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| A Visit to Spring Mill State Park |
Spring Mill Caves and Cave Boat Tour
Caves
Donaldson, Bronson, and Hamer Caves
Visitors to Spring Mill State Park have limited access to three caves inside the park. They also have an opportunity explore caves at the nearby Cave River Valley Natural Area. Guided boat ride tours inside Twin Caves are available during the summer season. These tours operate only when conditions are favorable. The boat ride travels about 500 feet into the cave, then returns to the entrance. Visitors will see several interesting features inside the cave during the tour. During periods of heavy rainfall, the tours may be cancelled due to flooding waters. The cost of the tour is nominal and only same day registration is available. Make the reservations on-site in person at the Twin Caves Shack. The tours operate from 9:00 AM through 5:00 PM daily between Memorial Day and mid-August. From mid-August until mid-October, the tours operate only on weekends and run on the half hour. The endangered blind cavefish is a common sighting on this tour.
Bronson and Donaldson Caves
Bronson Cave 1
Visitors may explore both Donaldson and Bronson Caves inside the park. Visitors must register and complete an online training course offered by IKC. This course informs potential cave visitors of methods to decontaminate before entering the caves. A disease called White-Nose Syndrome threatens Indiana bats. This fungus borne disease is killing bats in large numbers. The program exists to allow people to visit the caves, but keep the bat population safe from the disease. The caves open during special times for registered groups.
Donaldson Cave 1Cave River Valley Natural Area
Visitors to the park also can access the Cave River Valley Natural Area. This area is about eighteen miles from Spring Mill State Park, on Cave River Valley Road. It is north of Campbellsburg, which is east of Spring Mill State Park on Indiana State Road 60. The master plan for this facility is for hiking trails, parking, primitive camping and self-guided cave exploration. Please call Spring Mill State Park, or visit the web site to see the current conditions for visiting this new facility.
Twin Caves Boat TourOpen daily from Memorial Day Weekend thru mid-August, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This feature bears the name Twin Caves because the water flows out of one cave and enters another a few hundred feet downstream after tumbling over a dam. Boats cannot enter the lower cave and would not be able to enter the upper one if not for the dam.
The boats designed specifically for the Twin Cave Tour. The tour ends at State Park property line at a feature called Turn Around Bend. The owner of the land above the cave has not extended permission for the tour to continue further.
The boats penetrate about 500 feet into the cave; the tour takes about twenty minutes. A dam raises the water level enough for the boats to go into the cave. Water depth ranges from three to fourteen feet.
Cave Tours
During the summer months, the tour runs daily. The tour operates on weekends from mid-August thru mid-October 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tours run on the half-hour. Only same day reservations are accepted and visitors must register in-person at the Twin Caves shack. Cost is $3 per person. Children under age 3 and pets are not allowed on the tour. Food and drinks not allowed on boats. Guides pull the boats through a stream passage. They highlight cave formations and point out cave animals. Visitors commonly see the endangered blind cavefish on the tour.
