Jewel Cave and Wind Cave are major show caves and both are part of the national park system. These popular attractions are wildly different from each other, at least in cave terms, and both have things of interest above and below ground. This installment concerns Jewel Cave. As a former cave guide (Oregon Caves NM), I knew that when we got to the Black Hills I was going to make sure we saw the two premier caves in the area. You can read the Wind Cave portion of this travelogue here.
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Jewel Cave National Monument – outside Custer, SD.
We arrived at Jewel Cave with reservations, and you should too. During the summer months this cave gets crowded, the visitor’s center is very sparse, and the surrounding landscape is deeply scarred by fire. There’s not much to do here while you wait, and the reservation ensures you won’t have to.
We were fortunate to have an actual park ranger as our guide, a young woman who was both knowledgeable and well-spoken. As we discovered at Wind Cave later in the trip, that is no longer a guarantee at NPS caves. Our guide led us through the tiny visitor’s center to a bank of impressive elevators that would form our entrance to the cave. Down we went into the world’s second longest cave (don’t worry, you don’t have to walk through the whole thing).
Inside Jewel Cave we passed through an airlock (an attempt to mitigate visitor impact on the cave) and immediately passed into a massive cavern. Sure, it’s no Carlsbad, but the stark angular walls so deep below the surface towered over our heads. Every cave is unique, and this one impresses from the first room. It’s intriguing to imagine – looking at the various exits from this first room, shrouded in darkness – the explorers who continue to push this cave, looking for more and more passages. As recently as August, 2011 explorers found another 5,000 feet of passageway. You can check the NPS web site for updates on the latest discoveries.
Taking pictures in a cave is always problematic (particularly without a tripod, as most show caves prohibit them) but the effects can be fascinating. I used metal railings to steady my camera and took long exposures. Usually 1 out of 3 shot in this manner will shoot without blurring – at least sharp enough for the web. Jewel Cave is huge inside – some of the largest interior spaces I’ve seen since Carlsbad, though it should be said Carlsbad is orders of magnitude bigger. This isn’t one of those small, close-in, low-ceiling caves. Jewel Cave is, well, cavernous. From the first room, we looked down the endless stairs as they disappear into later parts of the tour route.
The colored lights in the cave seem to have been enhanced by the camera – I didn’t add any color there myself. The green transitioning to red seems to imply some sort of descent into hell. Unlike hell, however, there is a handy elevator at the end of the tour (salvation!).
I used a flash at one point to illuminate the route itself. Very well constructed and maintained, this route is nevertheless challenging. Trex and metal pathways keep you on track, but there are a LOT of stairs. This despite the fact that you do exit from an elevator bank hundreds of feet below where you came in. In other words, the elevators mitigate some of the stair climbing, but there’s still a ton of stairs. Though I would say this route is less strenuous than Oregon Caves National Monument, where I was a guide in the 90′s, it’s going to be a challenge for people who are out of shape.
One of the big features of Jewel Cave is its copious popcorn formations. I’ve never seen popcorn this good anywhere else, nor in these amounts. The popcorn makes the cave appear to be studded with Jewels. In the photo below, the popcorn is on the upper right quadrant of the photo. In center, some flowstone, though Jewel has far less flowstone than many other showcaves.
The last major stop on the tour is a huge room that stretches off into the distance from a viewing platform. From the same platform, you can look up and see a roof at least a hundred feet above your head. It’s a fitting end to a tour of a cave that is defined as much by its large spaces as its amazing formations.
Tour notes: We took what is called the “Scenic Tour” and that is the main tour of the cave. There is a shorter 20 minute Discovery Tour which might be appropriate for those nervous about caves or those who are less mobile. A wild caving tour is also available; if you have teenagers, or just want a challenge, I recommend wild caving tours. You need to be in very good shape and not have a problem with claustrophobia, but a wild caving tour really gives you a feeling of adventure. All tours are described here.
And about that claustrophobia? Well, when was a guide I noticed that most claustrophobes who showed up on my tour weren’t aware of their problem – or the severity of it – ahead of time. Jewel Cave is a pretty wide-open cave as caves go, but if you have a problem, let the ranger know as soon as possible so you don’t panic too far into the cave. My cave was very tight, very closed in, so I had some spectacular breakdowns in the beginning my tour. Here, it might take a little longer to get worked up. Claustrophobia is completely involuntary, and often very surprising, and can sometimes be associated with past traumatic experiences like car accidents. My advice is not to sweat about it too much until you’re down there. That’s when you find out if it’s really a problem.
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