Blanchard Springs Caverns

Show Cave Operated By The United States Forest Service In The Sylamore Ranger District Of The Ozark National Forest One Of Very Few Developed Show Caves In The Country Run By The Forest Service Rather Than By The Park Service Or A Private Operator. Opened To The Public In 1973. · Fifty-Six, Arkansas

Blanchard Springs is a living cave, still being made by the water running through it, and it is one of very few show caves in the United States run by the Forest Service. The entrance is a lift that drops more than two hundred feet into the hillside, which is itself unusual - most caves make you walk in. Two routes lead off it. The Dripstone Trail is paved, largely level and about an hour long, running through the upper level past flowstone, columns and an enormous single chamber, and it is open year-round. The Discovery Trail drops to the stream level, runs longer, takes about seven hundred steps and only operates in the warmer months. There is also a wild cave tour with helmets, knee pads and crawling. Above ground the recreation area holds the spring itself coming out of the rock, a CCC-built dam, a campground, swimming and trout water, and the whole thing sits inside the Ozark National Forest fifteen minutes from Mountain View.

Blanchard Springs Caverns, Highway 14, Fifty-Six, Arkansas, 72533, United States

The visitor centre and the Dripstone Trail run year-round on daytime hours, with tours departing at intervals through the day and a reduced winter schedule. The Discovery Trail is seasonal, roughly spring to autumn, and the wild cave tour runs by reservation only with a minimum age. Tours are ticketed and summer departures sell out. The cave is closed on major winter holidays and can close at short notice for maintenance or for bat protection measures. Confirm the day's tour schedule before driving - the nearest town of any size is fifteen minutes away.

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