Posted on 04/20/2016 7:22:23 AM PDT by SandRat
BENSON Kartchner Caverns State Park has been voted the best cave in the nation as part of the 2016 USA Today 10 Best Readers Choice Awards.
Twenty of the countrys top caves were nominated for the distinction. According to a USA Today press release, Kartchner Caverns supporters quickly rallied to take the number one spot, holding there for the majority of the contest, with voting lasting several weeks.
Along with Kartchner Caverns, the Readers Choice top five caves include: Niagara Cave in Harmony, Minn., with a passage sculptured from an underground spring one mile beneath the earths surface; Fantastic Caverns of Springfield, Mo., featuring the nations only ride through cave; Blanchard Springs Caverns near Mountain View, Ark., a living cave where mineral formations continue today; and coming in fifth, The Lost Sea in Sweetwater, Tenn., featuring the largest underground lake in the United States.
Paywall.
Where is this?
Just between Benson, AZ and Huachuca City AZ, near Fort Huachuca. My kids liked it although I was never able to go. Has some fantastic RV parks in the area and nice mountain vistas.
These are commercial caves
The Republican Party is responsible for the worst continuous cave.
In AZ. South of Benson, north of Ft Huachuca, NW of Tombstone.
If you go there (Kartchner) I hope you have a better experience than we did...
The tour “GUIDE” was a doddering old coot. That knew very little of interest about much... After a long speech about how the change in humidity might affect some people, He said you were supposed to tell the trailing guide to have them take the sick visitor out. Then the tour trailing guide (an older woman) collapsed from the humidity and we spent the entire tour waiting for someone to take the second guide out.
The cave seemed so puny after Carlsbad it was embarrassing, we never asked for a refund (should have) or tickets for a second pass thru. They only allow so many people thru a day.
Would not consider going back.
The wife and I did Carlsbad Cavern a few years ago. Interesting one time. Never again.
ON AZ-HWY90 ON THE RIGHT, JUST S. OF I-10 NEAR BENSON ARIZONA.
What makes Kartchner cool is they’ve tried really hard to not turn it into a tourist cave. It doesn’t have lots of lights, the path is small, no labels. They’ve kept it as natural as they could while still able to walk through.
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