![]() ![]() According to the legend, the cavern served as a bandit hideout twice in 1887, after two exciting train robberies. There is a ramp to the gift shop, but the cave itself is not wheelchair accessible.ĭeep inside the cave, tour guides explain how the cave formed, point out the beautiful formations, and tell the "Bandit Legend," the favorite part of the tour for many guests. Tours leave from the gift shop at the entrance. ![]() Today visitors take a fifty-minute, one-half mile guided tour down six stories into Colossal Cave to see the beautiful formations. Recent studies show it once served as a Hohokam shrine. The cave was officially "discovered" in 1879, but artifacts and soot-blackened ceilings testify to use by prehistoric cultures. Today, Colossal Cave is "dry," or dormant, and the formations are no longer growing.Ĭolossal Cave Mountain Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it certainly has a history. As the climate became more arid, the cave gradually dried up. Over millions of years, stalactites, stalagmites, columns and draperies formed slowly from water dripping from the ceiling. Groundwater seeping through the Escabrosa limestone formed the cave. Due to the enormously complex three-dimensional maze, it took over two years to map the two miles of passageway that are fully explored. The cave is not fully explored, but scientists estimate that there are at least thirty nine miles of natural tunnels inside the cavern. Located in the Rincon Mountains at an elevation of three thousand seven hundred feet, the entrance commands a panoramic view of the Sonoran Desert. One of the largest dry caves in North America, it maintains a pleasant seventy degrees Fahrenheit temperature year-around. It's always perfect weather for touring Colossal Cave, just twenty two miles southeast of Tucson, Arizona. Past that, it was excellent.Colossal Cave Sonoran Desert - Vail, Arizona Yes the road in needs a lot of work and you need to go in slow and avoid potholes. For those traveling with babies, use a body carrier and leave the stroller in the car. We left the site by 10:30 our tour was just around 50 minutes, most likely would be longer with a bigger group. Looks like they even had adult beverage options, always a plus for me. It also had a little snack shop that was not open when we were there are 9:00 am on a Wed. The site has easy parking, and a nice gift shop. I saw the group going in after us and it was double our size and I know that would have not allowed us to get into and hear everything we did with the small group. I felt that if the tour was larger, it would have been hard to see everything well. If you love to go in and see caves this was a really good tour. The cave and tour were excellent, there are a lot of steps and some narrow parts, if you are over 5' 10" a lot of low ceilings. We had the earliest morning tour which was nice because there was so few of us. Our grandson (14) liked this tour, but really wants to come back and do one of the longer, wild cave tours! The gift shop is amazing!! An incredible selection and a wide variety of prices to fit all budgets. What a great idea that was during the Great Depression. I loved the fact that the CCC did much of the construction to allow the cave tours. Dry caves just aren't as showy as wet ones. The cave itself is a little underwhelming if you've been in some of the more famous, larger caves.but it's fun. Super friendly, knowledgeable, and with a good sense of humor. All the staff members are pleasant and Erin (our guide) was phenomenal. Too many more than that and it might be hard for everyone to have the same experience. There were 18 in our group and that was fine. We did the normal tour, 45-50 minutes underground. The entrance road is in serious need of repaving, but if you're not in a low-slung sports car.just slow down and you'll be fine. Manage your expectations and you'll have a great time visiting Colossal Cave. ![]()
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