The Best Show Caves in the United States

Rangers and families

Caves in the United States are run by very different owners. At Mammoth Cave rangers lead walking tours of varying length and tell the cave's history, on some tours by lantern. Cathedral Caverns at Woodville is in a state park. Others are private businesses. Crystal Onyx Cave at Cave City stands on grounds full of alien and dinosaur statues, and Bluff Dwellers Cave at Noel is family-owned, with a rock and arrowhead museum.

Lights out

Many American tours include a moment when the guide switches off the lights. It happens at Squire Boone Caverns at Mauckport, in the Big Room at Tuckaleechee Caverns in the Smoky Mountains, and at Cathedral Caverns, where a spotlight show follows. Ultraviolet light is also common. Crystal Onyx Cave ends with a UV glow demonstration and Caverns of Sonora shows fluorescent formations under UV. Cosmic Cavern at Berryville and Bridal Cave at Camdenton run separate black light tours.

Cave vocabulary

American guides name formations after food. Cave bacon is a thin striped drapery, popcorn is a knobbly crust of calcite, and soda straws are thin hollow stalactites. All of these are at Caverns of Sonora, along with helictites and cave coral. Cosmic Cavern has soda straws and cave bacon as well as deep, clear lakes, and Squire Boone Caverns has a large rimstone dam, a rim of calcite that holds back a pool.

Protected caves

Some caves are called living, meaning water still drips and the formations still grow, and operators restrict what goes in. Kartchner Caverns at Benson is entered through airlocks in groups of about 20, and phones, bags and cameras stay outside. Caverns of Sonora allows no bags or drinks. The well-known caves need booking: Carlsbad Caverns sells entry by time slot, and tours at Mammoth Cave and Blanchard Springs Caverns sell out ahead.