Jewel Cave is a must see if you're passing through Custer, SD. It is so amazing and wonderful site to see and experience the creation our planet's gives us. Such a rich historical site in geological formations; will leave you in awe. The cave is so big and such a mystery leaving you with so many questions that go unanswered. The guides give you a good explanation on how things formed and happened in the cave but it still makes you question the answers they give. The planet offers so much beauty and this cave is one of the beauties it offer. Stop by and experience the underground mystery at Jewel cave. read more

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I love caves, and I loved the Scenic Tour I went on! This cave is one of the world's longest caves, with passages still being explored and mapped out to this day. I thought the tour was very well done, and I saw a lot of calcite crystals (and other formations) which gave the cave its name. Be warned though, you have to bundle up for the tour as the inside is 49°F / 9°C year-round, and you must wear closed-toe shoes. The Scenic Tour itself is a guided tour that has over 700 steps and covers 1/2 miles underground. Some of the pathway's ceilings are low, so if you're tall be sure to duck when the ranger tells you. There is lighting all the way so you can see when the low sections are coming. I learned a lot about the cave, its history, and how it's currently being maintained. The steel walkways have catch trays for lint and other stuff that falls off of guests, and when they clean it annually it has around 17 lb of "stuff". They really try to balance cave preservation with accessibility to the public. I highly recommend this tour. read more

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Touring Jewel Cave was definitely one of the cooler parts of my vacation in the Black Hills. I was worried about getting to see the cave because the tickets were sold out online, but upon seeing that they offer some additional tours on a first-come basis, I decided to get to the park early and take my chances. I wasn't the only one with that idea, but was fortunate to get a spot on a tour only about 45 minutes after I arrived, which was just enough time to grab by long sleeve and pants (because of the cave's cool constant temp) and take a look through the visitor center. The Scenic Tour itself was engaging and informative. Our tour guide did a good job of giving us some facts about the cave, its history, and pointing out different formations within and was very personable, chatting with members of the group as we walked between areas. I really enjoyed being able to see some of the details of the formations up close (or at least highlighted by our guide's flashlight) to see the amazing details that have formed over time. There are a number of stairs on the tour, but with the pace of the tour, it didn't feel strenuous. It's wild to me that they've discovered over 200 miles within this cave and there is so much they still don't know, thinking that there may be over 5000 miles total to explore! It makes me want to take other cave tours in the future to see the differences in the rocks. There are also some trails around the area to explore, if you want more than just the cave to look at read more

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We unfortunately missed out on the "scenic tour" which was sold out months in advance, but were able to get on the "discovery tour". We paid online ahead of time and headed over to the monument where we were whisked through the check-in process after ensuring that we were wearing close-toed shoes and didn't have any bags on our persons. It was a toasty day out, so we were looking forward to the cooler temperatures down in the cave. We perused the gift shop while we waited for our tour to begin and then were gathered into a hallway where Tanya greeted us, gave us a little more information about what we were about to see and we headed down the 31 second elevator ride to 240 feet below ground. Tanya took us into the cave pointed out some of her favorite rock formations and the carvings that the acids had eaten out of the cave, as well as gave us some info on the bats that typically live closer to the entrances. It was a speedy 25 minute "tour" where we basically just stood in one cavernous (ha!) room and had time to look around and ask questions. After, we walked across the decontamination area of hydrogen peroxide to help keep the White-Nose syndrome that's spreading around the bat population at bay. Tanya recommended we hike on over to the natural entrance of the cave where we could see the space where the miners who discovered it blasted through to the entrance. There was a chilly breeze coming out of the entrance (which is closed up to prevent people from entering) which we basked in until it was time to head back to our car and our lovely air conditioning. Overall, a very short tour, but still interesting! I'd love to go back and take the longer scenic tour, but definitely will need to book far in advance. read more

Jewel Cave National Monument - Jewel Cave Discovery Tour - Hiking Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

We thoroughly enjoyed the cave tour and all the information associated with the cave. We took the Scenic Tour that lasted about 105 minutes. read more

