Wind Cave National Park Sign

1912 american bison society needed a preserve to reestablish a bison herd.

Wind cave national park sign.

Passes can be purchased at the wind cave visitor center and at any staffed entrance station throughout the national park system. Wind cave national park is an american national park located 10 miles 16 km north of the town of hot springs in western south dakota established in 1903 by president theodore roosevelt it was the seventh national park and the first cave to be designated a national park anywhere in the world. A sign outside the visitor center provides directions. Wind cave national park offers scenic drives and over 30 miles of hiking trails through prairies and ponderosa pine forests.

Wind cave national park. Named for barometric winds at its entrance this. The main attraction of wind cave national park is the giant cavern stretching beneath the surface of south dakota s black hills. On january 3 1903 president theodore roosevelt signed the bill designating wind cave national park as the eighth national park in the united states and the first established to protect a cave.

Below the remnant island of intact prairie sits wind cave one of the longest and most complex caves in the world. Bison elk and other wildlife roam the rolling prairie grasslands and forested hillsides of one of america s oldest national parks. Early lakota indian inhabitants noticed wind coming from a small hole in the ground. Annual pass cost 80 available to the general public and provides access to and use of federal recreation sites that charge an entrance fee for a full year from month of purchase.

It s home to bison prairie dogs elk and numerous other species of birds and wildlife. Should i visit the park even if i can t see the cave.