![]() ![]() Bats are also transients in this cave, so if you’re lucky, you may see some hanging around the top. Along the way, they explain the cave’s rooms, history, and “Bandit Legend” and point out figures in the rock formations, like Scary Witch Emma and Mr. Knowledgeable and witty tour guides lead you through a maze of tunnels and stairs equipped with handrails. Covered with stalactites (limestone hanging from the ceiling) and stalagmites (limestone coming up from the ground), the cave creates an ethereal feeling deep below the ground. Guests are first greeted with Old Baldy, a stalagmite standing guard near the cave tour entrance, requiring that you rub his head to make it out alive. Colossal Cave is one of the few where photos/videos may be taken inside. Only about 5% of the world’s caves are dry or dormant, meaning formations are no longer growing, but the cave may become active again in the future. Later, water seeped through the rocks and deposited crystals on the ceilings and walls, creating the formations.Ĭolossal Cave is the largest dry cave in the United States. Deep, hot processes have formed only 10% of the world’s caves. ![]() About 30 million years ago, something truly remarkable occurred: hot, sulfuric brine was pushed up into fractures in the limestone and started creating passageways. The limestone cave was formed during the Mississippian Period, over 320 million years ago under a vast inland sea. Some of the names of the largest stalactites include Bonecrusher and Fang. The tour allows you to walk down and up about six and a half stories, where you can see beautiful cave formations like stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, boxwork, and helictites. All tours include a well-trained guide who relates the Cave’s history, legends, and geology. ![]() The highlight of any visit to Colossal Cave Mountain Park is a half-mile-long tour of the Cave that takes about 45-50 minutes to complete. The cave was where outlaws and bandits sought a hiding place from the law during this time. In the mid to late-1800s, the Mountain Springs Hotel served as a National Mail Stage Line stagecoach stop on what is today a part of La Posta Quemada Ranch. From 1450-1880 A.D., the Sobaipuri, Apache, and the Papago (now Tohono O’odham) people used the cave as a place to live. Artifacts tell us around 900 to 1450 A.D., the Hohokam people used Colossal Cave for shelter, storage, and as a shrine. In 1992, Colossal Cave was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Admission to Colossal Cave Mountain Park.Other campgrounds in the area include Molino Basin, Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Area and Spencer Canyon. The area also has some pretty cool hiking trails. In addition to the cave tours, you can tour the old ranch house and grounds, as well as go on (horse) trail rides and visit a real life petty zoo. There is also a gift shop and small cafe located at the entrance of the cave. Colossal Cave Tours range from about 1 to 3 hours depending on what you’d like to see and do deep inside the earth. The main attraction at Colossal Cave Mountain Park is the colossal cave! It was discovered in the 1940s by the landowner and soon after he developed the site as a tourist attraction. Colossal Cave Mountain Park Area Recreation The campground is first-come, first-served. Campsites also have a table, fire ring and grate. Two wheel drive vehicles can make it, but the clearance may be tight in a few spots.Ĭampground amenities include drinking water and vault toilets. The campground road is also a bit rough (rocks and holes). ![]() The campground was originally built in the 1930s by the CCC and offers smaller campsites best suited for tents and small trailers/RVs. All campsites are first-come, first-serve. Colossal Cave Mountain Park campground has 38 campsites among the mesquites in a secluded valley about 40 miles from Tucson. ![]()
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