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List

Top 10 Caves in National Forests

August 12, 2026 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

The underground world is fun to explore, especially when you get to bring your own flashlights and go at your own pace. That is the only option in most National Forests, with a few notable exceptions for guided tours found on this list. It was the opposite case when I ranked the Top 10 Caves in National Parks back in 2019 (click here to see all our Top 10 Lists).

If you or someone you love are interested in visiting the 155 National Forests, our travel guidebook Out in the Woods makes a great gift!

10. Subway Cave in Lassen National Forest (California)

There are interpretive signs inside this lava tube, including one explaining lavacicles

9. Fulford Cave in White River National Forest (Colorado)

This one and Spring Cave are only accessible April 16 through August 14 and require registration

8. Lava River Cave in Coconino National Forest (Arizona)

This is the first lava tube I ever explored while I was a college student in Flagstaff

7. Mammoth Cave in Dixie National Forest (Utah)

Ice Cave is another option to visit in southwest Utah

6. El Capitan Pit in Tongass National Forest (Alaska)

Prince of Wales Island is mostly karst and includes this deepest pit in the U.S., plus Sophia’s Sinking Stream Cave and Meow Cave

5. Cave of Bells in Coronado National Forest (Arizona)

This cave has a lock on its entry gate, as does Onyx Cave, but are accessible with permission

4. Boyden Cavern in Sequoia National Forest (California)

Guided tours are offered in this show cave outside Kings Canyon National Park

3. Ape Cave in Gifford Pinchot National Forest (Washington)

Timed-entry permits ($2 per vehicle) are required to explore this long lava tube in Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, but not for Guler Ice Caves

2. Blanchard Springs Caverns in Ozark National Forest (Arkansas)

Limestone springs and caves are all over this region, including this show cave with guided tours

…and finally the #1 cave in a National Forest:

1. Minnetonka Cave in Caribou National Forest (Idaho)

Tickets for a guided tour are required to drive up the narrow road to the parking lot, plus check out nearby Paris Ice Cave

Honorable Mentions

Jot Dean Ice Cave in Shasta National Forest (California)

I stumbled upon this one while visiting Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, also home to lava tubes in Giant Crater

Resurgence Cave in Daniel Boone National Forest (Kentucky)

All caves around here are currently closed to protect bats, including the ones behind Moonshiners Arch

Wind Cave in Cache National Forest (Utah)

Not very dark on this cliffside, but it is a great spot for photographs

Wave Cave in Tonto National Forest (Arizona)

Another one that is more of an amphitheater than a cave, but famous for photos riding the wave

Darby Canyon Wind Cave in Targhee National Forest (Wyoming)

I had not heard of this cave just west of Grand Teton National Park

Sandia Cave in Cibola National Forest (New Mexico)

Located near Albuquerque, it features a unique metal spiral staircase to the entrance

Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about all 155 National Forests.

Ohio

William Howard Taft National Historic Site

July 29, 2026 Raven About The Parks 3 Comments

William Howard Taft National Historic Site

Ohio

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1969

3 acres

Website: nps.gov/wiho

Overview

William Howard Taft was the nation’s 27th President and 10th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the only person to hold both positions in U.S. history. Taft was born on September 15, 1857, in this house in Cincinnati, the city where he attended law school after graduating from Yale (where he later served as a professor). Taft was promised a Supreme Court nomination by President William McKinley when he sailed for the Philippines in April 1900 where he would stay as Civil Governor until December 1903. After McKinley’s assassination, he would have to wait for his Supreme Court seat until 1921. His mother sold the Cincinnati house in 1899 and it was structurally altered and turned into apartments, so the National Park Service completed extensive restorations. Taft’s son Robert Alphonso Taft served as a U.S. Senator representing Ohio, and his father had been Secretary of War and U.S. Attorney General.

Highlights

Guided tour of restored mansion, museum, film

Must-Do Activity

Visitors can park at the Taft Education Center next to the house where there are museum exhibits, a bookstore, and a film screening room. Guided tours that last 30 minutes are the only way inside the house, a Greek Revival design that is decorated with Victorian-era furnishings.

Best Trail

None

Photographic Opportunity

The museum has an audio-animatronic figure of Taft’s son Charles Phelps Taft II wearing fishing gear and telling stories about members of the Taft family.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/wiho/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Free paved parking is available at this site that is easily accessible from Interstate 71.

Camping

North of Cincinnati, Hueston Woods State Park offers 490 campsites, 59 cabins, and a lodge. The scenic Hocking Hills State Park has 172 campsites (reservations recommended) and is one of the most popular places to camp in Ohio.

Related Sites

James A. Garfield National Historic Site (Ohio)

Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument (Ohio)

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park (Ohio)

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park (Ohio)

Nearest National Park

Mammoth Cave

Explore More – What was William Howard Taft’s position in Theodore Roosevelt’s Presidential Cabinet?

Missouri

Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park

June 24, 2026 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park

Missouri

Managed by National Park Service

Established 2020

13 acres

Website: nps.gov/stge

Overview

This park was established to protect the French colonial-era houses of Missouri’s first permanent settlement where residents still go all out to celebrate Bastille Day. Originally colonized by Canadians in the 1750s, the original site of Ste. Genevieve was abandoned and moved three miles away after Mississippi River flooding in 1785. The oldest standing structure today is the Green Tree Tavern that dates back to 1790 based on dendrochronology. The Bolduc House (built in 1792) was restored in 1957 and is managed by the National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, while the Old Brick House from 1804 is now a restaurant.

