Reviews of Wind Cave National Park Visitor Center (Tourist Attraction)

Billl Alexander

Real nice place

Sande McPherson

All natural beauty, good place for visitors, nice cave

Breanna Taylor

Their customer service needs some improving.

Ben Jablonski

Wind Cave was great, our tour guide was obviously passionate and did his job exceptionally well. The rangers at the front desk we're very helpful and able to answer all questions I had. But yeah, the cave tour is a must! Oh and the bathrooms we're clean, too!

Kathi Bosilovatz

We enjoyed hiking the centennial trail came across lots of wildlife up VERY close.

Chad Reickard

We liked Wind Cave more than Jewel Cave! The tour takes you through tight turns and low ceilings which makes it an ADVENTURE! You can just show up and hope to get in or just take the next tour or buy tickets online. We chose to show up, buy tickets, then eat while we waited. They have a very informative tour guide and great stories on the original founders and how it became a national park. You can visit the original entrance too.

casey carr

Great way to spend time with friends/family. Very interactive for all ages. Multiple park rangers in the area to answer questions. While waiting for tours they have a Junior Park Rangers program where kids go on a scavenger hunt to learn about the caves history as well as nature in the area. The guide was very informative and made the tour memorable.

Jo Anne Jolley

Disappointing. Lack of funding has really hurt this place. You can't tour the cave because the elevator has been broken down for months.

Corbyn Larson

Several tours available. The Natural Entrance tour has talking/walking ration of 1:1 -- time wise.

J Pineda

Fun and educational for the entire family. Wear a jacket, it's cold in there!

Multileege Adendum

It was so beautiful inside the cave. The cave tour could be better lit but it's definitely a gotta go destination

Paula Johns

Don't need your National Park Pass to visit this jewel. Lots of opportunities to see bison close up and other wildlife!

Tayler Hill

Great mixture of geology and culture at this visitor center. The rangers were very kind and had set up additional surface talks to accommodate for the fact the the elevators weren't working and therefore no cave tours were being given.

Ron Mistelske

Nice experience. Long tours are well worth the money and time.

Brent VanHyfte

Didn't get to actually tour the place due to limited time. Don't know if I'd come back after having already seen Carlsdlbad Caverns and Mammoth Cave.

Staci Haynes

Very neat cave. Would recommend.

Theresa Tyler

Very nice National Park with very friendly park staff.

Ainsley Collins

Nice park. Visitor center was nice and helpful but all of the tours were closed today so wasn’t much for us to do

Anmesh Gaire

We picked the 'nature' something package and it was amazing. It felt awesome when the guide closed all the lights and candle once we reached around 200 feet below the ground level.

Effie Hunter

The visitors center and cave tour is really cool! So much to learn about. Kids had fun completing the Junior Ranger Program. If you are near by or looking for a great place to visit, check it out.

Summer Castro

I'm giving it three stars because the caves were closed, but the staff was amazing, especially Zoey.

Bart Hill

Great visitor center. Very good displays, and friendly rangers.

Pat Dunkle

Loved our tour very nice the box work was so amazing

Liam Smith

Wind Cave is a beautiful national park. Definitely worth the drive, especially since Wind Cave is right next to Custer State Park. You are highly likely to see Buffalo while driving into the park. The Rangers are very knowledgeable and happy to help, just like any other national park. The formations are incredible in these caves, Wind Cave has some 90% of all the cave box work in the world. Wind Cave also has many different tours so you can see large expanses of the cave.

Daryl Plank

Beautiful and cool, well worth your time

Gina Mason

Took the middle length tour.... it was unique in the boxwood formations.

William Boland

I thought there was a good layout and solid offering of history and gifts as far as National Park Visitor Centers go. However the entire staff is clearly low because the amount of cave tours was capped at 4 today (April 16, 2019) which was horrible for such a main attraction. The region is definitely beautiful and you will enjoy the drives to and from the visitor center.

lindsey12osu

Amazing tour! Ranger Callie was the best!

kurt klicker

Great experience! Our tour guide Savanna was very knowledgeable.

Matt Winward

Go try and fit under the cement section that proves you can be a spelunker. Tour is nice too. One of the least visited national parks by numbers but it was a good place to visit and worthy of the designation.

Alex Saunders

Park was very cool. Sucks the elevator was broken but it was definitely worth a visit anyway.

Hannah Mohr

Looked cool, but the elevators were down and all yours were closed.

Bob Moore

Ranger was great she her job very well organization was great The pace we were lead through was to fast for us to enjoy many of the features

Chris G.

Fantastic! I had never been in a cave before it was really cool!

Ron Withers

It is one of many amazing and beautiful hidden treasures in our country. I wish I had more time to explore it and learn more.

