![]() ![]() Bring your own lunch or eat before you come because services near the cave are limited. Also outside Tucson, this is less than an hour away. A cotton, long sleeve t-shirt that tucks in is also a good idea along with appropriate shoes or boots. I didn't have them and wished I had as the dust was irritating my eyes by the end of the tour. If you wear contacts, I would recommend clear safety goggles. I used some gardening type gloves I have with padded palms. You are also welcome to take photos in Colossal! If you plan to do one of the adventure tours such as The Ladders, bring a pair of gloves. It's not the pristine, spectacular beauty of Kartchner, but here you can don a helmet and crawl around in tunnels - something you can't do at Kartchner. The water source has disappeared and the formations are not growing so it’s now called a dry cave. Colossal was also discovered a long time ago and the paths were put in back in the 1930's so there has been damage to the formations. Colossal Cave is an ancient karst cave system forged out of limestone rock by water erosion over hundreds of thousands of years. The main difference is that where Kartchner Caverns is LIVING, Colossal has been dead for eons. ![]() I wouldn't bother with the "regular tour" especially if you have visited Kartchner Caverns. It's also a bit challenging and very dusty so expect to end up dirty, sweaty and likely sporting a few scrapes and bruises. Our guide, Brian Pittaway gave us our helmets complete with lamps and took us on a 1 1/2 hour adventure! This is a physical outing not for those who may be claustrophobic. The park also plans to create a beer and wine garden serving spirits to accompany the new dining options now available, a zip line attraction, a historical tour of the Colossal Cave Mountain Park, and more.If you have always wanted to go "spelunking", then schedule the Ladders Tour at Colossal Cave Mountain Park. Future plans include making the park’s campgrounds more family-oriented with playground activities. The cave now offers five separate tours: the Regular Tour, which is about a half-mile tour which explores the popular and easily-accessible parts of the cave the Daytime Ladder Tour where guests can climb up ladders to visit off-route areas of the cave that have rarely been seen by the public the Nighttime Ladder Tour with Dinner in which guests take part in the ladder tour and then enjoy a dinner by campfire under the stars the Wild Cave Tour, where guests can follow the footsteps of early explorers through unlit and unmarked areas of the cave and the Candlelight Tour, where guests explore the cave by candlelight to experience how explorers saw the cave when it was first discovered.Ĭolossal Cave Mountain Park plans to further update the park with continued renovations during the coming years. It restructured its cave tours and created new tour options for guests. The park updated its kitchen and now provides a full menu of freshly made signature dishes including hamburgers, hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches, and pizzas.Ĭolossal Cave Mountain Park also eliminated the $5 entrance fee allowing free access to the grounds. With the new renovations, we’re hoping that this area will not only be a place to access the cave, but also place where local residents and travelers can come for lunch or coffee, a relaxing picnic, family gatherings, and much more,” said Held.Īs part of the renovation, Colossal Cave Mountain Park also introduced new food offerings available for guests. It offers breathtaking views of the park and is a calm and tranquil area for our visitors to enjoy the natural scenery and landscape. “The cave’s entrance is the focal point of Colossal Cave Mountain Park. Additionally, the cave’s entrance received new patio furniture, an outdoor kitchen and restaurant, remodeling touch-ups, and more. The park opened a new gift shop, which is nearly triple the size of the previous shop, and features Colossal Cave T-shirts, memorabilia, stuffed animals, and souvenir items. Since the shift in ownership, several renovations to the cave’s entrance have been completed. The renovation process began in August when Ortega National Parks took ownership of Colossal Cave Mountain Park. Our goal with the renovations is to keep the original and natural splendor of the park, while creating an overall enjoyable experience for our guests.” “Colossal Cave Mountain Park has a rich history and showcases the beauty of southern Arizona. “We are very excited to re-introduce Colossal Cave Mountain Park to the Vail community and travelers to the area,” said Brian Held, general manager of Colossal Cave Mountain Park. Colossal Cave Mountain Park, located approximately 15 minutes southeast of Tucson in Vail, Ariz., has officially reopened to the public after completing its first phase of renovations.
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