Our family experienced this cave tour in partnership with Cave of the Winds Discovery Tour
Our family trip to Colorado Springs was full of so many amazing experiences. Find our full family fun itinerary here {coming soon}
One of our highlights was driving to the “Top of the World” 14,000 feet in elevation at Pikes Peak. Then on the way down the mountain, we went deep into the earth in the Cave of the Winds Discovery Tour. To be on top and then underneath the earth in one day was exhilarating!
Discovery Tour in the Cave of the Winds
It is difficult to find a cave tour that allows toddlers or babies in. The discovery tour was super kids friendly. While not stroller friendly, you can use a baby carrier. We let our toddler walk and she was fine. There was one baby in our group that was having a hard time and kept crying and screaming. They were able to easily return to the beginning and get a full refund for the tour.
Getting started
Buy tickets in advance to ensure your tour time. Otherwise, you can buy at the ticket box but may have a wait time for your tour. Don’t worry, there is plenty to occupy your time with {keep reading}.
The Discovery Tour enters the cave from inside the Visitors Center area. It was hard to imagine going into a cave when going from the manmade to the natural. The Lantern tour (for older kids-adults) enters from the outside, which I think would be more authentic. But the gift shop entrance was easy to access with a nice air-conditioned waiting area.
Be prepared to take a family photo at the beginning of the tour. They say it is to make sure everyone who goes in also comes out. But, of course, they also have it for sale for $15 or a USB drive that also includes quality photos from inside the cave for $20.
Our tour guide was funny and clever. The kids were enthralled with her jokes and explanations. On top of that, I liked that there were things for the adults to learn, too.
They do keep the tour moving to make time for the next groups coming in. There isn’t a lot of time for questions.
What will I see in Cave of the Winds Discovery Tour?
The kids loved the stalactites and stalagmites. I like the formations called the curtain and cave Bacon. The history of the cave and the first tours was also fascinating to imagine.
At one point in our tour, the guide turned off the lights and turned on a lantern. It was such a small amount of light. You really couldn’t see much at all. She explained that the Lantern Tour is done with this limited light and is more exploratory.
Our guide turned the lantern off and we were in complete and utter darkness for about a minute. It was a bit unsettling to not be able to see the fingers right in front of your eyes, let alone your kids! Only in a cave and in Marianna Trench in the ocean can you see absolute darkness, so this was something incredible to experience with my children.
The most incredible thing about caves is that in person it is always more incredible than in a photo. Go and see for yourself.
Free Fun outside the Cave
Cave of the Winds offers so much more than just Cave exploring.
Outside the cave, there are multiple options for fun and adventure, including 2 free attractions.
My kids loved climbing up 7 levels of stretchy cords to a 3 level twisty slide.
Downstairs is a wooden maze, intended to be like spelunking or cave exploring. The kids crawl on their belly up and down different levels. Just be aware when sending in very young toddlers… you most likely won’t be able to crawl in and get them out.
Of course, like every good tourist sight, there was an amazing gift shop to browse and explore. which may or may not be a free attraction.
Extra Fee Fun Outside the Cave
You’ll also find a rock climbing wall, a ropes course and downstairs you’ll find the Bat-A-Pult. Each of these attractions costs $15 or $30 to ride them all unlimited. They all look amazing because you are looking down a canyon wall into the small town of Manitou Springs.
You can also purchase a bag of Spluice. We learned that this is a bag with dirt and gems. You put them in nets in a river of water. Then, ‘pan’ for the gems that you get to take home with you.
They also offer a Via Ferrata hike. Since I just learned about these, I’ll explain what that means. It means “Iron path” and refers to a hike in the Alps, but has now been generalized to other protected climbing paths. You climb on metal bar straight on the cliffs of a canyon. They usually have guides to lead the climbs. I haven’t been able to do one since we usually have our kids with us, but let me know what you think if you do it!
Inside the visitor’s center is also a Cafe with made to order food. It smelled amazing. There were plenty of seating options with a gorgeous view of the canyon.
Find more information at the Cave of the Winds Website
If you enjoyed the Cave of the Winds Discovery Tour, you’ll also be interested in these other Colorado Springs Posts:
Colorado Springs Itinerary
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