Wyoming
The Best List of Caves in Wyoming

The Best List of Caves in Wyoming

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Caves in Wyoming are a source of great adventure and mystery for all hikers and spelunkers. Since a person knows that he is not the first one to venture into the cavern’s territory, it is natural that he would wonder what happened in the cave before people like him came along.

The Best List of Caves in Wyoming

Traveling into caves is like traveling back in time. It is said that every cave in Wyoming has a history of its own. Indeed, many caves today are not accessible by the public anymore, but these are timeless wonders and can be viewed from a distance.

The Best List of Caves in Wyoming

However, that would not satiate our spelunking hunger. Thankfully, the other caves in the state are open for us, and we will breeze through them in this article. 

The Top Caves to Visit in Wyoming

The caves of Wyoming have been described by many as underground gems. There are innumerable caves to explore across the state’s length and breadth, and most of them are accessible to the public. Even if you are new to spelunking, you will enjoy exploring the deep abscesses of the underground.

The Top Caves to Visit in Wyoming

Here are the top caves of Wyoming – 

  • Natural Trap Cave
  • Shoshone Cavern National Monument
  • Tongue River Cave
  • Horsethief Cave
  • Sinks Canyon Cave
  • Spirit Mountain Cave
  • Darby Canyon Ice Cave
  • Wind Cave
  • Kane Caves
  • Vapor Cave
  • Great Expectations Cave

Are you planning to visit all the caves of the state? If not, then let’s break this down a bit into different categories so that you can easily decide which ones to visit. 

Best Caves in Wyoming

Through this article, we will take a quick look into some of the best caves that the state has to offer. 

Ice Caves in Wyoming

Ice Caves in Wyoming

Darby Canyon Ice Cave

The Darby Canyon cave is one of the fantastic caves that you will ever see in your life. The ice cave does not have an impressive opening compared to the wind cave or similar other caves in the state, and it is impossible to see even the opening from the trail. One can reach the base of the caves by scrambling a 100 ft tall skree pile. Then you need to climb over 6 ft tall rock ledges to enter the cave.

From here, you will be able to see small bits of ice and two cave tunnels. One descends into a relatively narrow passage, but the upper passage can be explored without the help of any technical gear. The upper tunnel floor is usually covered with water that may or may not be frozen, but you will see some amazing icicle formations. 

Geothermal Caves in Wyoming

One thing that would strike you about Wyoming is the abundance of geothermal caves, but not everything is accessible. We look at a couple of these caves. 

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Vapor Cave

The Vapor Cave is the perfect place to steam away those stress at any time of the year. Locals and tourists frequent the place as they enjoy the warm pools, the water slides, and the hot Jacuzzis. The swimming pools are usually around 90 degrees F, but this area’s best attraction is tucked away in the hillside.

The Vapor Cave is a steam room carved out around a natural flow of geothermal water. As you step inside the cave, you will find hot mineral water bubbles coming from the depth of the Earth, getting the steam into the air and thereby heating the room. The steam room is beneficial for health issues such as breathing ailments. 

Kane Caves

The Lower Kane Caves is the largest thermal spring cave in the Big Horn Basin. The thermal spring water flows into the Big Horn River from the caves on either side of the anticline. The Lower Kane Cave is only 1100 ft in length, and within the cave, there are three active thermal springs.

There is also the fourth one, but that has been abandoned. One would find thick layers of gypsum on the walls and ceilings of the cave. 

Geothermal Caves in Wyoming

Limestone Caves in Wyoming

These are caves that formed by the dissolution of limestone. They are primarily found in the eastern quarter of the United States and southern Canada.

Great Expectations Cave

Located in the Big Horn Mountains, the Great Expectations Cave is the 3rd deepest limestone cave in the US with almost 8 miles of surveyed passage and more than 1400 ft of vertical extent. The cave also houses the largest cave room – The Great Hall – which is over 2000 ft long.

To find the cave, one needs to follow the creek that sinks into the cave at the entrance and reappears 6 miles down the canyon. Experts that only people with great spelunking experience and equipped with proper tactical gear should enter the caves. 

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Sinks Canyon Cave

Located in the Sinks Canyon State Park at Lander, the Sinks Canyon Cave is one of the best-known caves of Wyoming. Made up of limestone, the Sinks Canyon cave is a multi-level cave open throughout the year except in the early summer when the water level rises alarmingly.

With the help of a guide, you can explore the cave and learn about the canyon’s history. If you do not mind crawling, you can sign up for one of the more vigorous tours of the cave that gives you a chance to explore the deeper chambers of the cave. 

Wild Caves in Wyoming

These are caves that have not been explored and remain largely unknown.

Horsethief Cave

The Horsethief Caves is in the Big Horn Mountains and has around 8 miles of passageways. The cave is not for beginners, as advanced caving skills will be required at every stage. There are many unique shaped formations called speleothems here, making the cave one of the prettiest in the state. One needs a permit and a key to explore the Horsethief Cave.

Limestone Caves in Wyoming

Tongue River Cave

The Togue River Cave is one of the more popular caves in Wyoming as it is easily accessed and can be explored by people of all skill levels. Located in the Bighorn National Forest, the cave entrance is a gated hole around 5’ in diameter. It will lead you to a small room with a pit, and from there, cavers can go to Room # 1 and Camp Room. There is a beautiful waterfall towards the end of the cave. 

Natural Trap Cave

Located at the base of the Bighorn Mountains, the Natural Trap Cave has a wide 15’ entrance, but you will hardly notice till the time you are on top of it. To enter the cave, one has to descend to the floor of the cave. Since many prehistoric animals have fallen into the cave over the years, one can discover a huge number of fossils here.

There are many crawlways which leads to smaller rooms and one large room. The access to the Natural Trap cave is open to the public but limited in nature as much scientific research is taking place in the cave. 

Wild Caves in Wyoming

As you can see, the state of Wyoming has some pretty great offerings to cave lovers! Make certain to always be safe and prepared before entering any cave so you can make your cave experience a good one!

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