How to Beat a Rainy Day? Head to a Cave

Giant flow stone formation in Jewel Cave, 345 feet below the Black Hills.

Rare cave boxwork formation in Wind Cave. Ninety-five percent of known boxwork is located in Wind Cave.

With 2 days of rain ahead of us, we took advantage of two magnificent caves in the Black Hills, both administered by the National Park Service. Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park are within 30 miles of each other, were discovered at about the same time by two separate people, and are ranked as the second largest and fourth largest cave systems in the world, respectively. But despite being so close together, they offer vastly different experiences for the visitor. Jewel Cave's formations are more ornate and the rooms much larger. Wind Cave is less spectacular but the passage through is much more confined. You really feel like you are exploring a cave. The really amazing thing about both of these caves is that they have only discovered about 5 to 10 percent of what they think is there. Over 130 miles of Wind Cave have been mapped and about 150 miles of Jewel Cave. That gives you some idea of how big these two caves might be.