The Scenic Tour is the most popular tour of Jewel Cave. The guided tour lasts 80 minutes with entry and exit via the elevators in the visitor center. The tour route passes through various cave chambers and passages along a concrete trail with steel stairs and handrails. The route includes a total of 723 stairs along a ½ mile loop that returns to the elevator at a lower level than the start. The path and many formations are illuminated by electric lights. The tour is rated moderately strenuous due to the number of stairs.
The cave temperature is 49 degrees, so a sweater or light jacket is recommended. In addition, close-toed low-heeled, rubber-soled shoes or hiking boots are highly recommended. Clothing, shoes, and even cameras that have been in other caves outside the Black Hills are not allowed in order to help prevent the spread of White-Nose Syndrome that is killing bats across the country.
Additional information from the park service website:
During the Scenic Tour, you will see two types of calcite crystals known as nailhead spar and dogtooth spar, which are the "jewels" of Jewel Cave. In addition, you can view boxwork, cave popcorn, flowstone, stalactites, stalagmites, draperies, and a long ribbon drapery called the cave bacon.
Each Scenic Tour allows for a maximum of 30 participants. It is common for all Scenic Tours to sell out before noon daily during the summer months and holiday weekends. Tour times vary by season. In collaboration with Black Hills Central Reservations, Jewel Cave National Monument offers advanced ticket sales for Scenic Tours scheduled on the hour. Advanced ticket sales can be made for dates that are over 48 hours in advance and up to 90 days into the future. Advance ticket purchases can be made online at www.blackhillsvacations.com or by phone at 844-245-6179. Please be advised that advanced ticket sales are administered by Black Hills Vacations.
NOTE: Same Day Tours are available at Jewel Cave National Monument; tickets for same day tours are available on-site, in person, on a first come first served basis on the day of the tour. Cave tours can and often do sell out daily. Visitors are advised to come in the morning to purchase tickets for any time during the same day.
Tickets for the scenic tour are $12 per adult and $8 for youth age 6 to 16. The tour is not recommended for children age 5 and under. Each tour participant must be able to navigate all 723 stairs without assistance. A maximum of 30 participants are allowed on each Scenic Tour. The number of tours and the start times vary by season. I took the tour in August 2017.
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| Elevator air lock in the cave |
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| Overhead |
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| One of several viewing platforms |
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| One of the views from the platform |
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| Typical stairs, but not on this tour |
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| Another view from the platform |
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| Tour route down from the platform |
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| Looking back at the elevator airlock room |
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| Dogtooth Spar |
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| A closer look at some Dogtooth Spar |
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| Cave formations tinted black by manganese dioxide |
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| Cave Popcorn |
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| Looking back at a set of stairs |
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| Passageways form along faults in the limestone |
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| View inside a geode |
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| More calcite crystals or cave "jewels" |
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| Trace minerals color the formations |
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| Boxwork |
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| More boxwork |
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| A broken formation reveals its structure |
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| A cave chamber |
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| Flowstone |
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| Active flowstone |
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| Flowstone tinted by iron oxide |
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| Jellyfish formations |
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| Stalactites |
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| Flowstone |
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| More stalactites |
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| Jellyfish and flowstone |
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| Stalctites |
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| Cave Egg |
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| Repaired stalctite |
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| Flowstone over Nailhead Spar |
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| More mineral patterns above a chamber |
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| Overhead view |
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| Stalagmite |
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| Nailhead Spar |
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| Formations inside formations |
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| Manganese dioxide coats this Dogtooth Spar |
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| Cave Bacon |
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| Further up the Cave Bacon |
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| More mineral patterns |
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| Different types of lighting |
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| Another viewing platform |
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| The lower elevator airlock |
Entry to Jewel Cave National Monument is free. Cave tours require a fee of $4 to $31 per adult depending on the tour. Prices are reduced for children and seniors. Some tours have a minimum age requirement. Tickets for the current day tours are sold at a kiosk outside the visitor center on a first-come, first-served basis.
The monument website is
https://www.nps.gov/jeca.
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