Wind Cave National Park
Trip Assistant
How Much Time?
Wind Cave is great, but you don’t really want to budget a ton of time for it (unless you want to do a few cave tours). You’re better off getting up to Custer State Park to do some hiking and Mount Rushmore, and the abundance of other outdoor opportunities you have in western South Dakota.
And while the hiking is fine, you come here for what’s below the earth, not what’s above it (even though it’s a fantastic wildlife viewing park too).
Need to Know
- The standard tours do not require reservations in advance, but these days, you’re best off considering it reservations required.
- Reservations are required for Wild Cave and Candlelight tours (by phone 605.745.4600, up to one month in advance).
- Backpacking is limited to the park’s northwest corner.
Highlights
- Wind Cave
- Wildlife
- Rankin Ridge Lookout Tower
- NPS-5
Activities
- Hiking
- Biking
- Horseback Riding
Favorite Trails
Easy
Moderate Strenuous *Links to AllTrailsWhen To Go?
Weather
Visitation
It’s higher, cooler, and wetter here than Badlands, so summer isn’t quite so oppressive in the middle of the day. And there’s shade. Still, I wouldn’t be excited about driving Needles Highway in the thick of peak summer tourism. Try spring or fall, if you can. I think you’ll like it.
Park Map Downloads
Road Trips
Helpful Tools
Below you'll see a Google Map to help plan road trips from the east (Badlands), north (Spearfish, SD), west (Bighorn National Forest), and south (Scott's Bluff NM). It’s a good start, but I’d highly recommend making your own. Google My Maps, Wanderlog, and TripIt are incredibly useful trip planning tools. Find what works best for you!
There’s much more to our country. Here’s another Google Map with points of interest across all types of public land.
For campers, here’s a Google Map with National Forest campgrounds. National Park campgrounds are difficult to reserve (there are about 200!). With nearly 5,000 national forest campgrounds, you can usually pull in and find a spot.
Highlights
- Bighorn National Forest (WY, fantastic hiking/backpacking destination)
- Devil’s Tower NM (WY)
- Jewel Cave NM (SD)
- Toadstool Geological Park (NE) (Oglala National Forest)
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