Jewel Cave: A Hidden Gem of Black Hills Region
Jewel Cave National Monument Guide
Use our realistic Jewel Cave Guide to plan your next adventure in this national monument.
Jewel Cave National Monument is a park and a cave system in South Dakota.
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Sights & Places of Interest
Jewel Cave National Monument protects an impressive cave system.
Jewel Cave Features
The list of this cave’s accomplishments and titles is long. Just take a look and decide for yourself:
- 4th longest cave system in the world. Jewel Cave consists of 215 miles (346 km) of the mapped passages. Explorers continue to discover new cave chambers during almost every new expedition.
- Deepest cave in the Black Hills region. Jewel Cave’s maximum depth is 832 ft (253 m).
- 7th National Monument in the US and 1st Cave Monument. Jewel Cave became a National Monument in 1908.
Given such an impressive list of accomplishments, it is very surprising that most people have not heard of Jewel Cave. The nearby Wind Cave National Park is smaller (150 miles or 241 km) and shallower (490 ft or 149 m). It also features less visually stunning formations. Yet Wind Cave is the most well known cave in the Black Hills region.
Our Jewel Cave Guide tries to correct this injustice and display Jewel Cave in its full beauty.
Hiking Trails
Most people visit Jewel Cave to explore its underground chambers. However, the National Monument also features three hiking trails:
- Roof Trail: a 0.25-mi (0.4-km) easy loop next to the Visitor Center
- Canyon Trail: a 3.5-mi (5.3-km) moderate trail
- Hell Canyon Trail: a 5.3-mi (8.9-km) moderate trail
We arrived at Jewel Cave National Monument about 30 minutes prior to our cave tour’s start time. Once we checked in at a kiosk, we had time to explore the monument’s grounds. Therefore, we decided to hike the Roof and parts of the Canyon Trail. Amazing views of the pine forest and hills were a great reward for this easy hike.
Cave Tours
Visitors can only explore the cave on the ranger-led tours. Jewel Cave National Monument offers four cave tours: Scenic, Discovery, Historic Lantern, and Wild Caving Tours. The tours differ in their schedule, duration, difficulty, and cost. We chose the Scenic Cave Tour since it provided the best overview of the Jewel Cave.
The Scenic Cave Tour started with a short elevator ride to a large chamber. As soon as we arrived, we noticed a large number of calcite crystals on the chamber’s walls. These crystals reflect light, which makes them appear as jewels. While these crystals are non precious stones, their light reflection gave Jewel Cave its name.
The calcite crystals are captivating to look at it. These beautiful formations are a distinct feature of Jewel Cave. Few other caves in the United States have so many crystals on display.
However, Jewel Cave has more than gem looking crystals. A few cave chambers also feature other formations. For example, cave areas with flowing water have mushroom formations.
A sharp eye could also spot cave bacon, stalactites, and columns.
Some chambers have large boulders with low ceiling. Visitors need to pay attention and duck while passing these areas.
Each cave chamber has a different color of artificial lighting. The crystals and formations reflect different colors depending on the lighting type. These crystals reflected golden and pink light.
Formations in other chambers came across as green, blue, or yellow.
Jewel Cave formations were so beautiful that we did not want our tour to end. But the 80-minute tour flew by. And it was time for an elevator ride back to ground.
Continue with our Jewel Cave Guide to learn more about ways to get to the sights, entrance requirements, and places to stay.
Getting to Jewel Cave
Jewel Cave National Monument is in the Southwestern part of South Dakota. The National Monument is about halfway between Custer, SD and the Wyoming state line. One can easily reach Jewel Cave via Highway US-16. Rapid City, SD is the closest large city to Jewel Cave. However, the closest airport hub is in Denver, CO, 330 miles (531 km) south of the monument.
Where to Stay
Black Hills region has a long-standing tradition of hospitality. Therefore, there are a lot of hotels and vacation rentals for you to choose from. Custer, SD, Hill City, SD, Three Forks, SD, and Keystone, SD have places to stay within an hour drive of Jewel Cave. For even more options continue northeast to Rapid City, SD or south to Hot Springs, SD.
Entrance Requirements & Passes
Jewel Cave National Monument offers hiking trails and ranger-led cave tours. While hiking trails are open year round, the cave tours’ schedule depends on the season. The National Monument releases the schedule a few months in advance to give visitors ability to plan ahead.
The monument charges per-person admission fees for cave tours. You can choose from four cave tours to explore Jewel Cave:
- Scenic Tour: 80 minute moderate tour that covers 734 steps over 0.5 miles (0.8 km), $16 per adult
- Discovery Tour: 20-minute introductory tour that covers 0.1 miles (0.2 km), $6 per adult
- Historic Lantern Tour: 105 minute strenuous tour that covers 500 steps over 0.5 miles (0.8 km), $16 per adult
- Wild Caving Tour: 4-hour extremely strenuous tour that covers 0.67 miles (1 km), $40 per adult
Rangers run Scenic and Discovery Tours every day during the operating season. Historic Lantern and Wild Caving Tours are less frequent. They also only run in the summer. We visited Jewel Cave National Monument during our summer trip to the Black Hills region.
While Jewel Cave does not require advance reservations for most tours, it is a good idea to secure one. This way you can guarantee a spot during your preferred time slot. Most tours sell out by late morning in the summer. Wild Caving Tours require advance reservations.
Unfortunately, America the Beautiful Annual Parks pass will not provide you with any discounts off tour prices at Jewel Cave.
Finally, do not bring any items to Jewel Cave that were with you in any other cave or mine. This measure is to stop the spread of White Nose Syndrome. This disease affects bats. Humans might unknowingly carry WNS fungi on their clothes.
Takeaways: Jewel Cave
Jewel Cave National Monument is absolutely breathtaking. In fact, this cave system is among the most beautiful in the United States. Jewel Cave and its crystals give the nearby Wind Cave a run for its money. Unfortunately, this monument lacks self-guided tours. Nevertheless, it is well worth your time and advance preparation. Book a tour ahead of time, arrive early, and enjoy this natural wonder on a trail and a tour.
Take a look at our Jewel Cave Video Guide and visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Jewel Cave is the fourth longest cave system in the world. Its underground passages and chambers cover 215 miles (346 km).
Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system in the world, nearly twice as long as Jewel Cave.
Wind Cave and Jewel Cave are two cave systems in the Black Hills region in South Dakota.
Wind Cave is a national park while Jewel Cave is a national monument. Therefore, most people assume that Wind Cave is a superior cave system. And they are wrong:
– Jewel Cave is the 4th longest cave in the world, about 50 miles longer than Wind Cave.
– Jewel Cave is almost twice as deep as Wind Cave.
– Crystals are Jewel Cave’s major formations. They tend to reflect light and give this cave a superior feel when inside the cave.
Unfortunately, Jewel Cave National Monument does not offer self-guided cave tours. Instead you have to book tickets for one of the four ranger-led tours.
Jewel cave tours have different durations depending on the type of the tour:
– Discovery Tour: 20 minutes
– Scenic Tour: 80 minutes
– Historic Lantern Tour: 105 minutes
– Wild Caving Tour: 4 hours
Jewel Cave has a large number of calcite crystals. These non precious stones reflect light and make Jewel Cave chambers very vivid and memorable.
Jewel Cave has calcite crystals. These crystals are non precious stones.
Safe realist travels!