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First off, I am a HUGE national park, national monument, nature person, so I feel like my review is fair. I honestly would probably skip this and spend more time doing something above ground. The cave was cool, yes, but if you are on a limited time schedule, then I do not recommend allocating time to this stop. This truly breaks my heart to say because I absolutely LOVE caves. Like, if I had free time would love to volunteer to help search for new passages. Literally, LOVE caves, but would 100% not feel about about skipping this one. First off, NOT the reason for the three stars, but as of September week one, they are still masking. I mean, come on. Next, we took the 1.5 hour tour with the over 700 steps, and it was RUSHED. The group was WAY too big for such a long tour and only ONE ranger. So, it's like if you aren't in the first ten people, you're kinda stuck and aimlessly walking. So, overall extremely discouraging. Lastly, this is a "dry" cave. So, if you are looking for stalactites, draping, and stalagmites, this will not be your cup of tea. No photos because, well, you couldn't really stop for photos because you had to keep up with the group. read more

My family and I had a great time visiting the Jewel Cave National Monument. First off, The people at the ticket kiosk were amazingly helpful. Ranger Mason and Ranger Wilson took the time to thoroughly explain the rules to us so we could make the appropriate preparations for our scenic tour. They were incredibly busy but had the most amazing customer service despite that. Secondly, the tour guide Ranger Millie did an incredible job teaching us all about the cave itself. Lastly, the gift shop was super cute and the workers were pleasant and fun. read more

A great cave for first-timers or people who have visited many caves. The beauty of this cave rivals Carlsbad or Mammoth, even though Jewel Cave is much less well known. We did the Scenic Tour and our guide, Amy, was great. She explained about the history of the cave's formation and the early explorers. The cave is still being explored and new passages are constantly being discovered. As of our visit approximately 215 miles of passages are known and Amy stated that only about 5% of the cave has been discovered. The cave is an easy 15-minute drive west of the town of Custer. The biggest variety of tours are only offered in the high-high season (June through Labor Day). We went in mid-September and it was still crowded. The limited number of tours often sell out by early afternoon, so it's best to make reservations beforehand. read more

Jewel Cave National Monument - Formations in Jewel Cave - Hiking Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

We went on the Lantern Tour. It was a lot of fun doing something different in a cave tour. Ranger Joe was informative and funny. I did fine even though I am claustrophobic. One area got narrow but I got through it. I would recommend this tour. read more

Loved the historic lantern cave tour along w/ our ranger guide. She was extremely knowledgeable and was a pleasure having her. You gotta get here early for tickets as they are limited capacity and have several time frames. It starts getting busy around 10am. The place opens up at 8am so i HIGHLY suggest you do yourself a favor and get there as early as possible. Not only will you get to decide what time you want to do your cave excursions but you will also beat the crowds. Caves inside are beautiful, some with some stunning jewel formations. The tour does have a lot of stairs ascending and descending so take your time. A great stop at this national monument if you're near the area. read more

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Jewel Cave is an incredible National Monument, and the 3rd longest cave in the world, with newly discovered miles being added each year. I've done the Discovery Tour, Historic Lantern Tour, & Scenic Tour. This is a beautiful cave. Best tip? Reserve your tours on recreation.gov 2+ days in advance. Day of tickets are available at 8 a.m. on site, but no guarantees as time goes on. (The elevators ARE working- the old reviews are no longer accurate.) Tours: --The discovery tour is best if you don't have much time, or people or children in your group don't have the abilities to do longer tours with stairs. Your guide will bring you into a large room of the cave and you'll learn from that space. --The Historic Lantern is more challenging, with some ducking and tighter spaces, but middle-ages kids on the tour did well, and it is enjoyable using the lanterns and getting more of the history by entering the historic side. --The scenic tour is excellent for seeing many cave formations and rooms of the cave. You'll see soda straws, "cave bacon," calcite formations, and learn about history & geology of the site. You will start in the same room as the discovery tour, so no need to do this one plus discovery. This one has many stairs, but they are modern with rails, and spaced well apart with breaks. While you're at the site you can do a short 0.25 mi loop to enjoy the wildlife on top of the cave, or a Canyons trail (~3.8 mi) for more of a challenge. Make sure to ask for a PeeWee Ranger or Junior Ranger booklet! There's also a Cave Scientist badge. The Rangers are great here and seeing them swear in new kid rangers is so sweet. read more

