TEXAS SHOW CAVES


Texas has some unusually beautiful and interesting show caves to offer -- caves that are run as commercial and educational resources, making it easier for visitors by providing lighting and reasonable paths through them.

Show caves are open to the public, most notably: Cascade Caverns and Cave Without A Name (both near Boerne), Caverns of Sonora (Sonora), Inner Space Cavern (Georgetown), Longhorn Cavern (Burnet), Natural Bridge Caverns (New Braunfels), and Wonder Cave (San Marcos). Caverns of Sonora is considered by many experts to be the most beautiful cave in the world. The other show caves offer an amazing variety of beautiful speleothems (mineral formations), fossils, and history.

Seven show caves are detailed here with information to help you decide which to see (operating hours and admission prices may change -- check the linked websites directly). Several other "wild caves." that are not commercialized with lighting and pathways are now open to guided tours as part of Texas Park and Wildlife programs.

Many other Texas caves were commercialized and open to the public in various ways in the past: Robber Baron Cave in San Antonio, Bexar County; Fairy Cave near Boerne, Kendall County; Ezell's Cave in San Marcos, Hays County; Austin Caverns in Austin, Travis County; Cobb Cavern near Georgetown, Williamson County; Richland Springs Caverns near Richland Springs, San Saba County; and even the Devil's Sinkhole, Edwards County, where guano miners used to take visitors down on a hoist! Most of these caves were just a little too far out of the way to make a go of it, or sometimes the operators were just a little strange.

The links in the menu on this page will take you to some of the absolute best show caves in the US!!


All data on this page and on the linked Show Caves is revised from:
William R. Elliott and George Veni (eds.). 1994. The Caves and Karst of Texas: 1994 Convention Guidebook.
Natl. Speleol. Soc., Huntsville, Alabama. 352 pp. + viii + 13 maps. All rights reserved.