If you’re looking for ways to cool off this summer, take a trip underground. Long ago, earthquakes along the Balcones Fault Zone formed a system of cool, underwater aquifers and caves that lie just beneath our feet. In fact, a ring of caves and caverns forms a loop around Austin, making for easy day trips from the capital city. Here are a few standout destinations with tours for all ages. For more adventurous spelunkers, many also offer wild cave tours where visitors get down on their hands and knees to crawl, or even scuba dive, through tight spaces in search of salamanders, secret passages, and other underground wonders.
LONGHORN CAVERN STATE PARK
Burnet
A scenic hour-and-a-half drive from Austin, Longhorn Cavern makes an excellent day trip into the Texas Hill Country. Guides blend geology, history, and legend into educational and entertaining tours as they lead groups past impressive formations, through crystal-lined passages with sparkling walls, into the Indian Council Room, and through large open spaces carved by an ancient river and layered with stories. The entire experience covers 1.25 miles in just under 90 minutes. Another fun option is the Blacklight Cavern Tour for ages 8 and older.
Part of the Texas state park system, Longhorn Cavern also features buildings from the 1930s constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, using limestone hauled from the cavern. Explore the Officers’ Quarters and Observation Tower, or enjoy a picnic in the day-use areas. This outing can easily be extended with a stop at Inks Lake State Park, where visitors can swim or rent paddleboats and canoes to stay cool.
NATURAL BRIDGE CAVERNS
San Antonio
The scenery at Natural Bridge Caverns is just as beautiful above ground as it is below, although the temperature is noticeably cooler underground. As visitors descend 180 feet, the tours delight with twists and turns that reveal new surprises around every corner. Walk through narrow passageways that open into spacious rooms, cross bridges overlooking layered rock formations, and wander alongside crystal-clear pools of water. The constant dripping throughout the caverns adds an extra element of wonder.
The lighting system enhances the experience, whether you choose the Discovery Tour, the Hidden Wonders Tour with its light-and-sound show, or the weekly Lantern Tour. Additional attractions make it easy to extend your stay with a meal, a maze, a zip line, or a ropes course.
INNER SPACE CAVERNS
Georgetown
The mile-long Adventure Tour guides visitors down illuminated pathways into vast chambers and past fascinating rock formations. Highlights include the story of the cavern’s discovery and a moment of total darkness before visitors see what a blacklight can reveal in a room full of calcite. The tour lasts a little more than an hour in the 72-degree cavern, which feels closer to 80 degrees because of the humidity. Those who want to stay underground longer can purchase a combo ticket that includes the flashlight-lit Hidden Passages Tour.
CAVE WITHOUT A NAME & CASCADE CAVERNS
Boerne
These two cave systems are less commercialized and situated in more rustic settings with campgrounds. They are also among the coolest in temperature.
Interestingly, children played a major role in the history of Cave Without a Name. In 1938, three siblings lowered themselves into the cave and became its first explorers. Years later, during a naming contest, one boy submitted the winning entry, saying the cave was too beautiful to name.
Visitors can judge for themselves on hour-long tours that pass through six cavernous rooms and reach an underground river. Along the way, guides weave together history, geography, geology, cave terminology, and entertaining stories while highlighting remarkable formations and searching for cave life. Check the calendar for summer concerts, and stick around afterward to explore the nature trails.
The tour at Cascade Caverns begins before visitors even enter the cave. Our guide pointed out the sinkhole and the large metal bucket once used to lower guests underground. Fortunately, a beautiful rock stairway now leads to the entrance, where a refreshing blast of cool air awaits. My group was greeted by a small tri-colored bat clinging to the ceiling and spotted a salamander in one of the human-made pools. Water drips here at a faster rate than in many nearby caves, making Cascade one of the fastest-growing caverns in the area.
For families with children curious about wild cave adventures, Cascade Caverns offers a good introduction. The standard tour feels more tunnel-like, requires some crouching, and is not as brightly lit as others. Flashlights are provided to help illuminate the way.
WONDER WORLD
San Marcos
A dry-formed cave created by an earthquake rather than erosion, Wonder World has no stalactites or stalagmites. It is not a living cave. That also means visitors are allowed to touch the rocks and boulders as they descend 130 feet into a maze of hallways and small rooms. Colored lights give the space the feel of a mad scientist’s laboratory.
The scripted tour shares stories of poker games, Prohibition, graffiti, gold digging, and subterranean raves. After navigating a series of steps and stone pathways during the three-quarter-mile walk, visitors ride an elevator back to the surface, where the adventure concludes with an anti-gravity house and petting zoo.
Emerging from any of these caverns leaves visitors with a deeper appreciation for the mysterious and beautiful world that exists beneath our feet.
TIPS:
Leave strollers, snacks, and drinks behind.
Cave floors can be slippery. Wear close-toed shoes with some grip.
DID YOU KNOW?
North of San Antonio, Bracken Cave is home to the WORLD’S largest bat colony. It takes the 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats 2-3 hours to emerge nightly! Reservations: www.batcon.org.
Curious about wild caving? If getting dirty and crawling through caves sounds amazing, check out Whirlpool Cave in Travis County. They offer a 3-hour evening crawling adventure for beginners.
Annette Lucksinger is the author of the local guidebook Exploring Austin with Kids. She is currently at work on a hybrid memoir that combines graphic novel and essays about her life in Austin, Texas.
