Fantastic Caverns
Courtesy Fantastic Caverns
Welcome to Fantastic Caverns, the show cave located in Springfield, Missouri, just about 55 miles north of Branson. This cave is known as 'America's ride-thru cave', the only cave in North America to offer a completely ride-thru tour!
This cave system was discovered in 1862 after a local farmer, John Knox, had a dog who found his way into it. 5 years later 12 women were the first to explore the cave system, and today it is known as 1 out of an astounding total 7,300 documented caves in Missouri (more are still being discovered)!
Your group will get to enjoy a 55-minute tour of the cave while sitting comfortably in a Jeep-drawn tram, driving along the path of an ancient underground river the entire way. You will experience the 'magnitude, stillness, and splendor' of the cave while still keeping the cave undisturbed.
Once inside Fantastic Caverns, tour guides explain the origins of the cave and its formations, including stalactites, stalagmites, columns, soda straws, flowstones, cave pearls and draperies.
You can visit this attraction year-round, the cave holding a nice 60-degree constant temperature, making it an all-seasons, all-weather experience.
School groups will love to take advantage of 'Missouri's oldest classroom', Fantastic Caverns offering field trip options with a focus on common core. Take the student Adventure Tour or Summer Discovery Tour. Learn all about the formations in the cave as well as the creatures that call it home, such as the Bristly Cave Crayfish, Grotto Salamander, and Cavefish.
