Wisconsin is home to more than 400 caves with unique features and formations. In this month’s Milwaukee Magazine, writer Kevin Revolinski explores a few of the state’s many caves:
- Cave of the Mounds — "It's very beautiful. It's easy to get to. It's a national landmark. As a matter of fact," says Revolinski. "You don't have to crawl around in these kinds of caves. So it's nice to be able to take kids in there without worrying about somebody falling down a hole or something."
- Crystal Cave — This is the longest cave in Wisconsin. Revolinski says, "It has crystals in there that are quarts of crystal sugar formations that are on the wall. And that's where it got its name ... It's also a destination in itself because it has a lot of activities above ground that keep people coming back and entertaining the kids. So, they have things like mini golf there and some trails and such."
- Eagle Cave — This is Wisconsin's largest onyx cave. "The minerals allow the light to get through," says Revolinski. "This is unusual in [the sense] that a lot of kids have camped in it. So, you get groups like Boy Scout groups or school groups, Girl Scouts that go there and camp for the night underground."
- Maribel Caves — "This is going to be something where you [are] probably going to get dirty, and you might do a little crawling around — I've seen that. They take volunteers on certain days to go in and clear some of the rubble out because parts of the caves were actually filled with glacial till after the Ice Age," says Revolinski.
- Cave Point — "When you go there, you can see that the lake has carved out, eroded underneath that harder rock, and so you've got all these caves alongside the water," says Revolinski. "There's a parking area, and you can walk to the edge and look down over those. Caves paddlers ... It's quite extraordinary."
When going cave exploring, Revolinki suggests dressing for cool weather, as caves are often around 50 degrees at all times of the year, and wearing clothes that you don't mind getting messy.
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