Jewel Cave is located in southwest South Dakota near Wind Cave National Park. This is one of the longest caves in the entire world at 215 miles currently mapped and they are still exploring and finding more of the cave each year. Jewel Cave is considered a “dry cave” and was not carved out by rivers that were underground. Due to this there are not as many stalactites and stalagmites unlike other caves such as Carlsbad Caverns. However, this cave has its own unique formations like Nailhead Spar Crystals, Dogtooth Spar Crystals, and Speleothem.

The best thing to do at this national monument is to explore the expansive cave, but the only way to do this is to go on a ranger led tour. You can purchase tickets online at recreation.gov or in person on the day of the tour. I would recommend booking ahead of time, especially during the busy summer season. There are four different tours that are offered that range in ability.

A centrally located place to Jewel Cave, Wind Cave, and Custer State Park is Custer, South Dakota. Custer is around 20 minutes away from Jewel Cave. For our stay we found a place out in Hill City because it was slightly cheaper when we were visiting. Hill City is slightly north of Custer and about 40 minutes away from the park. Another option is Rapid City. This is a much larger city, which means more amenities, but it is an hour away.