City: Branson, MO

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (417) 272-3366, (800) 600-CAVE

Description: Talking Rocks Cavern, considered one of Missouri’s most beautiful caves, is just a few miles west of one of the state’s most famous caves, Marvel Cave at Silver Dollar City. To get to Talking Rocks, drive west on MO 76 out of Branson. Turn left onto MO 13 at Branson West. Go 1 mile and turn left onto Talking Rocks Road. Look for the signs leading you to the entrance.The cave, on a 400-acre natural preserve, is said to have been discovered in 1883 by hunters when they chased a rabbit under a rock. In 1892 Truman Powell, the pioneer immortalized as the Old Shepherd in Harold Bell Wright’s novel The Shepherd of the Hills, named the cavern Fairy Cave. Waldo Powell, Truman’s son, opened the cave and the land surrounding it to the public in 1921. Today we know it as Talking Rocks Cavern and as one of the unique geological sites in the area. The main chamber is 100 feet tall and extends over 600 feet. The wall formations are thick with stalactites and helectites that curl down from the ceiling like a candlemaker’s creation. Colorful stalagmites dot the floor of the cave. Be sure to bring along your camera, as you’ll want to capture these magnificent crystal creations on film. Although bats do not inhabit Talking Rocks Cavern (be sure to ask your guide why bats do not reside there), it is a sanctuary for the Ozark blind cave salamander. This unique creature is on the rare and endangered species list, so be careful not to touch or otherwise disturb it should it make its presence known.A well-trained guide leads each 50-minute walking tour. The cavern is open to the public year-round from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week from March through November. It is closed Wednesday and Thursday all other times of the year. Before or after a tour of the cave, you can enjoy a picnic or a hike along the nature trails at the Talking Rocks nature park. There’s a gift shop and a Wings of the World bird park. Admission to the cave is $16.95 for adults and $8.95 for children 4 through 12. Children three and younger get in free. If the trek through Talking Rocks Cavern has left you wanting more, and you’ve got the guts for it, you can explore one of the other caves on the Talking Rocks property. Ask for the Wild Cave Tour into Indian Creek Caverns. There’s no electricity in this cave, which means no lights, no concrete paths, and no handrails. This is real spelunking, by George! A pair of experienced cave guides will accompany you on the tour. You’ll get a flashlight, a hard hat (you pay to rent), and a real sense of what Truman and the rabbit hunters felt like on their first peeks into Talking Rocks Cavern. Call for prices. The guides are ultra-cautious when it comes to safety. Caves are not nice places to be during or following rain.