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We did the Historic Lantern Tour. It felt like a real adventure. It is unlit, except for the lanterns that each person carries. It is 48 degrees year round so I would recommend wearing pants and a jacket. Closed toe shoes are required. There are steep steps that you have to climb down backwards (like a ladder). There are over 400 steps. Also tight spaces that you have to duck walk and bend over to get through. Not for those who are claustrophobic, scared of heights, or scared of the dark! There was evidence or bats and rats but we did not actually see any. The ranger tour guide pointed out different areas that were interesting geologically. You will want to get there 20-30 mins ahead of time because you have to check in and then drive to another location. You can also hike to the other location but then you need to check in about an hour ahead. Use the restroom ahead of time there are pit toilets at the second location where the tour starts. You are not allowed to carry a backpack or anything underground. Our tour guide said that this part of the cave is not the best preserved because people have been touring it since before it was protected. He said that the better preserved area is near the visitor's center. read more

Not that great. Elevator currenty under renovation so must make a two mile med hard trip to enter and return. Inside main room nothing great. read more

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My family and I were super excited to visit this guided cave tour. This was an hour drive from where we were staying so I called them in the morning and asked if we had to make reservations. She said it was first come first serve, but I should be fine if I got there before noon. Well , I got there at noon and they informed us they had only a few spots open but our group of 3 had to be separated into 3 separate tours which were hours apart. Bummer and what a waste. We took some time to explore the visitor center and watched a video in the theatre they had about Jewel Cave. Super informative, but disappointed that we weren't able to experience it first hand. read more

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6-19-19 We came here a couple years ago. We had one day in the area. They were sold out of cave tickets for the day. So Wednesday we got here 15 minutes before they opened just to be sure. We got early tickets and had a great tour. Our guide was Ron. Funny guy and very knowledgeable about the cave. We started by taking an elevator over 200 feet below. There was lots of stairs to go up and down. Not strenuous. We have been through about 7 cave tours. Sometimes they start to all look alike. Jewel cave was definitely unique. We did see several jewel formations. Took elevator back up. It was a nice hour and a half tour. Make sure to bring a jacket. 49 degrees in cave. I wouldn't tour it again but would recommend it! Great for families or school field trips. *Pics aren't that great. Lighting isn't great in caves. read more

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Do not miss the Historic Lantern Tour! We were looking for things to do on our South Dakota trip slightly outside the Mt. Rushmore/Crazy Horse norm. We're a 'late middle age' couple (58 and 60) who were originally going to book the Scenic Tour, but by the time we went to reserve tickets (about 2 weeks before our trip), it was completely sold out for our available dates. At first we were a little put off by the warning that the Historic Lantern Tour was 'strenuous,' but decided to give it a try anyway; we are so glad we did! The tour is like a trip back in time, twice. First, you'll learn about the early history of the cave, its discovery, its place in South Dakota history, and the lifestyle of the original Rangers, surveyors and tourist who visited the cave. But second, you'll travel back in time hundreds of millions of years and will really get a sense for the formation of the structure and its past and future. The experience itself is really cool and is basically as described; you carry light, LED lanterns (if you want; most did) through the cave which is navigated by a series of wooden staircases. Some passages are slightly low or tight, but definitely nothing that can't be navigated if you watch what you're doing and pay attention to the instructions. The geological formations are really beautiful, and the entire experience gives you a real appreciation for the great diversity which exists just inches under our feet. I would be remiss if I did not mention that we had the great good fortune of getting Ranger Christian as our tour guide. We were completely impressed with not just his knowledge of the history of the cave, but his extensive expertise in the geology and morphology of the surrounding area. He was entertaining while still maintaining safety, kept a close eye on all visitors, and explained things clearly and professionally, all whilst having a great sense of humor and clear love for his work (I told him he had the greatest job in the world.) Christian clearly takes pride in his job and is a fantastic spokesperson, not just for the cave itself, but for all our National Parks; arguably our nation's greatest assets. Two things to note: 1) BOOK WELL IN ADVANCE! As previously alluded, the Scenic Tour seems to sell out well in advance, so do not try to show up day-of; you will be disappointed. Even the Historic Lantern Tour was almost sold out when we booked, so plan accordingly. 2) Note that the 'Historic' cave entrance is NOT at the main park/cave entrance; it's about a mile to the west and you'll have to drive there if you go to the wrong entrance for the Lantern tour. All in all, a really great and worthwhile experience! read more

