We were SO excited for this park! Geology Hubby was able to come, this was the kids’ first cave experience having only seen rock shelters to this point AND bonus! the McCrackens joined us as well. The park was just a few miles from the house we had just spent the weekend at and we were able to get in to the first tour at 10am. The tour was almost 2 hours long and chock full of information and history! I’m going to do my best to recap it all.

This Solution Cave formed as a result of the prehistoric “lift up” that occurred when volcanic activity caused the land in Texas that was ocean floor to rise above sea level. Rivers then formed and this area’s river flow dissolved the limestone and dolamite rock bed creating the unique tunnels and spaces below ground. Prior to becoming a state park attraction in 1932; the Comanche, the Confederate Army and party-goers of the 20’s used various parts of the cavern via the numerous above ground entrance points. The state of Texas purchased the property from Rancher D.G. Sherrard and the CCC spent 4 years cleaning debris, washed in dirt and even skeletons of longhorns that had tumbled in. Thus the inspiration for the name!

We began the tour at the CCC created entrance and we had barely gotten over the fact we were under ground and in 68* with 102* up above when we walked into the first calcite deposit in the cave. Holy crystals, batman! 😂

On our way to the main chamber, we encountered our first of many aerial bats! The guide told us this was a real treat as Tricolor Bats are normally very sedentary when in the cavern emerging only every 3 days to eat tons of mosquitoes and then return. But, Fall is mating season! So they were darting everywhere! I did manage to catch one sitting still for a picture! We arrived in the main chamber where the original entrance was once located prior to 1934 and thoroughly enjoyed stories of Comanche rituals, Confederate soldiers mining bat guano for gun powder and elaborate dinner and dancing parties. While the entrance was concreted over after the cavern was established as a state park, there were a number of other remnants of the “days of yore.” Such as the bandstand, the access and pulley system that was used for food service, the spot known as the “Queen’s Throne” complete with broken off stalactite carved names 😳, and a few remaining barrels from the Cold War Era when the cavern was stocked to support 2,000 people in the event of nuclear holocaust.

After a brief hunched over walk, we came upon the stunning “Hall of Marble.” Not actual marble, but dolamite stone. In this area, we got a great look at a 17,000 year old stalactite formation! Fun fact, it takes 100 years for 1 inch of calcification to form and if touched, the oils on our skin will kill the process. Yikes!

We got as far down as 125ft below the surface and the guide turned out the lights! I mean, you expect it to be dark…but dang! Pitch black darkness is intimidating! From there, we back tracked and that was the end of the tour. 11 miles of the cavern has been explored to date. We saw 1.5. Amazing.

For as much work as the CCC did below ground, they doubled it above in this park. They built roads, levees and numerous buildings out of the materials they pulled out of the cave. After lunch, we explored some fine examples of “National Park Service (NPS) Rustic” as we came to learn the style of CCC structures are called. We particularly enjoyed climbing the watch tower and inspecting the original visitor center that was used until 1967. That building was one of the more elaborate I’ve been in for a state park.

There were a few short hiking trails in the park as well, but we were spent and still had a 4 hour drive home. This park is a chart topper, for obvious reasons! The kids said the cave “trail” was the best trail ever. Lol! Weston wants to return to do the wild cave tour where they take you through 4 extra tunnels some of which you’re army crawling through. Stay tuned 😉

-Lindsay