| In November 1974 two young cavers, Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts, were exploring the limestone hills at the base of the Whetstone Mountains. In the bottom of a sinkhole they found a narrow crack leading into the hillside. Warm, moist air flowed out, signaling the existence of a cave. After several hours of crawling, they entered a pristine cavern.It wasn't until February 1978 that Tenen and Tufts told the property owners, James and Lois Kartchner, about their amazing discovery. During the four years of secret exploration, the discoverers realized that the cave's extraordinary variety of colors and formations must be preserved. The Kartchner Caverns' existence became public knowledge in 1988 when its purchase was approved as an Arizona State Park. Extraordinary precautions have been taken during its development to conserve the cave's near-pristine condition.Kartchner Caverns State Park's wide variety of decorations, called "speleothems", began forming drop by drop over 200,000 years ago. Water seeping from the surface dissolves minerals on its trip through the limestone. Once it reaches the cave, the trapped carbon dioxide escapes from the water. No longer able to hold the dissolved calcite, the drop deposits its tiny mineral load. Over time, these minerals have created the beautiful speleothems and variety of colors found in the cave. Kartchner Caverns State Park is a "living" cave; the formations are still growing!While exploring the cave, paleontologists, those who study prehistoric life, uncovered an 86,000-year record of the local faunal community. The finds included the following: skeletons of an 86,000 year old Shasta ground sloth, a 34,000 year old horse, and an 11,000 year old bear; as well as terrestrial snails, a clam, a toad, a lizard, rabbits, snakes, a coyote, a ringtail, and many species of rodents. These discoveries have lead paleontologists to declare Kartchner Caverns State Park a treasure house of information on the local fossil history of the uplands around the San Pedro River Valley. |
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| | | Facilities: The Kartchner Caverns State Park provides guided cave tours, a Discovery Center, interactive displays, theater with video programs, gift shop, restrooms, telephones, food vending machines, lockers, an amphitheater, shaded ramadas and an outdoor dining area at the Discovery Center. The Kartchner Caverns State Park also provides 62 camping sites with electric hook-ups, water, dump station, restrooms, showers, and flush toilets. Best Time To Visit: The Kartchner Caverns State Park is open 7 days a week, 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Closed Christmas Day. Fees: Admission fees are charged to visit Kartchner Caverns State Park. There are also entrance fees, tour fees, camping fees, and other fees, depending on the activities visitors participate in during their visit to Kartchner Caverns State Park. Accessibility: The cave tour trail is barrier-free. Kartchner Caverns State Park, including the Discovery Center, is accessible for persons with disabilities. Rules: Many of the formations visitors will see in the Kartchner Caverns State Park have been continuously growing for tens of thousands of years. The formations grow very slowly and are extremely fragile. When visiting, remember that if the formations are damaged, they will stop growing. To avoid damage to the cave and injury to visitors, do not touch any of the formations. - Touching or breaking formations is punishable by law.
- No photography or video cameras allowed on cave tour.
- No walkers allowed on cave tour.
- Small children should be carried in arms or in front pack. No baby backpacks or strollers allowed on cave tour.
- No food, drink (including bottled water), gum, or tobacco products allowed on cave tours.
- No pets, except assist dogs.
- No littering.
Directions: Kartchner Caverns State Park is located nine miles south of I-10, off State Hwy 90, exit 302. To reach Kartchner Caverns State Park from Tucson: travel south on I-10 to exit 302, State Highway 90. The park entrance is nine miles south of the exit.To reach Kartchner Caverns State Park from Sierra Vista: travel north on State Highway 90 to the Kartchner Caverns State Park entrance.To reach Kartchner Caverns State Park from Tombstone: travel north on State Highway 80, then turn west onto State Highway 82. From State Highway 82, take State Highway 90 north to the Kartchner Caverns State Park entrance.Map: Click here for a map to Kartchner Caverns State Park Reservations: Reservations for the cave tour are taken from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. | | |
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| | | | | Address | | Kartchner Caverns State Park | | P.O. Box 1849 | | Benson, Arizona 85602 |
| | | Phone | | General: (520) 586-2283 | |
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