I am a big fan of caves in and this place but the icing on the cake for many caves that I have been too. He cave was HUGE and it is the 3rd longest cave in the world. By the picture below, the place was amazing. P.S. our tour guide, Ron was very friendly and informative. read more

Most of the trails were closed but didn't want to ding the review over this. The Rangers there were great, as usual. This is a lesser-visited National Monument so not the huge crowds you usually run into. Picked up a couple of new tokens to add to our book so we were happy. read more

Jewel Cave is far more remote and less traveled than Wind Cave. To that end the tours are a little smaller. The rangers are awesome and informative. The big rooms were impressive and they have cave bacon, something that we did not see in Wind Cave. However the metal walkway and steps gave it a modern and industrial feel. Sure it is safe, but it feels like you lost touch with the "feel" of the cave. What did I learn today? If I had to go to one cave in this area it would be the Historic Candlelight tour at Wind Cave. read more

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This was probably one of my favorite things I did while on my trip to South Dakota. Firstly let me start by saying that 12.00 for an hour and a half scenic tour is a great price. The tour was very informative and I was impressed with how many rooms we were able to see. The total walking distance was only a half mile and was a pretty easy walk for everyone on the tour. Jewel Cave is the third longest cave in the world and has a mixture of both wet and dry formations, stalagtites and mites, amazing calcium carbonate crystals, and some of the largest cave rooms I've been into in my travels. The first room you go in feels literally like walking into a cathedral with beautiful high ceilings. The walkways are all really well lighted and built. They have several different tour types to choose from and I think the lamplight tour where they take you to the original cave opening at night would be another fun one. Overall I think if you're in the area to see Mt. Rushmore and other such monuments, Jewel Cave is a must! Just be sure to get there early to get your tickets! They don't take reservations and frequently sell all their tickets for the day (on a weekend) a few hours after opening. So even if you want to take an afternoon tour, be sure to stop in early in the morning before going about your other activities. read more

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This is an awesome place!! Totally getting bang for the buck! The NPS should charge a little more. This was an awesome tour that lasted about 90 minutes for $12!!??? read more

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The best cave in the area. A lot of people think wind cave is better, but in my opinion you see a lot more different types of formations in Jewel Cave. I took the scenic tour, which had areas that were much larger than the natural cave tour at wind cave. The ceilings were all much higher in this cave, much roomier, and more varied formations. The tour guide was excellent. Handrails were clean, and as a 56 year old, I did not find this very strenuous. Most of the steps are down, and an elevator is used to take you back to the very top. Yes, there are some stairs going up, but it goes up and down; not straight up for a long period of time, and steps are separated by flat areas. You can make reservations in advance online, but if they are all reserved, I would recommend showing up when the park opens to assure you will get a ticket for the day. I would not miss this if you were in the area. read more

Purchased our tickets online a few months before arriving in South Dakota and had a 10am tour. Very smooth process! Our Ranger guide, was very helpful and knowledgeable. She managed the tour group of approx. 20 people well.  There is a wealth of knowledge to be learned about these caves and their creation/existence as well as the intricate geology involved in the forming of these sites. It was great to see the different rocks and formations and to walk through such an old cave. There was even cave bacon which we had never heard of before. There is history here which the Ranger will reveal. They will even turn out all the lights so you can experience total darkness.  It was fun and educational. About a half-mile in entirety with a few hundred stairs. read more