David Schmitz

The elevators were not working, so that sucked.

dakotaboondocker

We drove completely out of our way to check out the cave and they said some elevator is out... would be neat to see but very expensive to check out the cave. Not going back

Kylie B

Honestly so beautiful. I had a blast

Elodie Prohaska

Our tour guide was wonderful and we had a great time. Plus, we learned a lot.

J Huinker

Beautiful park! Wind Cave Visitors Center was very informative. The building was kept up nicely and the park rangers were very helpful and friendly. The elevator was not working when we were there, so there were no cave tours at all. There were lots of activities at the visitor center at least. The gift shop had a lot of options for souvenirs and were reasonably priced.

AJ Ruiz

A great National Park visitor center. The staff was helpful, plentiful, and a wealth of great information. The facility was useful for planning our exploration of the park, had great exhibits, was the location for cave tour tickets, and had ample parking. For cave tours, be aware they’re sold on a first come basis. Also, be aware the tours are guided and early times often sell out quickly so get there early for prime tour times. Finally, uncontrolled children on the easier tours do disrupt and deter from the experience.

Jeff Bates

This is a must see National Park, Mount Rushmore over shadow's this area. Make sure you set a side time to see this area. Besides you get to drive thru Custer State Park on the way there.

Tim H

Nice enough lobby. I just feel like they could do better with the queue. I get that there's a limited amount of people that can go through but I feel like some people won't last the 2 hour wait for their tour, so there needs to be a way for people to just fill those vacancies instead of waiting. Im sure the cave itself is great, so I didn't review it but I don't have all day to wait for a tour.

Autumn Underberg

The awesome displays were entertaining and informative. The caves were closed but there was a movie and plenty to see. Wildlife is abundant so make sure to drive through.

Derek South

Very nice CCC built building staff were great.

Tami Hrabe

We had a lot of fun on the tour through the cave.

Pete Brautigam

Rangers work hard and are very knowledgeable of the park. Cant wait to go again.

Benjamin Whitmore

The elevator was not working so we could not tour the cave. However, there was a nice area for a picnic lunch.

Sue Scroggins

Sadly the elevator is down for the season. But there are exhibits & a nice video.

Javier Espinoza

Very friendly! Definitely stay for the tour of Wind Cave.

Lois Hoffbauer

The elevator for the tour broke down 6 weeks ago and wont be fixed for another month.

Wendy Norman

Pretty cool tour. Do wish others on tour with us were more respectful of tour guide.

Irina Y. Pozyvaylo

Lovely place. Great hikes.

Bill Gassman

The cave is worth the trip. Nice campground next door. Cave tour goes down 22 stories, then you return via elevator. One in our tour party of 45 got anxious a few steps in and was cheerfully offered a refund. It is unlike any other cave that I have been in. They have mapped over 100 miles and feel there is 100s more to go.

Karen Demers

Beautiful setting worth many photos. Be sure to bring your own water as none is available at the campground

Samantha Nelson

Ranger Sina was absolutely amazing.. I have never encountered a ranger as wonderful. Natural Entrance tour was informative and extremely enjoyable!

Anita Gianardi

The elevator was broken so no tours, will try again next time

Dennis Burns

Nice cave! Lots of tour options. Your kids will definitely enjoy it!

Pianowizards milwaukee

Good grief. I drove 40 miles to take a tour and they were not giving tours because the access elevator was broken. FOR TWO MONTHS! And would not be fixed for six weeks. Call ahead if you want a tour. The "free video" was unwatchable. They should pay you to view it.

richard heck

Elevator is broken, no tours. Call ahead we went on August 19, 2019

roger michelson

Fantastic place! Got to get there if you can!

Erin Lewis

Beautiful place with a neat giftshop and museum.

Mary Tyler

Great tour. Amazing sights well worth the time.

sabarish burlagadda

Very helpful to understand about the place, have free wifi in very remote place.. fantastic locations.. and friendly people in reception counters.

Shanda Channer

Neat cave! We did the natural entrance tour

EndlessCaptures Tyson Kinnison

If you have a chance to stop here and wonder at one of nature's finest caves. We brought a very powerful flashlight and stayed behind the group and explored the walls and ceiling while keeping pace. Lots of crevices and Geo's in the walls!!!! Don't run, the ground may be slick!!!

michael lopez

Only giving it this rating because the cave was closed because the elevator is out of service for the next month. Call ahead before going out if you want to go into the cave. The visitors center and grounds where beautiful.

Gary Mertz

Can't give it a 5 Star which I'm sure it is because the elevators were not working so there were no tours. They had no idea when they would be able to give tours again, so call before you go.

Ehtesham Showmo

Third largest cave in the US. We took the natural entrance guided tour, and it was amazing.

Betsy Taylor

Great cave. Lots of tour options for a variety of people.

