Natural Bridge Caverns
Natural Bridge Caverns is a fantastic place for adventure seekers to explore. Located in San Antonio, Texas, this National Natural Landmark has over 6 miles of passages that are home to many unique geological formations. The caves were formed when water dissolved the limestone until it became hollow, leaving behind an underground world just waiting to be explored!
A short history of the Natural Bridge Caverns
The bridge caverns were first discovered in the 1930s when a family found some small openings and decided to explore them. They were amazed and terrified by what they saw underground: massive rooms filled with “living” rock formations that looked like frozen waterfalls or shimmering curtains of lace!
They told others about their discovery, but many people of greater San Antonio thought it was just an elaborate hoax. So, the family decided to open it up as a tourist attraction, and called in some experts from the U.S. Bureau of Mines to help them develop their cave into an underground amusement park: they put in staircases and electric lights; built concrete walkways and ladders; installed elevators (the second-oldest manually operated elevator in the U.S.) and a gift shop!
In 1993, Natural Bridge Caverns was purchased by two Texas businessmen who knew about its potential as a world-class tourist attraction with nature trails, botanical garden displays of native plants from around greater San Antonio and Central Texas.
How can it be accessed?
The Natural Bridge Caverns are accessible via an elevator or stairs, but there are also guided tours that take visitors to other parts of the cavern system through crawl spaces and tight squeezes. There’s even a Maze Tour where you can get lost (in fun) inside one of the caverns.
The Cavern is not open all year long, it closes from mid-December to early February because the cave system can freeze in cold weather. In addition, they have a zip line that takes adventurous souls over a portion of the park!
When are they open?
The caverns are open year-round and offer both guided walking tours and self-guided audio tours so visitors can get close up with the cave’s natural wonders. Visitors will marvel at stalactites and stalagmites, flowstone curtains, helictites (also known as straws), rimstones (a type of dripstone formation), large columns called “the Organ”, soda straws, or box work – all of which can be found in the caverns.
There is also a popular rock-climbing site inside the Natural Bridge Caverns where visitors can climb on naturally formed limestone walls and even use bolts for assistance if needed.
For those wanting to stay overnight, there are several different options including rustic camping or luxury tents with beds and electricity to make your vacation as comfortable as possible.
Natural Bridge Caverns offers a variety of tours and programs so visitors can choose what suits them best. There are special events and programs for kids, family fun days that include arts and crafts projects or face-painting – the possibilities are endless!
You can even schedule private events such as birthday parties, company picnics, wedding receptions, or team-building workshops. The caverns offer catering services so you don’t have to worry about bringing in your own food.