colossal cave quotthe cave is now closed

If they did, he said, it's never been found, and park personnel have extensively explored the cave. Our tour guide addressed one popular legend: that bandits hid a stash of gold somewhere in Colossal Cave. More extensive tours that utilize CCC ladders and rock-climbing techniques also are available. The basic tour, on which we were joined by three others on a rainy Sunday morning, follows a half-mile loop and includes information about the cave's history, geology and legends. CCC crews also built the walkways inside the cavern, where the temperature stays in the low 70s year-round. Many of its rock formations were broken off to be sold as curiosities.īut Colossal Cave is still a spectacular place to visit, starting with the above-ground facilities constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. As soon as I learned that the former Civilian Conservation Corps camp office is now the CCC Museum at Colossal Cave Mountain Park, I had to check it out. In contrast, Colossal Cave was used for storage by the Hohokam people about a century ago, and after white men discovered it in the late 1800s, it became a hideout for bandits and a target for treasure hunters. No one had ventured into Kartchner Caverns before its discovery in the 1970s, and its designation as a state park has kept it in pristine condition. The other big difference is the caves' human histories.

Colossal Cave no longer has water flowing, although it's not technically a 'dead' cave - a bit of monsoon runoff trickled into the cave this summer, the first time that's happened in 12 years, our guide said. For one, water continues to flow into Kartchner Caverns, meaning that cave's rock formations continue to grow. On an hourlong tour past the cave's stalactites, stalagmites and other unique formations, we learned while Colossal Cave is similar to Kartchner Caverns in many ways, there also are important differences between the two caverns. Having visited Kartchner Caverns State Park last year, we decided to check out another well-known cavern in the area: Colossal Cave Mountain Park, located east of Tucson. On the way back from a recent Arizona Highways assignment in Southeastern Arizona, my wife and I were looking for something to do in the Tucson area.

Colossal cave quotthe cave is now closed