Cave of the Winds

Cave of the Winds in Manitou Springs is one of Colorado’s oldest attractions. Unfortunately, now it’s just part of a larger tourist trap destination.

Cave of the Winds Tours

The caves have been open for tourists continually for 141 years! The Cave of the Winds opened as an attraction in February 1881, making it one of Colorado’s oldest paid attractions. Tours were given by candlelight until electric lights were installed in 1907.

There are currently two types of cave tours to experience. The Discovery Tour is more about the history of the cave and how it was formed. This is the one I took – a 45-minute walking tour through narrow passages with tight stairs that leaves every 20-30 minutes.

Another tour that leaves every hour (most days) is the Haunted Lantern Tour. On this 90-minute tour, the guide serves up more folklore and ghost stories along with the history of the cave. And not only do you go into unpaved sections of the cave, but you do it by candlelight, like the original tours.

A Discovery Tour costs $26 for adults, $17 for kids 4-12, free for 3 and under (a front carrier for babies is recommended.) The Haunted Lantern Tour costs $34 for adults, $24 for ages 8-12, and kids under 8 aren’t allowed. Those with a military ID get 10% off all ticket prices. I can’t imagine what you can see (or can’t see) with just a lantern, but it sounds really fun! Make sure to purchase all cave tour tickets online ahead of time to make sure you have a spot.

Cave Tour Review

I honestly wasn’t too impressed with my tour. I’ve been on a few cave tours recently, most notably at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. And, of course, I grew up near Ruby Falls. Compared to those, this tour was a bit boring. The caves are nice enough, but my tour guide sounded like she’d given her spiel about a thousand times before. And there are these goofy spackle-covered fluorescent tube lights around the cave that are pretty gross. It’s a weird solution to cave lighting.

On the “pros” side. The caves are pretty cool! Both figuratively (neat-looking) and literally – the temperature in Cave of the Winds stays 54 degrees Fahrenheit all year. There are some delicate formations that you can see and some bigger open caverns. The tour takes you past where the original rope-ladder entrance is, the original 1907 lighting, and some small sections that are the natural cave floor instead of paved concrete.

Other Cave of the Wind Activities

Besides the cave tours, several extra-fee activities are sold separately as a “Pioneer Pack.” As far as I can tell, it’s all or nothing – you pay for all of them, not just one. However, that may be different on-site. There’s the Wind Walker Challenge Course, one of those square, self-contained ropes courses where you’re harnessed into an overhead track. Geronimo’s Leap is a balancing-challenge climb up to a controlled jump. The Cliffhanger Climbing Wall is a transparent plastic sheet with disc hand- and foot-holds to the top. And the Bat-A-Pult is a seated, two-person zip line, similar to one at Glenwood Caverns. The cost for the Pioneer Pack is $28/person, and you must be at least 42″ tall and wear closed-toed shoes for all the attractions.

Additionally, there is the Terror-dactyl, a sort of free-fall swing ride for two into the canyon that costs $40 (must be at least 48″ tall.) And there’s Frontier Zip Lines for $69 on the other side of the ridge from the caves. A European-style Via Ferrata takes hikers on a two-hour, clipped-in guided cliffside hike, ending with a ride on the zip lines. (This looks more terrifying to me than any of the other options!) $109 covers both the Via Ferrata and the zip lines. They say no experience is necessary, but you must be at least 12 years old and 48″ tall to participate.

Besides all that, there is Axe Throwing, Gem Mining, and a free playground with a tall “Stalactykes” Adventure Slide and a wooden-box Caver’s Crawl good for kids. (I’m pretty sure that once you throw gem mining into the mix, you’re officially a tourist trap.)

Food & Shopping

The attractions at Cave of the Wind are split into two areas. The main section at the entrance to the cave holds a large Souvenir Shop and the Canyon Rim Grill with a light-filled lobby/dining room to eat in. A small Nature Center is where you wait for your cave tour to start, and you buy all your tickets in the gift shop or online. All the Pioneer Pack attractions are on this side, as well as the Terror-dactyl, perched on the edge of the canyon.

On the other side of the ridge is the Prospector’s Grill, the zip lines, axe throwing, and I imagine the Via Ferrata experience. The sides are split up into “Discovery Ridge” for the cave side and “Frontier Canyon” for the rest like it’s a theme park. Except here, you’d have to pay over $200 per person, and it doesn’t seem worth that kind of investment. Though maybe I’m underestimating that $109 Via Ferrata experience…

Ultimately, while there are some impressive offerings here, there are better cave tours out there. This one has some good history, but the presentation seems dated and tired.