What does a million years old look like? Kids can find out as they step into science history at Cave of the Mounds. The limestone cave is a magical, almost other-worldly experience for those who climb down into the dramatic cavern.
Cave of the Mounds is easy to find in Blue Mounds, and the national natural landmark offers hour-long tours all but three days a year. If there’s a wait before yours starts, kids can dig for fossils and crystals or mine for gemstones.
Tours begin with a short but informative video, which explains things like how the cave formed — with a crack more than a million years ago in limestone made from shells when Wisconsin was covered with shallow water about 488 million years ago — and when it was discovered — in 1939, when a dynamite blast from limestone quarry workers revealed the underground wonder.
Then it’s time to explore! A guide leads you down and into the cave, which is outfitted with lights, steps and railings. From there, you meander alongside towering stalactites, stalagmites, “soda straw” mineral tubes and more, and past quiet ponds disrupted by occasional drops of water from the cave’s ceiling. Elements of the cave are still forming, your guide will explain, at the rate of about one inch per one hundred years.
The cave is damp, dark and a pleasant fifty degrees year-round, and sometimes groups must squeeze through a space single-file, which adds to the spirit of adventure.
Any day is a great time to visit, but consider coming back during a holiday. Cave of the Mounds hosts carolers around Christmas and invites kids to come in costume and trick or treat for fossils and gems at Halloween. For budding spelunkers, that’s even better than candy.