Ozark St. Francis National Forest officials have announced the seasonal reopening of Blanchard Springs Caverns in Mountain View on Friday.
The Dripstone Tour reopens Friday. The hour-long, half-mile tour takes visitors through the upper level of the caverns. It was designed to accommodate strollers and wheelchairs with a strong assistant.
The Discovery Tour will open Memorial Day weekend and continue through Labor Day. The 1.2-mile, more arduous, non-accessible tour is hosted in one of the lower levels of the caverns.
The Wild Cave Tour is currently not being offered.
Tickets should be purchased in advance at recreation.gov, and onsite purchasing of tour tickets is not always available. Forest officials say advanced ticketing for tours allows the caverns to staff guided tours and provide a more enhanced visitor experience. Prices range from $16 for ages 16-and-older, $11 for children ages six-to-15 and $1 for children ages five-and-under.
The Visitor Center and Eastern National gift shop will be open Thursdays through Mondays from 9:30 to 6 and closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Eastern National is a non-profit association “supporting the interpretive, educational and scientific programs and services of the National Park Service and other public trust partners.”
Blanchard Springs Caverns is often considered the premier guided “living” cave system open for public tour in the National Forest System. The Caverns are located off Arkansas State Highway 14 between Mountain View and Fifty-six. Visitors can experience formations like stalactites, stalagmites, columns and flowstones which are still changing and growing due to underground stream systems and springs.
For more information about tickets and to purchase a ticket, visit fs.usda.gov, or call 870-757-2211.
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