What are the hours at Wind Cave National Park?

Mon: All Day; Tue: All Day; Wed: All Day; Thu: All Day; Fri: All Day; Sat: All Day; Sun: All Day (Wind Cave National Park)

Does Wind Cave National Park require a reservation?

No timed-entry or vehicle reservation is required to enter Wind Cave National Park. Individual tours, campgrounds, or backcountry permits may still need to be booked separately.

Home / All parks / Wind Cave National Park

Is Wind Cave National Park open right now?

Q: Is Wind Cave National Park open right now?

As of October 14, 2026, Wind Cave National Park is partially closed. Natural Entrance Tour Route Closes For Season October 1, 2026

National Park · SD

Partially closed

Wind Cave National Park is partially closed.

Why this statusNatural Entrance Tour Route Closes For Season October 1, 2026

Last checked Wed, 14 Oct 2026 13:00:58 GMT

Official NPS page ↗ ← Back to the map

One of the world's longest, most complex caves, known for a fragile honeycomb formation called boxwork that is rare everywhere else, under a prairie with a free-roaming bison herd.

Type: National Park
State: SD
Established: 1903
Size: 53 sq mi
2025 visits: 0.61M (#37 most-visited)

About Wind Cave National Park

Wind Cave National Park protects two very different worlds - one deep within the earth, the other a sunlit world of many resources. Bison, elk, and other wildlife roam the rolling prairie grasslands and forested hillsides of one of America's oldest national parks. Below the remnant island of intact prairie sits Wind Cave, one of the longest and most complex caves in the world.

Read more on Wikipedia ↗ Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.

Visitor info

Address26611 US Highway 385, Hot Springs, SD 57747

Phone(605) 745-4600

Websitewww.nps.gov/wica/index.htm ↗

Hours

Mon	All Day
Tue	All Day
Wed	All Day
Thu	All Day
Fri	All Day
Sat	All Day
Sun	All Day

Wind Cave National Park

Getting thereWind Cave National Park is located in South Dakota about 11 miles north of Hot Springs, or about 22 miles south of Custer, on US Highway 385. The park Visitor Center, where all cave tours begin, is approximately 1/2 mile west of the highway.

ReviewsSee ratings & reviews on Google Maps ↗

Parks near here

Nebraska National Forest 17 mi
Mount Rushmore National Memorial 21 mi
Jewel Cave National Monument 22 mi
Black Hills National Forest 25 mi
Badlands National Park 48 mi
Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest 66 mi

More in South Dakota

All South Dakota parks & beaches →

How we read this status

We derive Wind Cave National Park's status from the National Park Service's own alerts and operating hours, refreshed hourly — this is our reading, not an official determination. As of the last check: Natural Entrance Tour Route Closes For Season October 1, 2026 Full method: how we check park status.