To the Ends of the Earth

— Located just about 1.5 hours from Austin, Texas, the Longhorn Cavern State Park is a cave that offers tours and hiking opportunities to anyone interested in the geology of Texas. The cave facilities are another example of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Texas parks. The CCC was responsible for clearing the cavern of debris in addition to building the facilities in the park. All of this was done in the 1930s.

You can explore the cavern via paid guided tours. In this 1.5-mile (2.4-km) round trip tour, you’ll visit the Crystal City, see the Queen’s Watchdog, Indian Council Room and the Underground Ballroom among other cave features. For those more adventurous, there is also a wild cave tour (about 2-3 hours), and that will require crawling through an undeveloped section of the cave.

One of the nicest things about the cave is its constant 68-degree (20 degrees Celsius) temperature: the perfect place to be in the hot summer months! There are even photography tours for small groups interested in taking photographs of the most scenic rooms at their own pace (generally 3 hours long).

Dedicated as a state park in 1932, the cave opened to the public in 1938. It became a National Natural Landmark in 1971. Like other central Texas caverns, the Longhorn Cavern is a limestone cave formed through the cutting action of an underground river thousands of years ago.

Groups will gather by the cave entrance for a brief introduction to the cave and tour, as seen in the first photo. Then, once the cave starts, the main entrance gate is closed (see second photo). Even if you don’t know about geology, just walking and observing the various formations will captivate you. The artificial lighting used inside the cavern creates other worlds right before your eyes. After the brief 1.5-hour tour, you are back above ground.

The cave is located near Llano, Burnet, and Marble Falls. There are also the Inks Lake State Park and Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery, among several other destinations in the area.