Going down under, way under.

About this time of year, 33 years ago, cave explorers Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts made one of the most influential decisions of their lives.

While hiking in Benson, Arizona, on the desert property of James and Lois Kartchner, the friends came across a limestone sinkhole. Exploring it further, they discovered a large crack that ran for some distance, working its way into the mountain.

Through the narrow channel of cracks and crevices, sometimes on their hands and knees, they pushed on until they broke into a large honeycomb system of pristine and impressive caverns.

Keeping the cave a secret for several years, they eventually decided to inform the Kartchners of their discovery. In 1988, the park was purchased by the government and opened to the public under the name of Kartchner Caverns State Park.

While claustrophobic like myself may laugh at the notion of going deep underground to explore dark caves, have no fear. The park offers guided tours, with lights, sidwalks, and plenty of room to stretch out. The scariest part of the tour is passing through the enormous airtight steel doors which preserve the moisture level in the cave and prevent damage/vandalism to the mineral growths..

These guided tours consist of two paths. One which leads to the Rotunda/Throne room where visitors are told about the cave's formation, and treated to a laser light show at the site of a massive underground column. It's sounds corny, but when the lights are bouncing off the millions of shiny stalagmites and stalactites, it's actually pretty impressive.

The other, more popular "big room" tour, leads tourists along the path Tenen and Tufts followed as they explored the cave. This tour is only open from October to April because in the summer months the cave is a breeding ground for myotis bats. Without a doubt, one the the most impressive facets of the big room tour is seeing Tenon and Tufts prints (where they they crawled on hands and knees through the deep silty mud), still undisturbed for all this time. This tour also includes a more lengthy, in depth explanation of the cave's formation.


The caves themselves were formed from Escabrosa limestone deposited on the seabed millions of years ago. Through normal geological processes, these sedimentary basin sunk and shifted, forming the tilting rock faces of the cavern, all angled 15 to 35 degrees toward the southwest.

The caverns within the cave were expanded and enlarged through a complicated process of water erosion and wear from sediments. For a more complete scientific explanation, check out part the following video "Discovering Hydrology at Kartchner Caverns State Park."

The cave are still the focus of much paleontological study, according to the website. Throughout the caves lie the remains of thousands of years of cave dwellers, including the skeletal remains of an ancient sloth (86,000 years old) and horse (34,000 years old).

Not only is the park famous for its underground attractions but it's beautiful topside scenery as well. Numerous trails run throughout the park and camping permits can be purchased on site for $22. The tours through the caverns themselves cost around $20 for adults (14 and up) and around $10 for children.

If you haven't already, take the time to explore one of Arizona's most impressive subterranean wonders. For information or reservations call, (520) 586-CAVE (2283)