Cave of the Mounds

Great cave to visit outside of Madison! My wife and I came here during a weekend getaway after stumbling upon it & so glad we stopped. We got lucky with parking as it was a holiday weekend and the lot filled up. Once inside you can wander the caves, which is always gun and a nice way to get out of the heat. The staff here is very informative and happy to answers any questions. It's worth a trip!

Neat!
Not too many caves in the midwest - we went to the Cave of the Mounds during our vacation to Madison WI with the family.
Very nice!
It was a little pricey - at almost $24/adult and about $14 per child.
Took about an hour or so, less if one goes swiftly. We went through twice to take a look at all the various areas of the cave.
It was great looking at the different formations, listening to the educational points by the various employees, etc.
A flashlight can be rented as well.

Staff was helpful and pleasant.
Gift shop has a bunch of different beautiful lamps that can be purchased.
They also have rocks of different types outside the cave that are beautiful to look at.

The area also has trails I believe which we couldn't partake of.

Parking is free.

Would recommend!

What a cool hidden treasure tucked away about an hour away from Madison! We went on a rainy holiday weekend and spent a couple hours exploring the cave of the mounds. This was a great mix of a tourist experience and natural wonder. When you buy your tickets, it definitely is worth it to add a black light flashlight rental for your group to share! If we lived locally, I definitely would be a member to pop into these caves regularly if I could!

We visited Cave of the Mounds for the first time at 1PM on a Saturday. There was plenty of parking in a lot that was about a five-min walk to the welcome center. Once we paid for our tickets, we were assigned a tour that started 15 min from when we arrived. It gave us time to use the bathrooms in the check-in building, and browse one of two souvenir stores on site.

A huge shoutout to Nova for being the best tour guide! The tour started in a presentation room that had tables with a bunch of geodes and other historical artifacts. After an overview of the tour, which included safety procedures, we then entered the cave to begin the walking tour. The cave was magnificent! It was hard to imagine that such an expansive and interesting natural landmark was so close to Madison!

The journey through the caves was really enjoyable, and the trek was pretty flat and easy to navigate, with a few exceptions. There were stairwells at a couple spots that got a little slippery, but the handrails added great support. At one of the tightest routes, Nova informed our group that for anyone who felt uncomfortable navigating through the passage, he could show them an alternate route. Some folks on the tour had to turn sideways to fit though the narrow passageway, but no one had any issues getting through. For context, I'm 5'6 and did not have to duck once during the tour. The tour does include moments of total darkness, and the cave stays around mid 60s Fahrenheit.

We had a great and informative time! Thank you again to Nova for being such a fantastic guide!

This is one of the smaller caves I've been in. Tour is short but I did enjoy seeing everything. This is a short drive if you want to get away from Wisconsin Dells for a bit. I took off a star because $22 is kind of pricey for such a short experience. I'm sure people know this but it's actually warmer in the caves than it is outside especially when it's winter. They have a small souvenir shop if you want to pick up something. Tour guide was informative and knowledgeable.

I loved going here! I went here today with my husband and in-laws. The cave is not only beautiful but a very easy walk to get around. It's also dark and cool in there, despite outside being over 80 degrees!

Everyone who works here is super nice and pleasant. Definitely a place to visit!

Well just to join my close friend in his proposal since I was in between transitions of not working I was going to go either to starve rock or I propose going to morton arboretum and he suggested this place up in Northwest Wisconsin close to Madison Illinois. Since he enjoyed Chattanooga Tennessee with Ruby falls he proposed this which I didn't mind since it was new. It was a cold winter day before we had a blizzard so I came along. This cave has some interesting history it was discovered back in 1939 it was privately owned and then turned into an historical private exhibit. Four out of five stars because I was expecting it to be a little longer than most caverns I've been to as a child but it was decent and not too far away. The guides talk about geology and how certain parts of the cavern had merged next to the water and the microbes inside and a tricky question between stalactites and stalagmites. Do also check their gift shop since it's all related to geology and if you're a person who likes to collect rocks and geodes this is another good place to go to while you're here next to the tour

Dylan led us on a fun and pun filled tour of the cave. On a hot day It felt good to be where it's 50 degrees. The children on our tour were curious and engaged. The cave is a must see for anyone visiting Wisconsin!

Cave of the Mounds is an awesome state treasure in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. I highly recommend anybody to visit here at least once, the cave entrance is in a back room in the main gift shop.

It leads you directly underground. The cave takes roughly 30-40 minutes to get through completely, it's really cool and there's tons of opportunities for you to take pictures. The temperature of the cave is roughly 50 degrees so dress appropriately! There are trails outside of the cave that you can walk through as well. In the gift shop, I recommend buying a geode (I think?) rock and ask the employee to crack it open outside for you, you can even buy the $5.99 one - really cool experience .

This is the teeny-tiny version of Carlsbad Caverns. If you've never, ever seen a cave, then go here. The guide we had was informative, but couldn't answer all my questions, one of which was do you go permanently blind if you come out of a cave after getting cave-blindness. Which you supposedly get after being in a pitch-black cave for an extended period of time. Does that last forever? He didn't know, but I hope he finds out so the next person who asks will get an answer. The tour is pretty short, less than an hour. You do get interrupted by other groups going past, and you do hear other guides talking when you're trying to listen to your guide, but again, this is a teeny-tiny version of a huge cave, so I guess it's to be expected. The grounds are beautiful, the hillside garden is pretty, and the beer garden is very pleasant. If you have seen a huge cave, skip this. If you have kids under 15 that you need to entertain, go here.