Jewel Cave National Monument Visitor Center — Attraction in Custer

The Historical Lantern Tour with Ranger Grace was exceptional! We weren't able to reserve tickets before hand online, but got lucky with walk-up tour availability ($16/person). The tour started at the CCC ranger cabin (we got to see insideee eeeek, it was super neat) where we chatted and went over history and safety etc. The actual tour through the cave was a much welcomed 49F - a nice place to be on a 100F day. The wind pushing through was the best part... well, maybe.. I think the best part was when we got to the end, all sat quiet with our lights off, and felt the true pitch black darkness with silence. Wow....

We did the 20 minute tour. I was mostly disappointed. We were 200 feet underground in a larger cavern. We did not leave the main cavern and looked at the walls of the central area for 25 minutes describing minerals in the veins of the rock. No active cave growth and nothing very interesting. Would not recommend.

The next step up is 2 hours tour which was grey area if my young kids could complete walking underground.

I would like to see a 45 min to 1 hour tour that explores or at least leaves a central room. 2 hours seems a bit much and is large...

Unexpected tour, about 1/4-1/2 mile on catwalks most of the way. Super cool temps inside the cave. Very unassuming from the literature and others, the cave has more larger caverns than other caves I have been to. Get tickets/timed slots the day before to ensure a slot. Information/education area needs improvement. Don't forget to visit the movie theater during trip as it is in another building and many people miss it. Tours start on time so don't be late, several people were left out of our group as they were 1-5 min late. Tour takes about...