Another one of the don't miss sites in the Black Hills. Second longest (behind Mammoth Caves) in the world at 161 miles long. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/an-ARcRoCPQ9AYXyDrqLlA?select=6MLAI59bNpn40G6o-l-u_Q#6MLAI59bNpn40G6o-l-u_Q 80 minute tour is very nice and runs frequently throughout the day. Best to have your walking shoes on because there are over 700 steps on stairs. Not that easy to find. Google map is totally worthless because it says the caves are in Custer, when they actually are 15 miles west of Custer. Also, there are NO signs until you turn down the driveway to the caves. NO signs along the road and very few road signs telling you where the US highway goes from Custer. read more

Jewel Cave National Monument - Map system showing 161 miles of cave. The tour is about 1/2 mile of he cave system. - Hiking Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

We took the discovery tour a few weeks ago, kind of a waste, walk in 100 yards and stand around for 15 minutes listening to some obnoxious kid talk about the rocks and trying to make jokes about this and that... Not a good experience. I know the elevator is down and tours are different but this was just a bit too much to bear.... read more

Being more than 300 feet under the Earth's surface was of course awesome! My family and I loved the Scenic Tour. We had the best Ranger guiding us that day. Thanks Ranger Logan for a great experience. There was road construction (summer 2014) and reservations were not available so call ahead to make sure the tours are not sold out. read more

Jewel Cave National Monument - Hiking Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

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Visited on 9/14 and had tour reservations as reccomended on their website. No mask requirement and elevator was working. I mention that based on the reviews from the week prior. The Ranger was knowledgeable and informative. Pace of tour and length of tour was just right. Reccomend if in the area. read more

I'm not a 'caver' but it takes all but a 30 second elevator ride down to make you a true fan of this natural wonder. Jewel offers a few different cave options I believe, I want to whole heatedly advise that you do the one that's about an hour and a half. The one that's 30 minutes just won't cut it. The tours are at specific times so be sure to plan your trip accordingly. We've never been in a cave that took this long to tour and thought it might be too much. Wrong! We would have spent hours more in here if they would have let us. Tours are guided but they also allow you to take your time seeing each cavern and site within the cave. Photographing the cave isn't easy. If you have a camera better than the one on your smart phone I suggest you bring it. Our tour guide was helpful and did a nice job explaining each nuance that we saw within the cave as well as answer questions that folks asked. In addition to the cave the Monument also offers hiking trails on it's property. read more

Jewel Cave National Monument - Hiking Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

Unlike any other cave I've visited. Huge, expansive rooms and really unique formations. Nice visitor center exhibits, too. I bought tickets online for the Scenic Tour about 10 days in advance of our visit. At that time, several other dates and times near our visit were sold out. Get tickets in advance! All of the Scenic Tours were sold out by 10 am the day of the tours, according to the ranger. However, several Discovery Tour times were still open. I was wary about the Scenic Tour, as the description warned of 700+ stairs. The vast majority are downhill. Uphill stairs are at the end of the tour, broken up by large landings with benches where the rangers pause to share more information about the cave. My 8 year old had no problem with the tour, and most of our group felt it was easy despite the stairs. read more

We spent about 30-45 minutes in the visitor center looking around. Then we took the 20 minute guided discovery tour. The ranger was fantastic and personable. He knew his stuff and was easily able to answer questions. Then we walked part of the roof top trail and took more pictures. It was a leisurely day for us. I was disappointed in the gift shop as I love ornaments and they only had 2, neither of which was a good representation of jewel cave. read more

Jewel Cave offers a choice of 4 guided tours. I went on the scenic tour. In an 80 minute trip we saw the highlights of the cave, including boxwork, popcorn, draperies, and the infamous 20' long strip of cave bacon. Well constructed walkways, stairs, platforms, and lighting make the caves easy to navigate and appreciate without detracting from the natural beauty. An elevator ride in & out lets you access relatively deep parts of the cave system without huffing and puffing too much on stairs. Definitely the best implementation I've experienced on any cave tour. For visitors who want even less between them and nature, there are 2 more aggressive tours, the lantern tour and the wild caving tour. The latter is several hours long and involves crawling through some extremely tight spaces. There's also a tour with minimal walking that's suitable for handicapped people and families with very small children. Jewel Cave takes reservations for tours, a huge benefit. In the summer the tours fill up hours in advance, even on weekdays, so making a reservation lets you plan your trip much better. read more

