Cave of the Mounds National Natural Landmark

Cave of the Mounds National Natural Landmark Discovered in 1939-Rediscovered Daily! OPEN DAILY Summer Hours: 9 am to 7 pm, last entry at 6 PM Tours Daily Year 'Round!
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Cave of the Mounds-National Natural Landmark offers family fun for all ages! We offer tours of our beautiful cave, and there are many other fun activities to enjoy. Come mine for gems and fossils, crack open a geode, and more!

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many othe...
06/07/2026

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many other caves, both in the US & abroad)!

For the final day of Cave Week, let’s talk about a creature native to Cave of the Mounds: the springtail! Cave environments are extreme habitats, because of their total darkness, low food availability, high humidity, and constant temperature. Several animals visit caves for winter hibernation, sleeping and reproduction, or just looking for food. Other cave animals have adapted to spend their entire life in a cave. Troglobites are animals that spend their entire life inside the caves. They are specially adapted to survive extreme environments. Most of these animals lack pigmentation and have small or no eyes. Our springtails are troglobites! They are our only native cave animal - we have no bats, bears, spiders, snakes, or fish (or any of those animals we tend to think of as belonging to a cave) because we are a closed cave with no natural entrances, save for the fissure in the ceiling that lets in the water which forms our cave. Springtails are a type of hexapod (an arthropod with six feet, although they are not considered insects) named for their tails that help them spring into the air for quick movement. Our springtails tend to live in and around our pools and colorful areas of the cave, feeding on bacteria in those areas.

While our cave isn’t home to any bats, they do still live on our property! Bats are the only true flying mammal. Bats comprise the largest family of mammals with more than 1,500 species, and new species are still being identified. In the United States, there are 45 known species of bats. Currently 13 species have been identified as endangered and additional species are under threat. Wisconsin is home to eight species, half of which are considered threatened or endangered. Bats are not blind, they use echolocation to find food and navigate through the darkness. Bats are also natural pest control. Vital to a healthy environment, they eat tons of insects a day. White-nose syndrome is a disease that is decimating bat populations. Learn more about it (and how to protect your local bat species) at whitenosesyndrome.org!

Check out our story for more cool facts about caves or check the link in our bio to enter our Cave Week art contest!

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many othe...
06/06/2026

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many other caves, both in the US & abroad)!

On day six of Cave Week, let’s talk about caves and humans. People have used caves as shelters for thousands of years. Cave drawings (pictographs or petroglyphs) provide a glimpse into the lives of people who lived long ago. Artifacts and other items left in caves provide information about their daily lives. Artifacts may include pottery, arrowheads, baskets, and fishhooks. Many ancestral hominin fossils have been found in caves all over the world, from the Cradle of Humankind near Johannesburg, South Africa, to the Denisovan remains found across southern Russia and much of China. Caves have been used as both temporary and permanent homes, such as Grotte Mandrin in France (where there is evidence for both modern humans and Neanderthals living in the same space at different times of the year). They’ve also been places for art and recreation, such as Grotte de Lascaux, also in France and one of the most famous sites of cave paintings, or The Caverns in Tennessee, a modern music venue! The Cave of the Mounds was even considered as a raid shelter during World War II (although it never had to be used for the purpose). You could even say that caves are a major part of the story of humans!

Check out our story for more cool facts about caves or check the link in our bio to enter our Cave Week art contest!

06/05/2026

Cave After Dark: A Concert Series continues this month with GLOW PARTY! On June 13th from 7-9 pm, we will have Blacklights, glow sticks, and more for those attending our event. A portal to a glowing wonderland at Cave of the Mounds. Music will be in the cave by Sista Sensi.

This is an adults-only experience that includes a complimentary drink, light snacks, music, and a cave tour! Glow sticks and Blacklights are also provided 😉

Cave of the Mounds is just 20 minutes west of Madison. It’s an easy commute from Milwaukee, Chicago, Green Bay, or Minneapolis. And it’s really close to Mount Horeb, for those who want to stop by after visiting at the Summer Frolic.

Are you planning to make it a weekend visit? Stay in one of the many local lodging options, some of our favorite unique locations include the GrandStay Hotel, Iron Amethyst Inn (a speakeasy hotel & spa), or the Sunniva B&B close to downtown. Visit local shops, eat at delicious restaurants, hike nature trails, discover the Driftless Area, and enjoy the unique experience of a romantic time in a beautiful cave.

Tickets are available now. Tickets are non-refundable. This is an adults-only event (Ages 21+ only).

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many othe...
06/05/2026

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many other caves, both in the US & abroad)!

Today we are celebrating cave critters. Cave environments are extreme habitats, because of their total darkness, low food availability, high humidity, and constant temperature. Several animals visit caves for winter hibernation, sleeping and reproduction, or just looking for food. Other cave animals have adapted to spend their entire life in a cave! Troglobites are animals that spend their entire life inside the caves. They are specially adapted to survive extreme environments. Most of these animals lack pigmentation and have small or no eyes. Every year, the National Speleological Society spotlights a Cave Animal of the Year, and this year it is the Slimy Salamander. You can find these creatures in many caves and forests in the Eastern half of the United States. They are considered troglophiles, meaning they could live their entire lives either above ground or inside a cave, and they get their name from the sticky, glue-like substance they create!

Check out our story for more cool facts about caves or check the link in our bio to enter our Cave Week art contest!

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many othe...
06/04/2026

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many other caves, both in the US & abroad)!

