Spring Cave facts for kids

Spring Cave is a huge, mostly unexplored cave in Colorado. It's found in the White River National Forest, near the White River. A powerful underground river carved out much of this cave. Inside, you'll discover a lake deep within the cave. There are also hidden rooms that can only be reached by underwater diving. You can explore Spring Cave for free!

Exploring Spring Cave

There are two ways to enter Spring Cave. Both entrances are at the end of the Spring Cave Trail. Most people like to use the closest entrance. This opening is more than two meters (about 6.5 feet) tall.

Once you enter, you'll go down through several rooms. You'll then find a permanent ladder to help you go deeper. After the ladder, you'll pass more rooms. These rooms lead you to the underground river. This river is the biggest one found inside any cave in Colorado!

The river's water level changes all year long. Sometimes, it can even rise high enough to reach the cave's entrance. Beyond the river, there are more rooms and passages. Some of these lead to a hidden underground lake.

Past the lake, you'll find areas called sumps. A sump is a part of the cave that is completely filled with water. To get through these sumps, you need to be able to dive underwater. People are still exploring Spring Cave. We don't yet know the full size of all its rooms and underground waterways.

Visiting Spring Cave Safely

Spring Cave was once closed to visitors. This was because of a serious illness called white nose syndrome. This fungal disease harms bats. It has caused many bats to die in the United States and Canada.

Now, you can visit Spring Cave again! However, there are special rules to follow. You can visit between April 16 and August 14. You must register before you go. You also need to follow special cleaning steps. These steps help stop the spread of the bat disease. The cave is closed from August 15 to April 15 each year.

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