While Wind Cave tours are suspended, additional interpretive programs like this tipi talk will be offered/NPS file
Elevator woes have again hit Wind Cave National Park, forcing a stop in cave tours at least until early September.
Park officials say replacement parts have been ordered.
"We believe this current repair will get us back up and running until there is a total replacement of the elevator system in 2024,” said Wind Cave Superintendent Leigh Welling. “While we wait for these repairs, there is still plenty to do at the park. Rangers are giving a variety of programs throughout the day beginning at 9 a.m. with a talk at the Natural Entrance and ending at 8:30 p.m. with our evening program at the Elk Mountain Campground.”
The visitor center remains open with rangers offering free interpretive programs throughout the day. Talk locations are at the downstairs map in the visitor center, at the tipi on the front lawn, and at the Natural Entrance.
There will be hour-long hikes of the Prairie Vista Trail beginning from the visitor center at 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., weather permitting. These hikes will explore the prairie ecosystem and its wildlife. Bring water, good hiking shoes, and dress for the weather.
Throughout the day, rangers will be staffing a Junior Ranger table helping young visitors earn their Junior Ranger badge. The park store, run by the Black Hills Parks and Forests Association, a non-profit partner supporting park education efforts, remains open with a variety of products for sale.
The park has 30 miles of hiking trails, including a hike to the park’s highest point, Rankin Ridge, a one-hour, mile-long hike with views extending to the Badlands on a clear day. Driving through the park provides viewing opportunities for a range of wildlife.
Back in July 2019 mechanical issues with the elevators also halted cave tours. In 2016, elevator issues limited tours at the park in South Dakota, with visitors only allowed to enter and exit the cave via the Walk-in Entrance and proceed only as far as the Post Office Room. Visitors needed to descend and climb up 155 stairs, which is equivalent to climbing a 15-story building.
While the Lakota tribe considers Wind Cave sacred, there has been no evidence that they ever entered it. Europeans didn’t hesitate. In the 1930s, Civilian Conservation Corps crews built the elevators down into the cave, installed electricity, and built stairways by draping tire inner tubes filled with concrete over their shoulders and carrying them deep into the cave for pours. It took the CCC nine years to complete the work.
If you had your heart set on going underground in South Dakota during your summer vacation, Jewel Cave National Monument is a short ride away from Wind Cave. Jewel Cave officials are recommending advance reservations for their tours, and say walk-up tickets are not always available.
