- State: SD
- NPCA Region: Midwest
- Est. Date: 1903
Air Quality Conditions
View the Polluted Parks ReportVisibility
Unsatisfactory
Health
Unsatisfactory
Nature
Significant Concern
Climate Change Threats
One of the country’s oldest national parks, Wind Cave combines rare mineral wonders underground with beautiful mixed-prairie habitat aboveground. Take a ranger-led tour to explore the unusual formations below the Earth’s surface, including cave walls that look like frost, textured honeycombs and even popcorn. You can also hike through some of the park’s 34,000 acres of wildlife habitat to see prairie dogs, pronghorn, elk and one of the last remaining herds of free-roaming, genetically pure bison in the country.
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Magazine Article
Strange Bedfellows
Coyotes and badgers don’t seem like obvious BFFs, but sometimes they join forces to hunt. Ongoing research could shed light on this odd and elusive couple.
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Magazine Article
We’re Still Here
Every national park site sits on ancestral lands. So what does it mean to be a Native American working for the Park Service today?
More about Wind Cave
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Read more about This Land Is Their Land
Blog Post This Land Is Their Land Honor Indigenous history at these 15 sites where visitors can learn about the extensive connections tribes have with today’s national parks.
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Read more about In the Heart of Darkness
Magazine Article In the Heart of Darkness In 1989, teenager Rachel Cox got lost in Wind Cave. Decades later, she found inspiration and comfort there.
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Read more about Underground Adventures
Blog Post Underground Adventures Go below the Earth’s surface to explore exquisite realms that evolved in total darkness. These 10 national park caves are places to learn about the mysterious worlds under our feet.
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Read more about Prairie Portal
Magazine Article Prairie Portal At Wind Cave National Park, the search for rare prairieland leads to an escape, a descent and a nighttime pursuit.
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Read more about A Yogi’s Guide to the National Parks
Blog Post A Yogi’s Guide to the National Parks Experiencing America’s natural wonders in 9 poses
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Read more about Rock On: 11 Lesser-Known Geologic Wonders in National Parks
Blog Post Rock On: 11 Lesser-Known Geologic Wonders in National Parks From mysterious gliding rocks in Death Valley to fossils of some of the most ancient life forms in Glacier, here are 11 lesser-known geologic wonders—including a few personal favorites from Bruce Heise of the Park Service’s Geologic Resources Inventory program.
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Read more about Tuzi ... What? The Origins of 12 Unusual National Park Names
Blog Post Tuzi ... What? The Origins of 12 Unusual National Park Names Tuzigoot. Great Egg Harbor. Yosemite. Who came up with these names? What do they mean? Sometimes they come from one person, sometimes a whole culture—but the stories behind these memorable monikers reveal interesting details about these places and the people who have loved and lived in them.
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Read more about 9 Wildlife Success Stories
Blog Post 9 Wildlife Success Stories National parks provide critical habitat for a variety of animals—in some cases, they are the only places that threatened or endangered species have left to call home.
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Read more about Beyond Yellowstone: 8 Unexpected Parks for Wildlife-Watching
Blog Post Beyond Yellowstone: 8 Unexpected Parks for Wildlife-Watching If you want to see wildlife, it’s hard to beat some of the largest, most popular parks in the country: Yellowstone, Glacier, Denali, Olympic, Great Smoky Mountains, and the Everglades are all winning choices. But what if you’ve already explored those parks and want to try something new—or just want to avoid the crowds? Here are eight less-visited parks that offer excellent and varied wildlife-watching opportunities.
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Read more about The World’s First National Park Cave
Blog Post The World’s First National Park Cave National parks protect the country’s most treasured landscapes, including a wealth of natural resources under the Earth’s crust. The United States was the first place in the world to designate a cave as a national park.
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