Missouri is filled with natural beauty – lush forests, towering bluffs and sparkling streams – but there’s even more spectacular scenery underground – in the state’s caves.
Known as the “Cave State,” Missouri is home to more than 7,500 recorded caves. About 20 of those are “show caves” that offer regular guided tours.
Throughout history, people have been drawn to caves for many reasons, from primitive shelter to mining operations to social gatherings. Take a cave tour to explore Missouri’s vast subterranean world and its intriguing stories from the past.
Visiting Missouri Caves
With a constant temperature of 50 to 60 degrees, caves are a great place to visit any time of the year, rain or shine. You’ll want to wear a light jacket or sweatshirt and comfortable walking shoes. Fantastic Caverns is a ride-thru cave, so it is a good option for people with limited mobility and young children.
The cost for most cave tours in Missouri ranges from $10-$34, depending on the cave. (Marvel Cave tours are included the price of admission to the Silver Dollar City theme park.) You can purchase tickets for most tours on each cave’s website.
Caves Open Year-round
Ten Missouri caves are open for regular tours throughout the year.
Meramec Caverns
One of the most visited caves in Missouri, Meramec Caverns is located along historic Route 66 near Stanton. First explored in the 1720s, the cave has a long and varied history. Saltpeter (an essential ingredient in gunpowder) was mined in the cave during the Civil War. In the 1870s, Jesses James and his gang are believed to have used the cave as a hideout. Decades later, local residents hosted parties there to escape the summer heat.
The cave’s seven levels feature many impressive formations such as the 70-foot-tall Stage Curtain in the cave’s Theatre Room. Meramec Caverns’ grounds include picnic areas, a restaurant, a candy store and a sluice. Rent a canoe or raft for a trip down the Meramec River. Soar through the treetops on a zipline adventure and tour the Jesse James Wax Museum.
Fantastic Caverns
Board a jeep-drawn tram for a trip through Fantastic Caverns, America’s only “ride-thru” cave, located in Springfield. Travel along the path of an ancient underground river and see massive cave formations created thousands of years ago.
Fantastic Caverns was discovered in 1862 by an Ozark farmer and his dog (who climbed into a small opening in the hillside). Exploration didn’t take place until five years later when a group of 12 women from the Springfield Women’s Athletic Club answered a newspaper ad seeking explorers to venture into the cave and map its passageways.
Stark Caverns
Located near Lake of the Ozarks, Stark Caverns takes you on a journey through the ages filled with geological formations, Native American artifacts and ancient bear beds. See formations such as Moonshiner’s Dam, the Grand Canyon and one of the largest stromatolite fossils in North America. You might even spot a crayfish, a bat or the elusive cave salamander.
The cave also offers specialty tours, including a black light tour that highlights the cavern’s fluorescent minerals. Test your problem-solving skills at Bootlegger’s Bequest – the country’s only escape room in a cave. Above ground, take in the view from the wrap-around porch at the visitor center, enjoy a picnic lunch, try your hand at sluice mining or crack open a geode.
Mark Twain Cave
Missouri’s oldest show cave, Mark Twain Cave was made famous by one of America’s most renowned authors. Located just south of historic downtown Hannibal, the cave is part of the storyline in five of Twain’s novels including “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”
The cave, one of just a few labyrinth-style caves in the world, features a series of connected passageways. It’s Missouri’s oldest show cave and is a National Natural Landmark. The cave complex also includes Cameron Cave (a seasonal cave), a campground and a winery.
More Missouri Caves You Can Visit Year-Round
- Bridal Cave, Camdenton: Hear tales from long ago – marked by romance and tragedy – that are part of the cave’s colorful past. More than 4,000 weddings have been held at the stalactite-adorned bridal chapel inside the cave.
- Bluff Dwellers Cave, Noel: Discover the history of this cave that once served as shelter for Native Americans. Visit Browning Museum (admission included with cave tour) to see a variety of rocks, minerals fossils, arrowheads and artifacts.
- Jacob’s Cave, Versailles: Located near Lake of the Ozarks, Jacob’s Cave features reflective pools, ceiling sponge-work, prehistoric bones (mastodon, bear and peccary) and what is believed to be the world’s largest geode. The cave’s paved pathway is stroller- and wheelchair-friendly.
