By Amy Newcomb
GUIDON staff
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It’s safe to say summer temperatures in mid-Missouri can be stifling. So, how do you beat the heat?

Fantastic Caverns, North America’s only ride-through cave, stays a constant 60 degrees year-round. Not only can you escape the heat, but you also get to explore one of Missouri’s natural wonders.

Kirk Hansen, public relations director, said Fantastic Caverns is one of three all-riding cave tours in the world. He said that even in the winter months, the cave’s 60-degree temperature feels warm, making it “kind of an all-weather attraction” suited for all ages.

“Everyone may participate in the tour regardless of their age or physical ability. There are no long walks or stairs,” Hansen said. “It’s ideal for seniors, disabled travelers and families with small children.”

The caverns are filled with glistening stalactites and stalagmites that range from hundreds to thousands of years old and grow approximately one inch every 100 years. There are also several water pools and two sinkholes throughout the caverns that visitors can view during their tour. 

Hansen said the stalactites and stalagmites are very fragile. Every human touch to a cave formation leaves behind a small amount of body oil that could discolor or slow down the formation growth. Touching the formations also makes accidental breakage more probable.



Cave history

In 1862, not long after the Civil War began, John Knox, who was a farmer, and his dog discovered the caverns. The farmer decided to keep them a secret because he was afraid the caverns would be exploited by Union and Confederate forces for saltpeter, an ingredient used to make gunpowder.

Approximately five years after discovering the cave, Knox placed an ad in the local newspaper looking for explorers, which was answered by 12 women from the Springfield Women’s Athletic Club, whose names are painted on the cave wall.

The first explorers had to crawl through an opening about two feet across and use rope, ladders and homemade lights made with candles.

Today, explorers ride in jeep-drawn trams, which are powered by clean-burning propane.

“The trams are all equipped with ramps/lifts that allow most wheelchairs to just go right onto the tram,” Hansen said. “I guess this, combined with the other features of the facility, makes us ‘wheelchair friendly,’ an unusual moniker for any cave facility.”

For almost a century, people, in one way or another, have utilized the caverns. In the 1900s, the cavern was used to grow mushrooms. During Prohibition in the 1920s, the caverns were used as a “speakeasy,” which allowed people to dance, drink and gamble.

In the 1960s and 70s, the country music radio show, Farm-A-Rama was filmed in the Auditorium Room of the caverns, Hansen said, and Buck Owens, Bobby Bare, Ray Price and other big country stars shared the stage with the Ozark Playboys.

“The (Ozark) Playboys went on to be Presley’s show in Branson,” he added.

In 1961, Mark Trimble purchased the caverns and turned it into a ride-through tour. Bridges were built to span the sinkholes and a pathway of gravel was laid for the jeeps, but every precaution was taken to preserve the caverns and the animals that reside there.



Natural residents

Within the caverns, cave animals like cave crayfish, grotto salamanders and Ozark cavefish dwell in total darkness. These creatures have become blind and lost the pigment in their skin from living in total darkness for generations.

Hansen said sightings of the cave animals while on tour are rare because these small, protected critters spend their time in parts of the cave not normally toured.

“There is a stream passage on a lower level that has permanent pools of water where the most fragile animal, — the Ozark cave — fish, lives,” Hansen said. “It is common to see bats flying around … an occasional sighting of the cave salamander is possible.”



Hours, tickets

Fantastic Caverns is open daily from 8 a.m. to dusk, except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Admission is $22.50 for adults, $14.50 for children ages 6-12 and free for children 5 and younger. Season passes are available.

Fantastic Caverns is located northwest of Springfield off of Exit 77 off I-44. Follow Hwy. 13 North and watch for the Fantastic Caverns signs. For more information, visit www.fantasticcaverns.com or call 417.833.2010.