Dunbar Cave Tours
Tours at Dunbar Cave
Tours of Dunbar Cave are offered seasonally, from May through the end of September (VR tour is available year-round).
To go into the cave, you must purchase a tour ticket. Reservations for tour tickets are highly recommended as they frequently sell out.
Flashlights (no cell phones) are required for each person on all tours except the VR tour. Flashlights are available for purchase in our gift shop. Our cave is a sacred place for indigenous people; therefore, photography inside is not allowed.
There are multiple tours to choose from with varying difficulty levels and minimum ages for children.
Enter the Underworld
Focusing on the spiritual connection indigenous people have with the cave, we descend into another world. One of darkness, power, and mystery. Participants will view 800-year-old Mississippian artwork and learn how people have interacted with the cave over thousands of years. This tour has uneven terrain and slippery floors. Some crouching is necessary. Flashlights (no cellphones) are required. Children must be at least 5 years old to participate.
Duration: 1 hour
Age Limit: 5 years and older
Cost:
$18 per adult (13 years and older)
$13 per child (5-12 years old)
Dates Available:
May 10 – 31: Weekends (Sat/Sun) Only
June 1 – August 31: Thursdays through Tuesdays (no tours on Wednesdays and Thursdays)
September 5 – 27: Weekends (Sat/Sun) Only
Times will vary by date chosen. Please make a reservation to hold your time slot.
Enter the Underworld Tour Details
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Essential Eligibility Criteria
Program participants should be able to do the following, independently or with the assistance of a companion or adaptive equipment:
- Tolerate dark and confined spaces for up to 1 hour.
- Move through confined spaces of wet, dark, and slippery terrain that is consistently about 56 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Be able to identify and recognize environmental risks, including but not limited to, loose rock and unstable surfaces, steep and uneven terrain, cliff edges.
Must be at least 5 years old.
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Terrain Descriptions
Uneven, packed soil, flat, rocky, narrow, steep/gradual incline/decline for over 10 feet.
Unknown Realms
Explore places like Peterson's Leap, Lovers' Leap, Rocky Mountain Route, Bell Witch Chamber, Egyptian Grotto, and Counterfeiters' Den. You will learn the stories and legends that developed as Dunbar Cave became the social hotspot of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This tour is rugged, with stairs and uneven, slippery floors. Moderate crouching is necessary. Flashlights (no cellphones) are required. Children must be at least 8 years old to participate.
Duration: 2 hours
Age Limit: 8 years and older
Cost:
$36 per person (8 years and older)
Dates Available:
June 6 – July 26: Weekends (Sat/Sun) 2:00 pm CST
Unknown Realms Tour Details
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Essential Eligibility Criteria
Program participants should be able to do the following, independently or with the assistance of a companion or adaptive equipment:
- Tolerate dark and confined spaces for up to 2 hours.
- Move through confined spaces of wet, dark, and slippery terrain that is consistently about 56 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Be able to identify and recognize environmental risks, including but not limited to, loose rock and unstable surfaces, steep and uneven terrain, cliff edges.
- Move through cave spaces by walking, and bending.
- Must be at least 8 years old.
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Terrain Descriptions
uneven, packed soil, flat, rocky, narrow, steep/gradual incline/decline for over 20 feet.
Spray Hall
Not currently available
Spray Hall Tour Details
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Essential Eligibility Criteria
Program participants should be able to do the following, independently or with the assistance of a companion or adaptive equipment:
- Tolerate dark and confined spaces for up to 1 hour.
- Move through confined spaces of wet, dark, and slippery terrain that is consistently about 56 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Be able to identify and recognize environmental risks, including but not limited to, loose rock and unstable surfaces, steep and uneven terrain, cliff edges.
- Move through cave spaces by walking, bending and crawling.
Must be at least 8 years old.
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Terrain Descriptions
uneven, packed soil, flat, rocky, narrow, steep/gradual incline/decline for over 10 feet.
Virtual Reality Tour
Designed specifically for visitors with mobility challenges, now everyone can experience Dunbar Cave. Using VR headsets, you will tour Dunbar Cave from the comfort of our Visitor Center. This is a 360-degree immersive film of our Enter the Underworld tour and focuses on the indigenous peoples' use of the cave, including the Mississippian artwork. Duration is forty-five minutes and is recommended for ages 10 and up. Some participants may experience motion sickness. Duration: 1 hour
Age Limit: 10 years and older
Cost: $9 per person
This tour is available on demand during Park Office hours 8:00 am – 4:30 pm CST, seven days a week.
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No events are scheduled at this time, but there's always more to explore.