Colossal Cave Mountain Park
I took my family on a tour of the Colossal Cave in Southern Tucson and we enjoyed descending into a geologic treasure with rich history. The regular tour is about a half mile long and generally takes about an hour with several stops where the guide shares details about the cave's geologic formation, use by bandits in the late 1800's, and its development by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s (as part of the Works Project Administration during the Great Depression). The tour guides are wonderful -- there is so much history here (including a story about how the caves were a location for filming a special Sesame Street episode)! No special clothing needed, the cave always stays a comfortable 70 degrees year round. I would recommend good shoes though - it may only be a half mile, but, it is cave with some uneven footing.
Take a camera as pictures are welcome. From the posters you will even see that quite a few movies were filmed here. Even Big Bird had an adventure here when Sesame Street was here back in the 70's. The gift shop has a lot of cool treasures for any budding geologist and patches for Girl Scouts afflicted with "patch fever." ;-)
If you are feeling very adventurous there are a few other tours available -- Daytime Ladder Tour, Night Time Ladder Tour with Optional Dinner, Wild Cave Tour and a Candlelight Tour. The caves are near Kartchner Caverns State Park which will be our next tour.
http://colossalcave.com
Colossal Cave Mountain Park
16721 E. Old Spanish Trail
Vail, AZ 85641
