Wind Cave National Park

Wind Cave, the first cave ever protected as a national park (1903), breathes air in and out as the weather changes and holds 95 percent of the world's known boxwork, delicate calcite fins crisscrossing its ceilings; above ground, bison and prairie dogs roam a rare intact mixed-grass prairie.

Take a guided cave tour to see the boxwork and watch prairie dogs and bison on the drive in. For a challenge, book the wild cave tour, crawling through undeveloped passages with a headlamp.