" cave—though short—is interesting!However, my preference is for the "Monument Mountain tour" through the larger cave. I have taken this tour at least 8 different times, and I've never gotten tired of seeing it while bringing as many friends and children through on this tour as I can get! The Monument Mountain tour is so named because one of the chambers in this cave is so huge, a full-sized football field could fit in the chamber with lots of room left over! Not only is this room wide and long, it is also high--about 150' high! And in this huge room, there is a gigantic pile of "breakdown" that—while not quite a "mountain"—is about 138' tall! Now, that's TALL for ANY cave!Additionally, the Mountain Monument tour passes through a section of cave that contains some really weird formations called helictites. Scientists still don't have any idea how helictites—in complete defiance of gravity—are formed from dripping water (water drips "down," yes?) and yet each one of them grows left, right, down, and even UP! Yes, UP! According to the encyclopedias, Wyandotte has one of the best collections of helictites in the WORLD! Wow! You'll also find out how a cave can give cows diarrhea, why crime doesn't pay for either onion monopolists or for counterfeiters, what "odd" group of people used to hold secret meetings in the cave, and why the native Americans considered the cave to be such a vitally important place militarily, for worship, for food storage, and—of course—shelter! You might find out why people who used to own the cave found it was bad for their finances!Oh! And be sure to find out about the twilight zone (and about the ghost who lives deep in the cave)!Since the tour lasts about 90 minutes, I strongly recommend wearing a jacket and maybe long pants since the cave is a steady 53-degree temperature even on hot, summer days! Wear well-fitting shoes, not flip-flops or other "loose" footwear. Sandals are probably OK as far as footwear is concerned, but your feet might get cold.A 90-minute tour might be "hard" on little people's bladders, so you might not want them to "drink their fill" just before the tour. SOME liquid, of course, would be helpful; but not too much, OK? There are NO washrooms inside the cave. Even adults should be sure to stop at the washrooms at the cave center before beginning the tour.Eating is not allowed in the cave, so please leave the snacks, gum, cans, etc. in the car. (Don't sneak stuff! It really is hard on the cave! Believe me!) There is plenty of space to eat outside of the cave, however! You might want to eat a little something before beginning the tour so you'll have some "pep" on the tour.Tall people—maybe 6'2 and up—will need to watch their heads in 2 or 3 places. Everyone gets to sit down for awhile on a set of bleachers at the base of the Monument Mountain, so there is a chance to rest for a few minutes.A few last thoughts—Wyandotte Cave is lit with standard, "white" lighting, which is great! I can't stand the other caves in the area that use green, red, blue, yellow, and all the other "phony" colors that make their caves look silly and like tourist-trap sort of places. Wyandotte has tried to preserve the natural appearance of the cave as best as possible! Kudos for Wyandotte! You've got to see it! Please?Wyandotte Cave is completely surrounded by O'Bannon State Recreation Area (SRA)—which is a jewel, itself! AND—O'Bannon SRA is surrounded by the Harrison-Crawford State Forest, which connects with the Hoosier National Forest! The whole area is wonderful!In full disclosure, I last visited Wyandotte in about 2004, but the dates from which I could choose on this review form did not go back that far.

We visited the Wyandotte Caves during Memorial Day weekend of 2008. The Wyandotte Caves are located in Wyandotte State Park but the caves are not run by the state anymore. The tours have been farmed out to a private concessionaire that also runs the Marengo Cave in Marengo, Indiana (about thirty minutes north).They offer two cave tours in two separate caves. The first is called Flowstone Falls and lasts thirty minutes. The second is called Monument Mountain and lasts ninety minutes. You can buy a combination ticket and see both ($22.50) or just buy one ticket for the cave you want to see. The flowstone falls tour is $12 and the Monument Mountain tour is $16. The Flowstone Falls tours a wet cave, which contains many interesting cave formations and pools of water. The Monument Mountain tours a dry cave, which does not have many formations and has large size rooms and passages. We did not go on the Monument Mountain tour.We found the Flowstone Falls cave interesting but weren't sure the short tour was worth the amount of money charged. The group size was also large (21 people), which made it hard to hear the guide. There are many other caves to see in the area (Squire Boone, Marengo) and if you are preseed for time or money, you may want to check these out instead. The cost of these tours is the same and you will be on a longer tour and see a lot more interesting formations.If you do go to Wyandotte Caves, make sure you take the scenic route (IN-62) through the park and see the scenic overlook of the Ohio River (located near the town of Leavenworth).