Today’s topic is speleothems, or cave formations! The word speleothem comes from both Greek and Latin: the root “speleo” is from the Latin “speleum” ( which means cave - the same root word in spelunking!) and the suffix “them” is from the Greek “thema” (a deposit, or something laid down). You can call any formation in a cave a speleothem, no matter if it grows from the ceiling, the floor, or if it flows down and across both. Stalactites and stalagmites are the most well-known type of speleothems, but caves are home to many types of formations. Scientists study speleothem growth and chemistry to understand past environments. Sometimes, microbes (such as bacteria) can even affect or help the growth of speleothems!

Check out our story for more about speleothems or check the link in our bio to enter our Cave Week art contest!

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many othe...
06/03/2026

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many other caves, both in the US & abroad)!
For day three, let’s examine how caves can help us look at the world in new ways. One way is paleoclimate records, or what weather was like in historic and prehistoric times! Sediments, cave minerals, and ice from caves have the potential to provide detailed paleoclimate information. Caves are natural traps for sediments and have the potential to provide detailed paleoclimate archives comparable to tree rings, ice cores, and deep-sea sediment cores. Speleothems can provide high resolution climate records of the local climate in the immediate vicinity of the cave. Here at the Cave of the Mounds, we hosted Dr. Cameron Batchelor from UW-Madison between 2016-2022 to conduct studies on our formations and the paleoclimate information they hold. Another way caves can help us look at the world is through paleontology, or the study of fossils! Fossils can be found in many places within a cave, such as bedrock walls or even encased within speleothems (cave formations). Caves are ideal places to preserve fossils for thousands or even millions of years. Fossil remains can range from small shells to bear skeletons. Sheltered from weathering and erosion, caves are ideal places to preserve fossils for thousands or even millions of years. There are two categories of cave fossils: fossils that are preserved in cave walls or bedrock, and fossils that accumulate in caves from animals that die in caves, animals that fall into caves, or the remains of animals brought in by predators. All of our fossils here are located in our walls and ceilings, and we know of around 100 Ordovician-era fossils in the Cave - including a six-foot-long giant cephalopod shell!

Check out our story for more cool facts about caves or check the link in our bio to enter our Cave Week art contest!

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many othe...
06/02/2026

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many other caves, both in the US & abroad)!
Today, we’re taking a look at the hidden processes that go into the formation of caves. Many caves (including Cave of the Mounds!) are found in karst landscapes, defined by Merriam-Webster as “an irregular limestone region with sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns.” Sinkholes are holes in the ground formed when water has dissolved away the bedrock. Throwing trash into sinkholes threatens groundwater systems, the water that you drink, and the surrounding environment. In the United States, 40% of the groundwater that we drink comes from karst aquifers. The Floridan Aquifer—the largest karst aquifer in the United States—extends from Florida all the way to South Carolina. It yields more than 3,100 million gallons (11,735 million liters) of water per day. Karst springs provide sources of drinking water and unique, cultural, recreation, and economic value to our communities. With a growing population people are causing increasing problems to karst. Some karst aquifers are extremely permeable and vulnerable to contamination due to the ease in which contaminants can flow through areas of rapid infiltration.

Check out our story for more cool facts about caves or check our linktree to enter our Cave Week art contest!

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many othe...
06/01/2026

Happy ! We will be celebrating caves & karst landscapes all week long here at Cave of the Mounds (along with many other caves, both in the US & abroad)! Among the most vulnerable environments to natural and human hazards are karst landscapes, characterized by their cave systems. Caves are fragile resources, vulnerable to stressors like groundwater contamination and human activity, which can locally and regionally impact and damage them. Most states have laws that protect caves on state and private lands, and National Natural Landmarks (like us!) recognize significant caves on private lands throughout the United States.
Check out our story for cool facts about caves or check the link in our bio to enter our Cave Week art contest!

Join our art contest to celebrate Cave Week 2026! We'll have three categories: one for photographs, one for drawings, an...
06/01/2026

Join our art contest to celebrate Cave Week 2026! We'll have three categories: one for photographs, one for drawings, and one for coloring pages. Photograph, draw, or color any part of the Cave, then submit it to us for a chance to win and be featured on our social media pages! Entries should be submitted as a photograph to the Google Form in our linktree (so if you draw or finish a coloring page you can keep your original masterpiece!), and you can submit multiple entries, but you will need to fill out the Google form separately for each entry. Submissions will be open through June 7th, and winners will be announced afterward on our Instagram and pages. We can't wait to see what everyone creates!

Check out our upcoming events for the month of June at the Cave of the Mounds! June 1-7, we will be celebrating Cave Wee...
06/01/2026

Check out our upcoming events for the month of June at the Cave of the Mounds! June 1-7, we will be celebrating Cave Week, as well as the International Day of Caves & the Subterranean World on June 6th. Friday nights, we have a 21+ Blacklight & Brews tour, where adults can enjoy a drink as they head through the Cave with blacklights to lead the way. Saturday blacklight tours are open to all ages (although we find they're most fun for those 10+)! On Saturday, June 13th from 7:00-9:00 pm, check out our monthly Cave After Dark! A 21+ adults only party in the Cave, this month's theme is Glow Party, so wear your brightest whites and neons to light up the Cave under blacklights and glowsticks, accompanied by the music of Sista Sensi Music. Finally, on June 21st, celebrate Fathers' Day at the Cave with snacks and drinks in our Visitor Center, a tour of the Cave, and a geode to take home! Be sure to reserve your tickets for any of these events on our website at https://www.caveofthemounds.com/

Address

2975 Cave Of The Mounds Road
Blue Mounds, WI
53517

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+16084373038

Website

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