Blanchard Springs Caverns

Blanchard Springs Caverns lies about fifteen miles northwest of Mountain View and is the only cave the U.S. Forest Service runs. Its limestone was laid down by sea creatures 350 to 500 million years ago. The spring that carved it comes out of the mountain in a waterfall and feeds Mirror Lake. John H. Blanchard, a Kentucky Confederate wounded at Chickamauga, homesteaded 160 acres here after the war and ran a gristmill on the spring. Cane and torch remains inside date to roughly A.D. 215 to 1155. The first documented modern visit was in 1934, by a Civilian Conservation Corps planner, and scuba divers followed the water through 4,000 feet of passage in 1971.

The Dripstone Trail opened the cave in 1973, with an elevator down 216 feet and a half-mile walk to the 1,000-foot Cathedral Room. The Discovery Trail followed in 1977, reaching the Ghost Room's white flowstone by 686 steps. The cave is still changing, and it holds the Ozark blind salamander. A January 2019 estimate counted about 485,000 bats hibernating in a secluded part of it. After consulting the Osage Nation, who consider the caverns a sacred site, managers moved the Christmas caroling in the Cathedral Room above ground.

The cave's schedule is changing. For 2026 the Forest Service and Arkansas State Parks scheduled tours from May 1 through the end of November, Thursday to Monday, with tickets sold in advance at recreation.gov. Planned renovations follow, with a grand reopening anticipated in 2028. Confirm the status before you drive.