Stalactites, Stalagmites, and Bacon: Our Visit to Kartchner Caverns

Millions of years. Hundreds of feet underground. A delicate ecosystem with a very special “heartbeat.” And bacon.

On a recent weekend, my family visited Kartchner Caverns State Park for the first time. About an hour southeast of Tucson, the Park is an unforgettable family day trip.  There are hiking trails, wildflowers and butterflies, and a fascinating Discovery Center, but the highlight is what’s down low: The caverns themselves.

Kartchner Caverns are “living” caves, with decades (even centuries) old water still slowly seeping, dripping, and creating the amazing formations within the caves. In a quiet moment on our tour we were able to hear the drip-dripping of water echoing through the caverns, the lifeblood and “heartbeat” of this special ecosystem. We were fascinated to see cave formations such as stalactites (c=ceiling), stalagmites (g=ground), thick columns, amazingly thin and fragile soda straws, and wavy, colorful draperies (some of which looked amazingly like BACON) which have been forming below the Arizona desert for millions of years. Pictures truly do not capture the magnificence of this natural wonder, nor do words capture its essence. 

There are two different cave tours, both about 1.5 hours long covering approximately ½ mile. A tram takes visitors to the cave entrance, past the original sinkhole which led two college students in the 1970s to discover these pristine caverns, and through which the resident bats still enter and exit. Bats inhabit the Big Room of the caverns seasonally, so that particular tour is only open to visitors October-April. Big Room tours are also only available to visitors ages 7+. We opted to take the Rotunda/Throne Room Tour because our daughter is just 7, and we figured we’d wait until she was a little older to try the Big Room.

After having taken the Rotunda/Throne Room tour, I’d recommend this tour for kids no younger than 5 (or even older if you have very wiggly, touchy little ones). In order to protect the delicate cave structures and the ecosystem itself, there is a strict “no touching” policy, one which is difficult for even some adults to adhere to. My younger daughter clearly put a lot of effort into not touching, but she still got “red flagged” twice for forgetfully placing her foot on the low ledge along the trail. The red flags are to prompt those cleaning the tour route in the evenings to take extra care with areas of unexpected human contact. 

The guides anticipate this desire to be tactile, and provide a "get it out of your system" rock to touch prior to the start of the tour. Not being able to touch things inside the cave did not detract at all from my daughters’ experience. They marveled at the minerals and mud, asked questions of our tour guide, stared in awe at Kubla Kahn, Arizona's largest column formation, and let their imaginations run wild with this visual feast for the eyes (yes...they loved the cave bacon). 

In fact, when I mentioned to my daughters I was writing a review of Kartchner Caverns, my first grader told me she is learning to write reviews in school, and volunteered to write a review herself. If you are considering a trip to Kartchner Caverns with your family, consider this (edited only for spelling):

"Kartchner Caverns is a place that is a cave. I loved it there. I’ve been to other caves but this one is better. My favorite part was the big formation at the end. It is called Kubla Kahn. I like the sound of the name. There’s another formation and it is called bacon! It even looks like bacon...but you can’t eat it :-(. There is also another interesting figure. It kind of looks like a waterfall, but it is made out of minerals. I rate Kartchner Caverns, hmmmmm...99/100, because I would like the tour longer!!" -Emmi, age 7.

I suspect we’ll be back for another visit to Kartchner Caverns in the near future. My daughters are already talking about wanting to tour the Big Room after the bats leave next fall. One thing we will certainly plan though, next time we go: A post-cave brunch at a place that serves plenty of bacon!

What: Kartchner Caverns State Park