There are five different cave tours to choose from at Wind Cave. Cave tours are available year-round, though in the summer there is a wider variety of tours offered. The tours vary in difficulty and in price. The temperature in the cave hovers around 53°F, so bring a sweatshirt or sweater.

Natural Entrance Tour

The Natural Entrance Tour (Memorial Day–Labor Day daily every hour, adult $9, child aged 6–16 $4.50, under age 6 free) is a 1.25-hour tour that is moderately strenuous, requiring about a half-mile of hiking. There are 300 stairs along the route, most of which are downward climbs; exit from the cave is via elevator. This tour brings visitors to the only natural entrance to the cave to discover why the cave got its name. Entry is via a manmade entrance and the tour takes visitors to the middle level of the cave where the boxwork formation, for which the cave is famous, is abundant.

Garden of Eden Tour

The Garden of Eden Tour (year-round, 3–4 tours daily, adult $7, child aged 6–16 $3.50, child under age 6 free) is the shortest and least strenuous of all the cave tours, with just 150 stairs to navigate. The tour takes about one hour and requires about a quarter-mile of walking. Entry and exit to the cave is by elevator. Small amounts of popcorn, boxwork, and flowstone (a calcite formation that looks as if it is flowing over the rocks) are seen along the trail.

Fairgrounds Tour

The Fairgrounds Tour (Memorial Day–Labor Day, 3–8 tours daily, adult $9, child 6–16 $4.50, child under 6 free) takes about an hour and a half to complete and requires about a half-mile of hiking. This tour is the most strenuous of the walking tours, as there are over 450 stairs to climb, including a single staircase of more than 90 stairs. The tour visits the upper and middle levels of the cave. Boxwork is abundant in the middle section and the upper level of the cave features large rooms in which popcorn and frostwork are common.

Candlelight Tour

The Candlelight Tour (Memorial Day–Labor Day, 1–2 tours daily, adult $9, child 8–16 $4.50) is a two-hour tour that requires about one mile of hiking. This is a strenuous tour that takes place in a less-developed area of the cave along a fairly rugged trail. Participation is limited to 10 people per tour. Participants are required to wear shoes with non-slip soles, so no sandals are permitted. In this tour, visitors explore Wind Cave the way that early cavers did, without benefit of electricity. Each participant carries a candle bucket, which is the only lighting for the tour. Cave walls loom into the light and shadows dance along the walls, heightening the sensation of visiting another world below the surface of our day-to-day lives. Advance reservations are recommended for this tour.

Wild Cave Tour

For the adventurous soul, the Wild Cave Tour (Memorial Day–Labor Day, one tour daily, $23) is the tour of choice. Be prepared to get dirty for this tour requires crawling through some very narrow spaces while learning the basics of safe caving. Wear old clothes. Long pants, long sleeves, and sturdy lace-up boots or shoes with non-slip soles are required. The park will provide kneepads, hard hats, and and lights. Note that participants must be at least 16 years old, and that young adults aged 16 and 17 must have a signed parental consent form to participate. This tour takes about four hours and covers about a half-mile, much of it spent crawling. This is not a tour for claustrophobics! Advance reservations are required.