Tom Raines

I would absolutely love to give this place 5 stars, but unfortunately the staff member that helped my party was nothing better than 1 star. The information was great, the building was nice (if a bit dark), and the gift shop great. Unfortunately she was just absolutely terrible, rude, and annoying to work with. I'm going to have to decline to give this a 3 star but hope to visit again someday.

Travis Nelson

Would have been nice to know elevators didn’t work after driving for hours to see them.. maybe a sign at entrance of park ...

Daniel Holler

Wind cave is very nice, though a bit tight for taller people. Jewel cave is nearby and a bit more roomy.

Tina

Extremely friendly and knowledgeable staff, nice gift store, interesting items.

Holly Crawley

Great guide through the cave...very enjoyable. I'd recommend bringing a pocket flashlight, however.

Hank Marks

Awesome experience. I’d recommend nonslip shoes as I almost died (exaggeration) inside the cave. Be prepared to sit around for an hour if you don’t make it in time for a tour. Still really cool.

Helen Rusaw

Highly reccomend if you can do stairs...

Francis Mai

Nice family friendly tours of the caves. Very interesting. But I do want to go back to do the more extensive 4 hour, wild cave tour which shows show how to go caving. This required reservations though.

Jennifer Bonsall

Most amazing thing ever!! So fascinating!!

joe moa

It a vister center learn stuff Thare

Minh Do

Pretty average caves for a National park. Have seen better caves that were not park of a national parl

Jerry Parker

I traveled 2000 miles to discover that this damn cave was closed because the elevator shaft leading to the cave was broken. My damn tax dollars don't go far enough.

Cynthia Feldt

Staff were helpful and friendly. The elevators are not working but at least I was topside and did not have to climb the stairs. The repairs should be done and operational again by Monday.

Victoria S.

The trails were well marked and we saw bison, prairie dogs galore! So disappointed that we couldn't go into the wind cave because of the elevator.

Beth Ann Pillen

Tours very well organized. Visitor center is spacious and displays interesting.

Sarah Davis

Free outdoor air conditioning. Why was a city not built around this thing?!?!?

Darin Mislow

Very informative, Ranger Nicholas told us the best routes to drive to see the most wildlife and he was correct!!!

Michael Mellor

Got there 10 minutes before the big tour, it was 3 minutes prior to tour that I got up to the girl selling tickets, she would not sell us a ticket. When we got in our car to leave the big tour group was still waiting to start the tour.

Stephanie Ford

Very nice park and rangers were friendly and fun. We took the more strenuous cave tour and did fine with our 7 year old. A must see. We want to return and explore more.

Jc23xo wonderland

Wow it was such a great experience definitely worth every dollar. Ponchos and sandals are given so it's better to go here before maid of the mist so that you don't wet your personal sneakers (which can be a pain)

Jennifer Stroessner

A mist stop while in the area. Great cave tours, hikes and lots of buffalo.

Bryan Wenger

One of our nation's historic attractions and probably the most complex cave system in the world. I have taken many cave tours and how worthwhile the tour is usually depends heavily on the guide. Suffice it to say that NPS ranger Anthony Rivera is worth waiting for and turned the "Fairgrounds Tour" into an unforgettable experience.

jackie ling wong

loved the candlelight tour. call 30 days before and reserve a spot. the staff is friendly and efficient. don’t forget your senior pass (50% discount on tours). beautiful prairie trail behind the visitor center and nice formations in the cave. a great addition to our trip to the badlands which we love.

George Vinyard

Great Ranger talk. Disappointed we could not your the cave because elevator was out of service for repairs.

Andrew Murphy

If you have the chance to have Hollie give you a tour, absolutely do! She is very personable and passionate about these caves and her tours are amazing! I recommend coming here for the unique and awe inspiring experience.

Todd Cisna

Awesome! Great place to see wildlife. Lots of bison and thousands of prairie dogs. Very scenic!

Amanda Largin

Call ahead and make sure the elevator is working!! The same thing has happened to me at Carlsbad caverns.

Dennis Fuerst

Another NPS fiasco. Not even one tour available. Stupidity in action like Rushmore.

Emeka Ihekweazu

It was an amazing experience with so much cultural history. Though you gotta be careful about the reptiles and Poison IVY

Michael Hoffman

Would have been 5 stars if the cave was actually open (closed due to elevator being out of service). Plenty of wildlife above ground, however and an informative ranger.

Zhiju Yang

Great tour. Very like it. Expect a wild tour someday.

Edgar Luna

Outstanding !!!!!!!!!!! The Rangers there are professional, great with kids ,and a pride in what they do and the treasure they protect .One Ranger in particular Nicholas Espinosa ,very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about teaching great great

Lora Guerrero

Pretty cool to go down 236 ft below the Earth's surface and not a ton of $$ to see it

Jenny Redlin

There were no tours and the caves were closed for renovations. We decided to drive in and go to the visitor center anyway but when we arrived the fire alarm was going off an everyone had been evacuated. Park rangers patrolled everyone, yelling at new groups of visitors to move to the other side of the road (as if they’d said it to the same people 1000 times and were angry about it). We waited 20 minutes and then went to find some prairie dogs.

