Jewel Cave National Monument; South Dakota By TKDDad on - Updated Oct 15, 2011
This cave is in Custer, South Dakota. This cave offers different tours and different fitness levels. My family did the scenic tour which is the moderate fitness level tour. It is 1.5 hours.
My son is 8 years old and he had no problem going up and down the stairs. There are 700+ steps on this tour, so if you are very out of shape you probably want to stick with the easy tour. Although I didn't think the steps were that bad, towards the end of the tour I was feeling it in my legs. The walkway on the tour is paved but it can be a little slippery so wear the right walking shoe.
The tour itself is a lot of fun. There is so much to see. We had a wonderful and informative tour guide. He told us a lot of information about the cave, the history of it and how it was discovered. Some of the stuff I didn't even know. We learned a lot of facts about the cave.
There is a lot to see in the cave. My son's favorite part of the cave was the formation called Jabba the Hutt. The bacon and popcorn formation was interesting also.
What I also liked about Jewels is the grounds were kept very well maintained. I did not see any litter on the ground. The cave staff was friendly and ready to answer any questions you might have.
If you are going to this cave remember to wear something long sleeve or a light jacket. We were very happy we had a light jacket with us as it is slightly cool in the cave.
About The Author:
Jewel Cave National Monument Custer, SD
700+ steps! Yikes! Do they not have a ramp side for those on wheels?
No, they don't. There are three different types of tours for this cave. The easy one is the one that is wheelchair accessible. We took the moderate fitness level walking tour, and no strollers, scooters or wheelchairs were allowed because there are not any ramps.