Missouri, long known as the “Cave State,” has thousands of caves, and although each cave deserves its own spotlight, we're going to focus on six caves thatyou may want to visit near Springfield. Some of them are quite close — while others are just a couple of hours away.
Cave Spring
If you're not paying close attention while paddling on the Current River, you might just miss Cave Spring. The cavern is a hotspot for swimmers on the weekends, but on the slower weekdays, you can easily paddle inside the giant opening to explore the depths.
Located near Devil's Well, off of Route KK in Akers, Cave Spring is in Shannon County.
Cave Spring was purchased by the L-A-D Foundationfounder Leo Dreyin 1951. He donated Cave Spring to the foundation in 1970, according to the foundation's website.
Cave Spring is a small portion of a much larger area making up the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, which wasestablished by the U.S. Congress in 1964 as America’s first national river.
Crystal Cave
At Crystal Cave, tour-goers must be prepared to crab walk through 39 inches of space at times, lower their heads to avoid knocking their noggins and be OK with the occasional drip of water that may fall down their necks.
Crystal Cave is a Greene County historic site at 7126 N. Crystal Cave Ln. in Springfield. It was first opened to the public in 1893 — the second commercial cave in Missouri; the Mark Twain Cave in Hannibal opened in 1886.
More:After 10 years, Crystal Cave reopens with spelunking tours, fossil digging and train rides
The cave and its surrounding 72 acres had been for sale since 2016. The asking price, was $1.8 million, which included a two-story home built in 1892.
The cavereopened March 23for paid guided tours along with putt-putt golf, trackless train rides, panning for gemstones, an expanded gift shopping experience and more.
Sequiota Cave
Springfield-Greene County Park Board opened its spring boat tours of Sequiota Cave for a couple of weekends earlier this year, and the past couple of years have seen an another mode of transportation.
In addition to the johnboats, kayaks were addedas another way to experience the cave.
Sequiota Cave is home to many bats, including gray bats. Gray bats are federally and state endangered. Their populations have decreased more than 70 percent since 1976, and gray bats have been found in Missouri as far back as 1933, according to Washington University in St. Louis.
More:Here's what you should know about kayaking Sequiota Cave in Springfield
A concern continues to be white-nose syndrome, which is caused by a fungus growing on bats. The attacks the bare skin of bats while they’re hibernating in a relatively inactive state. As it grows, it causes changes in bats that make them become active more than usual and burn up fat they need to survive the winter. Bats with white-nose syndrome may do strange things like fly outside in the daytime in the winter, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The cave's fragile state, along with the vulnerable bat populations, means access to the depths are limited to coincide with bats' migration, and the cave is off limits most of the year. Visit the Springfield-Greene County Park Board's website to find out when tours are offered.
Giboney Cave
Usually gated off, Giboney Cave at Doling Park in Springfield occasionally opens for guided tours with the Springfield-Greene County Park Board.
Outdoors Recreations Leader Robin Barnes said the caves in Springfield are normally closed for several reasons. The spaces are used as underground classrooms, so the park board wishes to keep them as natural as possible, to stave off vandalism and to keep the environment safe for bats, salamanders and more.
More:Is there an underground connection from Doling Park to downtown?
"There's a whole ecosystem in here that people don't even realize exist and how important they are to us," Barnes said. "I just want people to understand that this (cave) takes millions of years to grow, millions of years to look this gorgeous."
If you are visiting different caves, Barnes urges you to thoroughly clean your shoes and clothesbefore wearing the same ones inside a different dwelling to prevent the spread of white nose syndrome or other diseases that could negatively impact caves and creatures.
Adventure Cave
Adventure Cave Tours opened for business in June as a sister company of Talking Rocks Cavern in Branson West. The property itself is home to at least 10 caves, but not all are open to guests.
More:Folks can 'live a day in the life of a real explorer' with wild cave in Branson West
After traversing down an old sheep trail in a Jeep, guests arrive at Adventure Cave. Water is puddled throughout,with the deepest soaking just above the knees. Mud squelchesunderfoot throughout most of the cave and the walls are caked with their own moist layer. Cave creatures, like salamanders, can be spotted on rock shelves.
There are a couple tour options cave goers can choose from: a two-hour or a four-hour tour. Both include gear needed, such as helmets, light, gloves and more. The two-hour consists of two caves for $89 a person and the four-hour includes four caves for $139 a person. Discounts are available for residents of Stone and Taney counties.
Marvel Cave
Silver Dollar City is known to many for its roller coasters, but the theme park's history traces back to a cave.
Marvel Cave was first discovered by the Osage tribe in 1500, geologists wrote about it in the 1860s and it was explored in the 1880s by people who lowered themselves on ropes 200 feet into the main chamber, according to Silver Dollar City. The cave was originally called Marble Cave because the walls appeared to be marble, but were actually limestone.
A group of Union Civil War veterans formed a company to mine resources from the cave, according to Silver Dollar City. They mined tons of nitrogen-rich bat guano from the cave in the 1880s, but didn't find any marble.
Marvel Cave:A natural wonder and an inspiration for growth at Silver Dollar City
News about the cave spread, and a Canadian mining expert, William Henry Lynch, read about it and purchased it sight unseen. He and his two daughters opened the cave to public tours in 1894.
Cave tours continued into the early 1900s, and writer Harold Bell Wright was one of its visitors, according to Silver Dollar City. In 1907, after his novel “The Shepherd of the Hills” was published, nationwide interest in the Ozarks began.
In 1946, Hugo and Mary Herschend vacationed in the Ozarks and visited the cave, according to Silver Dollar City. When the Lynch sisters decided to retire, they offered the Herschends a 99-year lease on Marvel Cave. In April 1950, Hugo and Mary Herschend, along with their teenage sons Jack and Pete, took over the cave.
While making cave access easier, the Herschends brainstormed above-ground improvements and making an area for people waiting to go into the cave. Silver Dollar City "literally all started with a hole in the ground," Vivian Curvow-Ireland, Marvel Cave guide, previously told the News-Leader.
After Hugo Herschend died in 1955, Mary, Jack and Pete began building the 1880s Ozark village, according to Silver Dollar City. Mary Herschend was committed to making an authentic experience and worked to preserve the natural beauty of the area, particularly the trees, Curvow-Ireland said.
Silver Dollar City opened in 1960. You can tour Marvel Cave when you visit the amusem*nt park.
A reminder to leave no trace
As with hiking nature trails, follow "Leave No Trace" principles so the caves lastfor future generations. Avoid touching cave walls to prevent oils from transferring and leave the area better than when you found it.
Sara Karnes is an Outdoors Reporter with the Springfield News-Leader. Follow along with her adventures on Twitter and Instagram @Sara_Karnes. Got a story to tell? Email her at skarnes@springfi.gannett.com.
