Clickable Map of Caverns 

You Are Invited
Join the AZ AALAS Branch for our
 Fall Fun Event
at the Kartchner Caverns
 Benson, AZ (526)586-4100
 Saturday, October 27, 2007 at 1 p.m.
 Flier for posting or distributing

Kartchner Caverns is a stunning limestone cavern system in Southeastern Arizona discovered in 1974 by two amateur cavers from Tucson. It is host to world-class cave formations considered to be the best of their kind in the world.  

Kartchner Caverns boasts many features that have been protected since the cave was discovered. The cavern has been surveyed at 2.4 miles long. Kartchner is a wet, "live" cave. Water percolates from the surface and calcium carbonate features continue to grow in the darkness. The park offers two cave tours where you'll see dynamic structures such as stalactites dripping down like icicles and giant stalagmites reaching up from the ground, sometimes meeting to form a massive column. The caverns are host to a wide variety of unique minerals and formations.

The park includes a Discovery Center which houses exhibits, a large gift shop, regional displays, and educational information about the caverns and the surrounding landscape. There are also campgrounds, hiking trails, shaded picnic areas, a vending area, and an amphitheater.

Registration form and payment must be received by June 29th (see registration form)

Big Room Tour: Length: 1/2 mile Time: 1 1/2 hr

At 400 feet long and 240 feet wide, the Big Room dwarfs Kartchner's other rooms. Yet the trail has an intimate feel and offers many close-ups of nature's artwork. We will get up close to many of the calcite formations and really experience the fragile nature of this pristine cave. There are several rare or unique formations, including the first-ever discovery of "cave turnips", speleotherms shaped like turnips hanging from the ceiling and excellent examples of flowstone, "moonmilk", and exotic "fried egg" stalagmites

Preceded by special Bat Presentation
 from Debbie Buecher
University of Arizona

Debbie is a Master’s student in the School of Natural Resources studying bat ecology and community structure along Southwestern riparian corridors.  She has studied caves since the 1970’s and participated in the pre-development baseline studies of Kartchner Caverns.  In an environment such as in Kartchner Caverns, there is little-to-no food available for animals living in the cave.  However, the maternity colony of  ~600 Myotis velifer (cave myotis), roosting in the Big Room at Kartchner, exit the cave every evening during the summer to forage on nocturnal insects.  When the females return to the cave to nurse their pups, they defecate and that guano introduces critical nutrients into a low-nutrient environment.  During the pre-development baseline studies, it was discovered that this guano supports an incredibly diverse invertebrate ecosystem in the cave - which is totally dependent on these food resources for their survival.  Prior to your tour of Kartchner Caverns, Debbie will present natural history information on the cave myotis living in the cave and describe the ecosystem function dependent on these animals returning each spring to Kartchner Caverns State Park
 

The Kartchner Caverns story is one of amazing discoveries...both past and present. Stand where the discoverers first entered the cave. Marvel at the strange and colorful formations. Learn about cave inhabitants, both ancient and living. As scientific studies continue, discoveries are yet to be made. The Big Room tour is a longer and more physically challenging tour. Children age 6 and under are not allowed on the Big Room Tour.  (If you would like to take the Rotunda/Throne Room Tour which accommodates younger children let us know)

Fees
Park Entrance Fee: $5 per car (up to 2 adults) or free with tour reservation
Rotunda/Throne Room Tour: $10 (ages 7-13) and $19 (ages 14 & up), free (0-6yrs)
Big Room Tour: $13 (ages 7-13) and $23 (ages 14 & up), no children under 7
Camping: $22 (arrive before 5:30 p.m. to enter - no reservations)
Park Gates Open at 7:00 a.m. and Close at 6:00 p.m.

Accessibility Information

  • The Visitor Center, parking, restrooms, water fountains, hummingbird trail, and vending area are accessible for people with disabilities.
  • Due to wet surfaces and changes in grades, strollers and walkers are not allowed on the tours.
  • The trails in the caverns are barrier-free, meaning there are no steps. People who feel they may have difficulty navigating the trails are advised to bring their own wheelchairs, preferably with assistance as some of the grades may be difficult to maneuver. Maximum width of wheelchairs in caverns is 30" wide from outer wheel to outer wheel.
  • Wheelchairs are available in case of an emergency in the Visitor's Center.