Overall a great way to introduce yourself to cave tours. The rangers here really seem to care about protection of the cave environment, which is good. They offer a "Discovery Tour" which is about 30 minutes, and you just go to the first main cavern of the cave and learn about the history of it. Then there is the main tour which is over an hour long and you tour through a half mile or so of the cave. I believe they also have an advanced tour where you crawl though narrow spaces off the main passages (assuming you fit through the test spot). read more

Jewel Cave is an amazing cave system - right now it's the 2nd longest in the world. Once they finish exploring it - and after 100 years they've only been able to explore & map out approximately 2%-5% of the estimated system - it could end up being the longest. The National Park Service runs four different tours, which they charge for. There is no entrance fee to the Monument if you don't want to go on a tour. You can book the tour ahead of time - I highly recommend you do so. There's limited space on each tour, and they sell out quickly. Jewel Cave is filled with calcite formations that are the jewels of the cave. We went on the Scenic Tour, and it was worth more than we paid for it. The tour starts & ends with an elevator ride, and you're walking on metal stairs that the Park Service put in to help keep the damage to the cave to a minimum. It's a decently light cave tour, with high enough ceilings that one shouldn't get claustrophobic. It is 49 degrees F in the cave year-round, though - so don't go in there dressed for a SD summer day. Remember: It might only be a 1/2 mile or so walk, but you're going up and down lots of stairs. If you're not very mobile, or concerned that you can't keep up a decent walking pace, this tour isn't for you. read more

Firstly, it takes a seriously great time for me to write a review on Yelp. Like exceptionally great. This was one of those few times. Firstly, my girlfriend and I were so excited to take the wild caving tour and due to some unforeseen circumstances did not show up early and our guide Mike was kind enough to stop us at the door and tell us we "right on time". Mike is an AMAZING guide. Within the first five minutes of meeting him you could feel his enthusiasm and devotion to the National Parks Service, more specifically Jewel Cave. Immediately made personal connections with us, relating the cave to our favorite places on earth. Wonderfully knowledgable on the history, geology and future of the cave system. He kept a steady fun pace through the caves and made sure we were safe and smiling. I cannot send him enough praise. Someone buy that man a beer. Or a new camera. Spelunking itself: seriously fun. I'm probably going to join a grotto when I get back home. Once again our guide Mike did a great job of keeping us safe but while still making things fun. I'd rate the challenge at maybe 6/10 but a great introduction to a lot of techniques to caving. I wish I could explain more, but I don't want to spoil this for anyone. Fuck Mount Rushmore. Go caving. Amazing trip, amazing guide. Go. Donate. Climb around. read more

This was a better experience, from a cave and tour guide perspective, than Wind Cave (see review). Gemini was our guide and despite her laid-back vibe, she was articulate and very knowledgeable. She did a great job explaining what we were seeing and pointing out various formations to include boxwork, moon milk, popcorn, some fantastic bacon curtains, draperies, flow stone (that was the best) and stalagtites. There were several times when she sent us ahead, and she appointed a family who volunteered, to be the caboose. There were lots of stairs, both ascending and descending, but it was seriously well worth it. I wished we had more time to see the original cave entrance, but the tour itself was very fulfilling. A note about bringing small children on a long, cold, dark cave tour. We had two families on our tour with little children, one of whom cried almost the entire time until it exhausted itself and fell asleep. Not sure what parents are thinking, and I'm sure they were just as frustrated as many of us were. At one point we entered a very wet room where the guide turned off all the lights so we could hear the water dripping in the silence of the cave. This experience was pretty much impossible due to this poor little one who just did not want to be there. Perhaps a Family Friendly Tour option should be considered throughout the day so that when this happens the other folks on the tour are aware they may not have as introspective tour as they may have thought. I think the parents would enjoy this too because they were doing all they could to comfort their child and therefore missed probably 2/3 of the tour. Other than that aspect, this was an excellent experience!! The cave doesn't appear to be as well-lit as Wind Cave; both are going to be replacing their lights with LED which will make a huge difference. Some of the back lit aspects of the formations were exquisite. I'd highly recommend this tour if you enjoy caves!! Thanks Gemini!! read more

