Onondaga Cave State Park, Missouri

Curt

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Feb 1, 2014
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I went backpacking to the Missouri Ozarks to hike along the Ozark trail around Goggins Mountain with a with a father and son of the same last name. The fall colors were beautiful but having grown up in the desert I have always found it difficult to get excited about hiking in forests - and we did a lot of that. By the way, we saw no one while we were out and the trail looked barely used. But this isn't why I'm writing.

I wanted post something about a different place in Missouri that impressed me very much. On the way home Bob was looking at the map and saw that we were going to pass near Onondaga Cave State Park. Neither of us had ever heard of it but Bob suggested we give it a try. So we did. We were glad that we did.

I was surprised how beautiful this cave is. Its not massive like Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. But it appears to me to have a greater wealth of formations of stalagmites and stalactites than Mammoth Caves. I think its comparable in beauty to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico though also miniature in comparison to that cave system. All of the formations in this cave appear to be active unlike most of the ones in Carlsbad Caverns.

The contentious history of this cave is interesting. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onondaga_Cave_State_Park

The cave is a little bit south of I-44 southwest of St. Louis and its a fair distance south of I-70 about midway between Columbia and St. Louis. If you're ever in the area with a few hours to burn I think it'd be worth your while. The fee to go on the tour is $15 per person.

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Curt this is awesome! Those formations and reflections made for some really dramatic photos. Thanks for sharing. They did a really nice job lighting the place and creating walkways that didn't take away from the aesthetic. If I'm ever out that way I'll definitely make a point to visit this place.
 
Curt this is awesome! Those formations and reflections made for some really dramatic photos. Thanks for sharing. They did a really nice job lighting the place and creating walkways that didn't take away from the aesthetic. If I'm ever out that way I'll definitely make a point to visit this place.

I thought it was awesome too. Can't imagine why it isn't better known. We really had no idea when we started on the tour how great it was going to be. We thought we'd probably just wasted $15 per person. That thought was quickly dispelled.

It really reminds me of Carlsbad Caverns. I wonder if they got some instruction from the National Park Service At Carlsbad on how to do the lighting and walkways.
 
Man! We need some more cave trip reports around here now. That was great. Awesome pictures. I figure many caves look somewhat alike, but it reminded me of Lewis and Clark Caverns in MT.
 
Just checked this on a map. I own some property about an hour away from this place. Gonna have to put this on my list for next year while I'm in the area.
 
Just checked this on a map. I own some property about an hour away from this place. Gonna have to put this on my list for next year while I'm in the area.

I would certainly be interested in hearing your impressions. Hope you like it.
 
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