Blanchard Springs Caverns, located on the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests in Arkansas, will celebrate its 50th year of operation on July 7, 2023.
Blanchard Springs Caverns is an Arkansas treasure and often considered the premier guided “living” cave system in the National Forest System that is open for public tours. Open since July 1973, the Caverns are located off State Highway 14 between the towns of Mountain View and Fifty-Six, and are home to one of the most spectacular and carefully developed caves found anywhere. Visitors to the Caverns experience stunning, glistening formations like stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and flowstones, which are still changing and growing over time due to underground stream systems and springs.
Multiple sensitive salamander and bat species call the Caverns home. The Dripstone Trail, which stays a cool 58 degrees year-round, takes visitors through the Caverns on a one-way, one-half mile accessible trail designed to accommodate strollers and wheelchairs. The longer, more strenuous Discovery Trail explores the middle level of the Caverns system. This trail follows the path of the first explorers through water-carved passageways, under the natural entrance, along the cave stream, and through enormous, beautifully decorated rooms. This tour is 1.2 miles long, with nearly 700 stairsteps.
Make plans to visit during the Caverns’ anniversary season! For more information and for reservations, please visit https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/facility/233266.