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It's really difficult to give something like this less than five stars especially since Earth took MILLIONS OF YEARS to make it. I mean, I can't even focus on something for more than half an hour without a break. The name is a little misleading, but there's an interesting reason behind it. Don't expect to see beautiful colors and sparkling formations that you may see in other caves. Jewel Cave is largely calcite deposits and the colors run from the deep yellow to bone white with a few different formations with some red. Several different tours are offered. We went on the scenic tour which was the easiest and only clocked in at 80 minutes. Another tour runs a bit longer but goes into less developed portions of the cave with only torch light for guidance. A more expensive, less offered tour involves caving lessons involving crawling through cramped passageways and bringing equipment (I think that one cost $25-$30). The park service does a great job administering this area. They explain both political and geological history (and why, precisely, the name "Jewel Cave"). Entrance fee is affordable. Also of note - on one point during the scenic tour, the guide turned out all of the lights inside of the cavern. It was quite exhilarating to be in total darkness. read more

A cave?? Of JEWELS?! I'm in. And it was pretty sweet, but there aren't as many glittery rock formations as I had hoped for. I don't care who you are, caves are pretty incredible regardless of their sparkle factor. This is the second largest cave in the world (that we know of) and is definitely worth a visit. If you only have time to swing this cave or Wind Cave, I have a hard time choosing. Jewel cave is larger and has more varied formations, but Wind Cave's smaller rooms and story is fascinating. You can definitely knock both out in one day or even in one morning if you time it correctly! Taking photos in the cave while on a tour is incredibly difficult and can be frustrating. Be OK with picking up a postcard or finding an online photo from a professional who was able to get a really long exposure! read more

First of all, I really wanted to go to the other nearby cave, whose name escapes me...Anyway, it was closed due the fires. I'm really glad we ended up at Jewel Cave because of the following: - We took the lamplight tour, which was awesome!!!! The guide was knowledgeable, helpful and really took care of us - the cave is the largest repository of boxwork, not that impressive in itself, but pretty cool anyway Tips and Hints: - make a reservation - you can by phone or online, it's worth it because the tours book up, don't be disappointed - build in extra time to see the video and exhibits in the visitor center - take a sweater (even if it's 100 like it was the day we went) and wear hiking shoes/comfortable shoes. For me, this was definitely a highlight of our Black Hills trip! read more

I am sure this would have been a fun place to visit. We arrived in the afternoon and were told all tours were sold out. Jewel Cave staff was less than sympathetic in the delivery of this information. They are stuck in the 19th century with their first come first serve reservation system. I saw 10 families in 10 min be disappointed on not able to see the cave. We were told that " you need to come back tomorrow at 8am to reserve a tour in the afternoon". This cave is 13 miles west of Custer SD, 26 miles from were we were staying. No family will go in the am hoping to get a tour that afternoon which may or may not happen. I suggest an online reservation system where people pay up front for their tour. Make it Nonrefundable and provide a waiting list for those who pop in and realized all tours are booked. read more

Gorgeous!!! A must-do!! The rangers are the best, our whole party loved it and we can not wait to go back for the longer tour. A tip: you MUST be there first thing in the morning. The tours fill up fast and they do not allow reservations. We got there at noon and the only tour left was the 4:30 discovery tour, a big disappointment since we'd driven a couple hours. We even called ahead (Boo, Dennis!) and were not told that it was full. So, plan to arrive early, get your tour tickets, and go hang out in Custer or see Mt Rushmore, come back and enjoy caving. I promise, it's worth the hassle! And have fun afterwards watching your family try to squeeze through the Hug Box! read more