Cave of the Winds

Useful Information

photography — Cave of the Winds, CO, U.S.A. Public Domain.

Location:	100 Cave of the Winds Rd Manitou Springs, CO 80829. I-25 to Exit 141, Hwy 24 west for 10 km. Adjacent to Manitou Springs, CO. (38.8724892773308, -104.92032162445341)
Open:	Memorial Day to Labor Day daily 9-18, last tour at 17:30. Labor Day to Memorial Day daily 10-17, last tour at 16:30. Closed Thanksgiving, 25-DEC. [2023]
Fee:	Discovery Tour: Adults USD 27, Children (4-12) USD 18, Children (0-3) free. Lantern Tour: Adults USD 34, Children (8-12) USD 24. Military Discount 10%. [2023]
Classification:	Karst Cave Blowhole Ordovician limestone.
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	A=2,150 m asl
Guided tours:	Discovery Tour: D=45 min, L=800 m, St=196. Lantern Tour: D=90 min, L=1,500 m, MinAge=8. Explorer’s trip: D=240 min. V=200,000/a [2022]
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Cave of the Winds, 100 Cave of the Winds Rd Manitou Springs, CO 80829, Tel. +1-719-685-5444. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1600's	known to the Ute Indians who lived in the mountain to the west.
MAR-1875	Messr. Case and Willcutt, discover the narrow opening to a cave while blasting limestone. They called it Mammoth Cave and opened it to the public.
02-OCT-1875	an engraving of the entrance to the cave appears in Harper’s Weekly magazine.
1876	sold to Tom Green, who continued to offer access to the cave.
	Mammoth Cave renamed Hucacode Cave, after two couples Hugh, Carl, Cora and Delia. Also called Huccacove Cave.
26-JUN-1880	Reverend Roselle T. Cross with several boys from a Boys Exploring Association visits the canyon. Two boys, George and John Pickett discover several chambers in the Cave of the Winds archway.
JUL-1880	Cave of the Winds first opened to the public by Charles Cross and the Boynton brothers.
DEC-1880	George W. Snider discovers a small blowhole with a plume of steam seven meters high during a hunt.
JAN-1881	George Snider and Charles Rinehart discover an upper level in the Cave of the Winds, form a partnership to purchase the cave.
26-FEB-1881	the Cave of the Winds is re-opened on a limited basis to the public.
09-JUN-1881	George Snider returns and excavates the blowhole, finding the Manitou Grand Caverns.
JAN-1885	George Snider begins commercialization efforts at the Manitou Grand Cavern.
07-MAR-1885	Manitou Grand Cavern opened to the public.
20-APR-1895	new tunnel entrance to the Cave of the Winds.
11-OCT-1904	the Grand Caverns are temporarily lighted with electric lights.
FEB-1906	five new rooms opened in the Cave of the Winds.
04-JUL-1907	electric light in the Cave of the Winds.
MAR-1910	R. D. Weir and J. F. Sandford excavated Centipede Cave in lower Williams Canyon for Lisle Harris.
10-JUL-1911	Centipede Cave opened to the public as Manitou Cave, electrically lit.
25-OCT-1913	Charles Austin of the Cave of the Winds purchased Manitou Cave, and closed the cave to the public.
APR-1960	additional parts of the cave opened to the public.
1974	fluorescent lighting installed.
01-MAY-1988	Adventure Room opens to the public.
1989	the Old Curiosity Shop opens to the public.

Description

The Cave of the Winds formed inside the William’s Canyon Limestone. This is Geology Ordovician limestone which was formed about 450 Mio years ago. There are many caves in this area and a long history of cave exploration and exploitation. The Mammoth Cave, later renamed Hucacode Cave, was open to the public earlier. Since then the Manitou Grand Cavern was used as a show cave with electric light, and Centipede Cave was also opened to the public as Manitou Cave. Today only Cave of the Winds is still toured.

The cave was named for the moaning sound, the air produces in the natural entrance. This entrance is high on the cliff face of William’s Canyon. The Visitors Center at the cave entrance provides a breathtaking view.

Show cave owner in the U.S.A. are often show men, entertainers, who did their best to entertain their visitors, in order to draw as many visitors to the cave as possible. Obviously, the number of visitors relates to the income. And here they were quite successful, 200,000/a makes it one of the most visited show caves in the State. And they did this not with boring geological facts, they made it by claiming this was the most hunted cave in the world. The best way to hear those stories is the Haunted Lantern Tour, which shows a part of the cave which is not electrically lit. Visitors are equipped with historic lanterns, on special occasions the guides wear costumes like in the 1800s. The lanterns are more or less simple boxes for a candle, build to avoid the candle being blown out by walking. We have no idea if such lamps were actually ever used for cave tours, we guess they are fake, developed to make the tours more interesting. The tour is 1,500 m long and takes 90 minutes, a 75-m-long section is only 1 m to 1.2 m high, which requires stooping or even crawling. The floor is mostly uneven dirt floor and may be slippery, so it requires appropriate walking shoes The tour is a historic part of the cave which was once the official show cave at the end of the 19th century. The guides tell a lot about frightening folklore, scary ghost stories, and unexplained phenomena of the Manitou Grands.

The regular tour is called Discovery Tour which is intended for families and electrically lit. The tour leads through meandering passages and 15 chambers on an 800 m long concrete trail. Nevertheless, there are numerous stairs and narrow passages, so the cave is not accessible with strollers or wheelchairs. The cave offers a complimentary visit into the Canopy Hall, the first chamber in the cave, for wheelchair users. As the chamber has beautiful formations, this is actually a good introduction. Wheelchair access is also available in the Nature Center, Pavilion, Caver’s Cafe, Gift Shop, and restrooms.

The cave also offers above-ground activities like gold panning, zip lines, and a sort of bungy jump sitting in a cable car called terror-dactyl. There are also trails in the canyon for walking, but they are sometimes closed due to natural dangers like fires or bad weather. The cave is located in the Pikes Peak region of Colorado, just west of Colorado Springs on U.S. Highway 24.

Another rather weird thing about the Cave of the Winds is that it is only the second most famous attraction with this name in the U.S.A. See Showcave Cave of the Winds for the other one.