Caving

Expert’s Picks: Caving

Caving Safety

Caving is an amazing adventure into a world less traveled. Cavers experience great challenges and witness spectacular formations and creatures hidden in this underground world. With this adventure comes risk, and safety should come first for any caving trips. Basic caving safety includes preparing for your trip, safe traveling underground and planning ahead… read more
Desert Caving Safety

Spelunking is an exciting hobby that brings with it a number of potentially life-threatening pitfalls. This is especially true when caving in extreme areas, such as ice or desert caves. Learning about desert caving safety is crucial when you are ready to visit the endless sand dunes and the harsh environs that make up most desert regions. Know what animals t… read more
How to Pack for Caving

Caving, or spelunking, is a sport that shares some skills, gear and circumstances in common with mountain climbing. The sport is unsafe or impossible without a complete set of gear. Even more so than with mountain climbing, the best sites require at least a day hike and camping. Hauling a complete kit of caving gear, plus anything else that might be needed f… read more
Essential Caving Equipment

Caving is a popular, but sometimes demanding, recreational outdoor sport. It shares many skills and articles of equipment in common with rock climbing, but going underground is a unique environment with its own special considerations. There is a short list of items that is considered essential by every caver for even the most straightforward cave trip. read more
Caving Equipment Guide

Caving (or "spelunking") is a pursuit that brings together many of the best aspects of outdoor fun. Many of the best caves are in remote locations that require some hiking and camping to get to. Some of the skills involved are shared with rock climbing. Finally, caving grants access to a subterranean world of adventure. However, the underground world is haza… read more

Related Caving Articles & Videos

How to Build a Snow Cave

Learning how to build a snow cave can be a lifesaver in more ways than one. First and foremost, snow is a powerful insulator against the cold and also against wind. Thus it can aid you in your outdoor survival, especially if you are ca… read more
How to Escape a Cave

Caving, also known as spelunking, involves hiking underground through holes, passages and crevices. Caving is usually safe, but like many other sports it has inherent risks. One of the biggest risks is being lost or trapped, either du… read more
The Best LED Light for Caving

In a cave, light is right below oxygen in your priority of needs, for without light, you are not getting out. A reliable light source (or better yet, three of them) is the most important gear a spelunker carries. Outdoor and paramil… read more
Types of Caves to Look for Arrowheads in

Anyone looking for some artifacts and adventure can combine these passions by scouting caves for arrowheads. Not just any cave will do, as there are certain factors that make a cave a good bet for finding arrowheads. Your best bet is t… read more
Caves in Kentucky

Kentucky is undeniably cave country. Since the state's geology is mostly limestone, one is never very far from a cave, karst or sinkhole. The Kentucky Speleological Society cave index indicates there are at least 130 caves in the state… read more
5 Facts on Jewel Cave

Brothers Albert and Frank Michaud discovered cold air coming from a hole in the ground near South Dakota's Black Hills in 1900, some 13 miles west of the city of Custer. They could not have imagined they had found what would turn out t… read more
The History of Jewel Cave

Jewel Cave National Monument is nestled in the Black Hills of South Dakota. A treasure of the national park system, the history of Jewel Caves is as deep and rich as the caves themselves. read more
Jewel Cave Information

If your travels take you to South Dakota, take the time to visit Jewel Cave National Monument, which is 13 miles west of the town of Custer in the Black Hills. Jewel Cave is the second longest cave in the world, with 145 miles of passa… read more
Kinds of Weathering of Caves

Canyoneering and caving are increasing in popularity. Exploring deep caves is a wonderful way of connecting with our natural world. Caves are formed through the effects of earth erosions and weather. Several types of weathering help fo… read more
Deepest Caves to Explore in North America

Caving appeals to the intrepid explorer seeking adventure in the unknown. Rock formations inside caves can be stunning, unlike anything seen above ground. Some caves, such as Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and Mammoth in Kentucky, are… read more
Crystal Cave in Kings Canyon

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks came into the national consciousness through the towering trees that comprise the woodlands of these parks. Subterranean wonders also lie within the parks' boundaries with small fissures in the g… read more
How Was the Wind Cave Discovered?

The long, winding, subterranean passages beneath the prairies and grasslands of Wind Cave National Park comprise the fourth longest cave system in the world. Native Americans held great reverence for the cave, but it did not enter the… read more
Tips for Escaping a Cave

Spelunkers aren't the only folks who find themselves in caves. Many hikers and backpackers happen upon a cave during the course of an everyday hike and step inside, seeking shelter or satisfying curiosity. Once they are past the reach… read more
North American Ice Caves

Imagine a cave so deep and dark that ice remains inside year round. Even in the middle of summer, air cooled by underground glaciers gusts from the cave's mouth, providing natural air conditioning. Adventurous spelunkers and experience… read more
North American Ice Caves

Imagine a cave so deep and dark that ice remains inside year round. Even in the middle of summer, air cooled by underground glaciers gusts from the cave's mouth, providing natural air conditioning. Adventurous spelunkers and experience… read more

Caving Photos

Editor's Pick

Backcountry Camping Tips

You've already tried car and RV camping. You've camped at commercial campsites that had a convenient restroom and water supply. Now, you want to explore the road less traveled. Backcountry camping, also known as primitive camping, is a wonderful way to explore the remote...
More Backcountry Camping...
Popular Article

Beach Camping Near Pismo Beach, California

Pismo State Beach, California, has many attractions and activities including camping, swimming, hiking and wildlife viewing. Birdwatching is one of the primary activities in the area. The park also has the largest over-wintering colony of monarch butterflies in the natio...
More Beach Camping...
Featured Video

Common Sense Hiking Tips

The first and most fundamental thing is never hike alone. There are too many situations, especially as an unexperienced hiker, where you may find yourself without anyone to help you. So the buddy system works and applies very much in hiking.
More Camping Basics...