You can walk through 500-million-year-old limestone then ride 100 mph in the same afternoon

It’s Been Open Since 1881

Cave of the Winds Mountain Park sits in Williams Canyon, about 10 miles northwest of Colorado Springs, and it runs two worlds at once.

Below ground, you walk through passageways carved out of 500-million-year-old limestone. Above ground, you ride, climb, and zip across the rim of the canyon.

The cave stays 54 degrees year-round, so even in July, you’ll want a jacket.

What’s underground took millions of years to build, and the story of how people found it starts with a flickering candle.

Ancient seas built this cave one shell at a time

Long before the Rockies existed, warm shallow seas covered the Pikes Peak region during the Ordovician period.

Shells from sea creatures piled up on the ocean floor, layer after layer, and hardened into what geologists call Manitou Limestone.

Then, between 4 and 7 million years ago, rainwater mixed with carbon dioxide and turned acidic. That weak acid ate through the rock, slowly carving out more than 10,765 feet of passageways.

Jicarilla Apache legends spoke of a sacred cave here, home to the Great Spirit of the Wind. That’s where the name comes from.

A flickering candle led to Canopy Hall

Brothers John and George Pickett crawled through Williams Canyon in 1880 and noticed their candles flickering. Wind blew from a crack in the rock.

They squeezed through and found a large underground chamber.

Later that year, George Washington Snider, a stonecutter from Ohio, dug deeper and broke into Canopy Hall, a room nearly 200 feet long packed with stalactites and stalagmites. By February 1881, guided tours had already started.

The cave has run without interruption ever since, making it one of Colorado’s oldest attractions.

Walk a half mile through 15 underground rooms

The Discovery Tour is the one most people do. You spend 45 to 60 minutes walking through the electrically lit section of the cave, covering a half mile of concrete walkways and 196 stairs.

Guides walk you through 15 rooms and point out stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstone formations along the way.

Flowstone builds up over thousands of years as mineral-rich water flows across surfaces and leaves calcite behind, sometimes forming shapes that look like curtains or draperies. Families with kids of any age can do this one.

Candlelight, ghost stories, and a 42-inch ceiling

The Haunted Lantern Tour puts you in the Manitou Grand Caverns with nothing but candlelight. For 90 minutes, you move through dark narrow tunnels, uneven stairs, and rooms with muddy original floors.

Guides tell ghost stories and share local folklore about unexplained things people have reported inside.

One passage stretches 250 feet long and stands only 42 to 48 inches tall, so you duck and bend the whole way through. Kids under 8 can’t go on this one.

Crawl through mud for nearly a mile underground

The Expedition Tour goes deep. You spend 2.5 to 3 hours crawling, climbing, and walking through wet, muddy passages that vary in size.

Guides teach basic caving skills and share geology, history, and legends as you go. Expect drop-offs, tight spaces, ropes, ladders, and open exposure along the way.

Kids under 13 aren’t allowed.

Bring gloves, a change of clothes, and extra shoes, because you’ll need all of it by the time you climb back out.

Crystals that grow sideways and nobody knows why

In 1984, cavers broke into a room called Silent Splendor and found something unusual. Helictites, rare crystalline formations that appear to grow in every direction, covered the walls.

Scientists still don’t fully understand how they form. They’re so fragile that a light touch could snap them.

The room sits behind an environmental gate that locks in moisture so the formations can keep growing.

Four years later, another chamber called the Adventure Room turned up, left in its natural state with dirt floors and fewer lights.

They launch you off a 200-foot cliff at 100 mph

The Terror-Dactyl sits on the edge of a 200-foot cliff over Williams Canyon, and it does exactly what you think. Riders free-fall and swing 150 feet into the canyon at nearly 100 miles per hour.

The whole experience takes about 30 minutes, including the safety briefing. It was the first ride of its kind anywhere in the world.

Some outdoor attractions close during winter or bad weather, so check before you go if you’re visiting in the colder months.

Climb limestone cliffs on an iron road

The Via Ferrata takes you along limestone cliff faces high above the canyon floor, using a cable-and-ladder system based on routes World War I soldiers built to cross the Alps. “Via Ferrata” means “Iron Road” in Italian.

You don’t need climbing experience. The tour runs about 3.5 hours and finishes with the Frontier Zip Lines, two lines totaling over a quarter mile and 80 feet above the canyon.

The park gives you everything you need: harness, helmet, and gloves.

A ropes course perched on the canyon’s edge

The Pioneer Package bundles the family-friendly above-ground activities into one ticket. You get the Wind Walker Challenge Course, a three-story ropes course sitting right on the rim of Williams Canyon.

The Bat-a-Pult sends you on a 1,200-foot round-trip aerial ride. There’s also the Cliffhanger Climbing Wall and Geronimo’s Leap.

Younger kids can head to Stalactykes Adventure Side, built just for them. Cave tours aren’t included in this package, so you buy those separately.

Pan for gold rush gems and watch the cave grow

You can pan for gemstones at the sluice the same way miners did during the Colorado gold rush, and everyone walks away with colorful gems, fossils, or arrowhead souvenirs. Meanwhile, the cave itself keeps getting bigger.

The Williams Canyon Project, a branch of the National Speleological Society, manages preservation and scientific study here. New passages still turn up, and the surveyed length has grown to nearly two miles.

The canyon views from multiple points around the park stretch across the surrounding mountains.

Mild to wild, and it’s open 364 days a year

Cave of the Winds opens every day of the year except Christmas, so you can fit it into almost any Colorado trip. Wear comfortable shoes with good traction and bring a light jacket for the 54-degree cave.

The park sits minutes from Garden of the Gods and the Manitou Incline, so you can fill a full day in the Pikes Peak region without driving far.

Book ahead for the Expedition Tour and seasonal outdoor adventures, because spots go fast.

Explore Cave of the Winds in Manitou Springs

You’ll find Cave of the Winds Mountain Park off U.S. Highway 24, about 10 miles northwest of downtown Colorado Springs and two miles north of Manitou Springs. The park opens every day except Christmas.

Cave tours involve multiple flights of stairs and aren’t accessible for wheelchairs or strollers. Wear shoes with solid grip and bring a layer for the 54-degree temperature inside.

Check the official website for current hours, ticket prices, and tour availability before you head out.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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