Special Reminders

  • Touching or breaking formations is punishable by law.
  • No photography or video cameras allowed on cave tour.
  • No walkers allowed on cave tour.
  • Cave tour trail is barrier-free.
  • The park, including the Discovery Center, is accessible for persons with disabilities.
  • No food, drink (including bottled water), gum, or tobacco products allowed on cave tours.
  • No pets, except assist dogs.
  • No littering.

Bats and Other Cave Creatures
During the summer months, the cave's Big Room serves as a nursery roost for over 1,000 female cave myotis bats. The pregnant females return to Kartchner Caverns around the end of April, where they give birth to a single pup in late June. The babies remain in the roost each evening while their mothers forage for insects in the surrounding countryside. During the summer the colony consumes about half a ton of insects, consisting of moths, flying ants, beetles, mosquitoes and termites. Mothers and their offspring will leave mid-September, to begin their migration for their winter hibernation roost. These bats provide the only link between the ecosystem of the cave and the surface. After returning to the bat roost from their nightly forays, the bats excrete waste, forming large guano piles. Most of the other life forms found in the cave depend on these guano piles for their food. Fungi and bacteria consume the guano first. These are in turn eaten by nematodes, mites, isopods, amphipods, and book lice. These are then eaten by spiders, scorpions, mites, millipedes, and centipedes. Scavengers, like crickets and beetle larvae, clean up the leftovers. The bats' guano provides the energy needed to run this complex food chain.

Directions: 9 miles south of I-10, off State Hwy 90, exit 302
 Kartchner Park Map (pdf) or State Parks map

Approximate Driving Distances from:
Flagstaff - 310 miles (498 km) Phoenix - 160 miles (257 km)
Benson - 9 miles (14 km) Sierra Vista - 19 miles (30km)
Tombstone - 28 miles (45 km) Tucson Airport - 49 miles (78 km)


Hiking and Walking Trails

The Guindani Trail (#398), located on the east flank of the Whetstone Mountains in the Coronado National Forest, is 4.2 miles in length (first mile is an easy walk, next 2/3 of trail is moderate difficulty, and the last leg is strenuous). This is a shared-use, non-motorized trail that is well-marked with directional signs.

Elevations range from 4900' at the park trailhead to over 7000' in the summits along the crest of the Whetstone Mountains. The Whetstones are a fault-block mountain range with a variety of exposed geological formations. Vegetation is mesquite-invaded Chihuahaun semi-desert grassland at the lower elevations and open oak-juniper woodland on the higher slopes.

Access to the Guindani Trail is located on the west side of Kartchner Caverns State Park campgrounds; a kiosk marks entrance to trail. For more information, contact: Sierra Vista Ranger District, 5990 W. Hwy 92, Hereford, AZ 85615 or call (520) 378-0311.

The Foothills Loop Trail (loop) is approximately 2.5 miles, rated moderate to difficult. There are two access points, one at the northeast end of the Discovery Center parking area and one at the Hummingbird Garden.

This is a hiking trail, with no bicycles or motorized vehicles permitted. The trail climbs the limestone hill north of the cave and descends into the wash that follows the fault between the Whetstone Block and the San Pedro Block. A short spur trail at the upper portion of the Foothills Loop Trail leads visitors to the scenic Mountain Viewpoint.

Informational signs along the Foothills Loop Trail will discuss such trail highlights as the foothills, scenic view, riparian area, bedrock mortar and the Native Americans that inhabited the area.

Some of the vegetation seen on the Foothills Loop Trail hike include: Ocotillo, Creosote Bush, Mesquite, Desert Broom, Acacia, Wait-a-Minute Bush, Scrub Oak, Barrel Cactus, Prickly Pear, Buckhorn Cholla, and Hackberry.

The Hummingbird Garden Walk is located on the southwest side of the Discovery Center. The walk is lined with a variety of local vegetation. Some of the varieties include: Catclaw Acacia, Velvet Honeysuckle, Beargrass, Yellow Bells, Sandpaper Verbena, Black Spine Prickly Pear, Autumn Sage, Agave, Aloe, Desert Bird of Paradise, Indigo Bush, and Desert Spoon.

Local Attractions

Nearby Benson and Sierra Vista have recreation facilities and general amenities for tourists including golf courses, banks, and a municipal airport. The scenic attractions in the surrounding area include Chiricahua National Monument, Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park, Fort Huachuca, Bisbee, San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, Ramsey Canyon Preserve, and Nogales, Mexico.

Available Local Accommodations and Restaurants

Registration form and payment must be received by June 29th (see registration form)

Questions?  Email azaalas@ahsc.arizona.edu