With work done by the CCC and a cave that is so large its end still hasn’t been mapped- Wind Cave is a National Park that wasn’t even on our radar until we were very close after a trip to Badlands. We decided to check it out and see what the park was about.
The above ground part of the park is picturesque with buffalo roaming the hills and prairie dogs scurring about. We went to the visitor center and learned about the cave. The cave is still being mapped as it’s end hasn’t been found yet. You can pay for a tour, but they weren’t giving any currently so we weren’t able to go this time. The museum at the visitor center and the part of the park above ground made for a good stop anyhow, so we were glad we checked it out. This cave has the largest amount of boxing of any cave yet discovered! - A fact we learned while going through a display of the different types of cave structures.
Prairie dogs were everywhere!
This park is on my list of places I would like to return to for more exploration. If you were roadtripping though the area it isn’t very far from Custer State Park, Devil's Tower National Monument, or Badlands NP.
I have to reiterate that the small museum in the visitor's center is worth a stop as well. There was a lot of good info about the tribes native to the area, a walk through diorama of the cave formations that explained how they happen, and information about the explorations into the cave. While this park is pretty out there, far from large cities, it is worth planning to visit!