Springfield, Missouri: Fantastic Caverns: Ride-Thru Cave

See Nature's mostly unspoiled beauty by jeep in "America's Ride-Thru Cave."

Very nice on a hot day since temp in Fantastic Caverns is always 60 degrees. Great for families! High quality and well trained staff!

Fantastic Caverns was discovered in 1862 by an Ozarks farmer -- or more precisely, by his dog, who crawled through a small entrance in a hillside (The attraction is pet-friendly to this day; pets are welcome to the tour the cave with their people as long as they are friendly and on a leash). It wasn't until five years after its discovery that the first exploration of Fantastic Caverns took place: twelve women from Springfield, answering a newspaper ad seeking explorers, ventured into the cave. Their names remain on a cave wall today. Fantastic Caverns is one of more than 7,300 documented caves in Missouri, and more are still being discovered. It's no wonder that Missouri is called The Cave State.

Really beautiful cave, and great tour for kids who typically whine that their feet are tired minutes into a walking tour! Really pricey compared to the many other caves we've toured, at over $80 for our family of four.