- Lost Canyon Cave and Nature Trail, Ridgedale: Travel the nature trail in an electric cart to a four-story cave where you can enjoy a drink in the cave bar. The cave and trail are located at Top of the Rock, part of Big Cedar Lodge wilderness resort.
- Smallin Civil War Cave, Ozark: Tours take visitors down stroller- and wheelchair-friendly paths to learn the history of the first documented cave in the Ozarks. Rugged wild cave tours and Civil War lantern tours are also available.
- Talking Rocks Cavern, Branson West: Combine a guided cave tour with family-friendly activities above ground. Play a round of mini-golf and hike to the observation tower.
Seasonal Caves
A number of Missouri caves offer seasonal tours, primarily during the spring, summer and fall. Be sure to check each cave’s website to see when tours are available.
Onondaga Cave and Cathedral Cave
Located in Onondaga Cave State Park in Leasburg, Onondaga Cave is a National Natural Landmark and is recognized as one of the most beautiful caves in the nation because of the quality of its formations. See geologic wonders such as the King’s Canopy, the Twins and the breathtaking “lily pad” room as well as an underground river that flows through the cave.
Cathedral Cave is also located in Onondaga State Park. This tour – illuminated by lantern light – is more strenuous than the Onondaga Cave tour and starts with a one-third mile hike up Deer Run Trail to the cave entrance. See the Cathedral Bell, the cave’s namesake column of flowstone.
Ozark Caverns
Explore Ozark Caverns to see Angel Showers, an unusual cave phenomenon where a never-ending shower of water appears to come out of the solid rock ceiling. The cave is located in Lake of the Ozarks State Park in Linn Creek and offers traditional and children’s tours. Both use handheld lanterns.
Ozark Caverns is home to many small cave animals such as the blind grotto salamander, which can sometimes be spotted on tours.
Marvel Cave
With depths reaching more than 500 feet below the earth’s surface, Marvel Cave is one of the deepest caves in Missouri. The cave first opened for tours in 1894 and is now part of the Silver Dollar City theme park. A National Natural Landmark, the cave contains one of the largest subterranean entry rooms in the United States. With nearly 600 stairs, tours are somewhat strenuous and require some stooping to navigate low passageways.
Traditional guided cave tours are included with standard admission to Silver Dollar City. The cave also hosts special lantern tours.
Additional Seasonal Caves in Missouri
- Cameron Cave, Hannibal: Part of the Mark Twain Cave Complex, this labyrinth-style cave contains 490 passages within its depths. Visitors explore the cave with flashlights.
- Crystal Cave, Springfield: A series of underground rooms includes The Ghost Room, featuring 14 pure white stalagmites over three feet tall, and a room where the original owners cultivated mushroom gardens in the early 1900s.
- Current River Cavern, Van Buren: Located in Missouri Down Under Adventure Zoo, the cave is explored by flashlight. A natural stream flows beneath a boardwalk, and a small waterfall can be seen after heave rains from a side passage after heavy rains.
- Fisher Cave, Sullivan: Located in Meramec State Park, the cave features narrow streamside passages and huge rooms containing massive 30-foot-tall columns. The park offers lodging, camping, a restaurant, floating, hiking trails and picnic areas.
- Round Spring Cavern, Eminence: Take an underground hike – illuminated by lantern light – through the cave, located in the Ozarks National Scenic Riverways. Above ground, Round Spring, a picnic area and campground are located nearby.
More About Missouri Caves
Missouri’s karst landscape – especially prevalent in the Ozarks – is rich in limestone, creating optimum conditions for cave formation. Over the course of thousands of years, underground streams dissolve the limestone, creating passageways and caverns beneath the earth’s surface.
Stalactites and stalagmites are the most commonly known cave formations, but many Missouri caves contain other types of formations including flowstone, columns and soda straws.
Protecting Caves and Cave Dwellers
To minimize the potential spreading of white-nose syndrome in native bats, screening measures are in place for Missouri’s caves. Please do not wear the same clothing, footwear, accessories or equipment that has been worn in any other cave.
To help preserve Missouri’s underground treasures, leave no trace when visiting a cave. Never touch or disturb wildlife. Stay on the pathways through the caves and leave formations and artifacts intact for the next group of visitors to see.
For more information about white-nose syndrome and protecting Missouri’s caves, visit Missouri State Parks.