Vasant Agrawal

Pretty cool place if you are a fan of geology and like caves as the "boxwork" here is unique to this area and cannot be seen anywhere else. You have to pay for the guided tour even if you have a national park pass. The highlight for me was experiencing the wind flow from one of the tunnels else I wasn't impressed much.

Doug Hoffbauer

Taking the summer off? No tours into cave all summer? I wish you would have let public know, before driving down there.

Michael Shafer

Great experience friendly rangers just a fun all around time and beautiful scenery in the black hills

Ghennel Horozewski

This was our favorite cave tour in the area. Very interesting.

Robert Snow

This is a real gem of a park. Interesting from an environmental perspective, a geology lesson, or a historical perspective. One of many places to visit in this area of SD.

Marie Getz

Great Junior ranger program. The kids learned a lot (and so did I)!

margaret santangelo

Elevators were broken no tours disappointed

Michael Sefranek

Beautiful caves. Disclaimer: plan ahead with this one. We knew tours could not be booked ahead, but it was very busy, and it was harder to get everyone in our group on the easiest (shortest and least stairs) tour. I advise sending someone 20-30 minutes ahead to get tickets ahead of time once you know exactly what tour you want. The tours vary in difficulty and how many are given per day. We went on the fairgrounds tour which was 450 steps up and down, with the biggest stretch of upwards stairs being 89. It was fairly annoying when a portion of the tour which was supposed to be dark kept getting interrupted by people with cell phone lights and other lights. The caves were not as cold as I expected, in beginning of June was when I visited. It was humid, also. You may lose cell reception depending on your provider, so dont expect to make outgoing calls unless you get the wireless internet from the visitors center, which one of the people in our group was able to use just fine.

Sherri T.

Amazing views on the road in...many bison! The caves are equally amazing!

Geoffrey Jens

Great place to visit for the whole family

Stephen Smith

Nice visitors center with cool exhibits about the cave and local area!

Jamey Tollefson

My favorite National Park. We come here to look for presents for our nieces and nephew in the gift shol. There's always wildlife to watch also.

Charles Burrier

Elevator was broken couldn't your.

Melissa Gaines

We sound more Buffalo then we happened to in Custer State Park. It's worth the drive and worth going through the cave tour. Call ahead to make sure things aren't sold out or shut down. Wear comfortable shoes but enjoy yourself The Visitor Center isn't crazy informative just enough to give you the gist of it which was enough for my kids attention span!

Steve Garver

The elevator has been broken for 2 months. There is no way into the cave. It's a real government poorly run operation. Private enterprise could do a much better job just look at Crazy Horse comparied to Mount Rushmore.

Beanman Bo

Didn't get to explore the caves apparently the elevators were broke down.

R03a la

This was my first time I had ever been in a cave in the experience was phenomenal it was amazing because of my experience I had here I am definitely going to be checking out more caves. I left this place I was in aww

Alison Nelson

Please, please, please visit the cave map on the lower floor first! Seriously, read it. Its stinking hilarious, and will change your perspective on the professionals who have made this information available to the public. Too often, we get the most serious side of learning activities and never the adventures and humor involved in the original discovery. Don't get me wrong, the mineral formations are awesome. It's even worth listening to an overly-stern ranger's eye-opening speech after being scolded in public by the same ranger. But reading the words "pee bottle cave" (among other greats which I will not spoil for you) on an ornate display in an institution of learning was really what topped off my day.

baljinder singh

Slightly out of way from needles highway, but the drive was worth it. Clean facility and knowledgeable staff. We did the movie and walked over to the cave mouth which has the hole with air blowing out. The elevator which takes you down for the tour was broken - that was a bummer but that’s okay. Make sure you call for the tour before heading out.

Mike Bailey

Great parking area., very helpful and great facilities. The tour in the cave was educational and fun.

Ed Crapo

Checking out the caves are fun. Bring a jacket. The temp in the caves is cool, even in the summer.

SR Hildenbrandt

The Visitor Center was informative and we'll staffed ... and not crowded. The downside was the caves were closed due to the elevator being closed for maintenance.

Stephanie DeLillo

Lots of tours available. Very informative exhibit on the wildlife and history of the caves. Only reason I didnt give 5 stars is that the exhibit in the basement was designed to be interactive about caves and a few of the things were broken and therefore werent usable. The scenery was nice for hiking or driving as well.

Beth Freeman

Amazing cave! Great guided tour, very clean and approachable visitor center and exhibits. Above ground trails don't seem to get much traffic. Winter has limited tours.