Wind Cave
May 2025 | Park 38
Part + Park 3 (of 3) of our Memorial Day roadtrip, and this was the day the sky really opened.
It poured from morning to night, which was ideal for when we went into the cave but unfortunate for all our hiking and camping plans in the surrounding Black Hills. We called the trip one night early and started our drive back to Denver at 5pm when facing the choice of sleeping in a very soggy tent or gutting out a five-hour drive and making it back to our own cozy bed.
Although this was definitely the right choice, it felt like it cut our time here a bit shorter than we wanted. The cave itself was beautiful, which means a coming lot from me since I’m firmly an above-ground girl. We deeply appreciated the reverence with which it was shared with the public as Wind Cave is a sacred site to many surrounding Tribes, including but not limited to the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota peoples. The visitor center landed among our top five favorites seen so far based on the co-creation of content with these and other Tribal Nations.
If there is a next time that I’m in the vicinity, I would definitely visit again — the Black Hills alone would draw me back. Another day, perhaps!
Pictured below:
Our misty, rainy drive through the Black Hills.
Boxwork and other features in Wind Cave.