Highlights

Jean Baptiste Vallé House and Gardens, film, Bauvais-Amoureux House, Green Tree Tavern, Levee Trail

Must-Do Activity

Start at the Ste. Genevieve Welcome Center at 66 South Main Street to watch the film and pick up a Junior Ranger booklet. Across the street, the Jean Baptiste Vallé House (built in 1794) can be entered for ranger-led programs, while what is believed to be the first rose garden west of the Mississippi River is open dawn to dusk. The Bauvais-Amoureux House (built in 1792) is one of only five surviving poteaux-en-terre (“post in ground”) style houses in North America. It is open daily for self-guided visits, as is the Green Tree Tavern.

Best Trail

The 3.5-mile-long Levee Trail follows the Mississippi River from a gravel parking lot about a mile from the Ste. Genevieve Welcome Center.

Photographic Opportunity

Dating back to 1790, Green Tree Tavern served as a home, inn, tobacco shop, and Masonic Lodge, and it is one of the few buildings where the vertical logs used in construction are clearly visible.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/stge/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

From Interstate 55, Missouri Highway 32 heads east for about four miles. From southern Illinois, the Ste. Genevieve-Modoc Ferry takes cars across the Mississippi River. While most roads in town are paved, there are narrow gravel drives for parking at Green Tree Tavern and Bauvais-Amoureux House that may not be suitable for RVs.

Camping

Mark Twain National Forest and Ozark National Scenic Riverways both offer numerous campgrounds, and Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park is renowned for the RV campsites in its campground.

George Washington Carver National Monument (Missouri)

Mark Twain National Forest (Missouri)

Ozark National Scenic Riverways (Missouri)

Nearest National Park

Gateway Arch

Explore More – Who was Ste. Genevieve and what famous French city is she the patron saint of?

California

Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial

February 18, 2026 Raven About The Parks 3 Comments

Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial

California

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1992

5 acres

Website: nps.gov/poch

Overview

On July 17, 1944 at 10:18 p.m., a massive explosion at a U.S. Navy facility rocked the San Francisco Bay area. The blast started at a pier where munitions were being loaded onto two ships and killed 320 men. The majority of the dead were African American sailors who were segregated at the time and not allowed to serve in combat roles or as officers. After refusing to return to unsafe working conditions, 206 sailors were convicted after a summary courts-martial, and the “Port Chicago 50” were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for mutiny. After receiving negative publicity, the Navy actually became the first of the military branches to integrate during World War II, well before President Truman required it in 1948. On January 6, 1946, the Navy released 47 of the 50 men being held and in 2024, the Navy posthumously exonerated all 256 men and vacated any remaining dishonorable discharges.

Highlights

Memorial, film, revetment

Must-Do Activity

The memorial is located on an active military base called Military Ocean Terminal Concord on Suisun Bay. Therefore, all visitors are required to be U.S. Citizens and must make a reservation at least two weeks before their visit by calling or emailing the National Park Service (NPS) to receive a background check. Tours are given only on Thursdays, Fridays, or Saturdays and meet at John Muir National Historic Site (where you can watch a short film) in Martinez where the group boards government vehicles to drive to the site. After a thorough search of the vehicle and each visitor getting checked off a list, it is a short drive to the memorial where the NPS ranger explains the history of the site at two locations with time to walk around and take photos (but only of the memorial area).

Best Trail

None

Photographic Opportunity

Shrapnel from the 1944 blast is located at the first stop on the guided tour where historic train cars are parked in a revetment.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

Tours are available only on Thursdays, Fridays, or Saturdays when the base is not closed to civilians.

https://www.nps.gov/poch/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads are paved to John Muir National Historic Site where there is a free parking lot.

Camping

There are campgrounds at Mount Diablo State Park and backcountry campsites (permit required) at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Muir Woods National Monument (California)

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (Alabama)

Nearest National Park

Pinnacles

Explore More – What future Supreme Court Justice observed the courts-martial and has a regional park named in his honor near Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial?

Texas

Blackwell School National Historic Site

January 14, 2026 Raven About The Parks 10 Comments

Blackwell School National Historic Site

Texas

Managed by National Park Service

Established 2022

0.5 acre

Website: nps.gov/blsc

Overview

A three-room schoolhouse built for Marfa’s Hispanic children in 1909 is all that remains of a once larger campus (the Band Hall from 1927 is still attached). Blackwell School was named for a prominent early principal, and it closed in 1965 following legally mandated integration more than a decade after the Brown v. Board of Education decision. At its peak, the school had more than 600 students, with Hispanic students segregated, except on sports teams. After 1954, students were no longer allowed to speak Spanish on campus with a mock funeral held for the language and corporal punishment inflicted upon violators. Not all former students wanted to preserve this site where “separate but equal” education was practiced, but enough felt it was important to recall this history. The main building was saved from demolition by the nonprofit Blackwell School Alliance who helped the National Park Service (NPS) acquire the property from the Marfa Independent School District in 2024. The NPS has plans to reconstruct a belltower atop the adobe building.

Highlights

School building, playground

Must-Do Activity

You definitely want to arrive when an NPS employee is on site to allow you inside the building and to explain its history. There are artifacts and informational panels on display inside. There is even a coloring book available in both English and Spanish that explains the story of Blackwell School to children.

Best Trail

None

Photographic Opportunity

In the lot next to the school building is a playground, and there are plans to install outdoor interpretive signs and photos under the awning to provide information to visitors when the site is closed on weekdays.

Peak Season

Winter

Hours

Currently 12-4 on Saturdays and Sundays only

https://www.nps.gov/blsc/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Paved street parking is available at the site in Marfa.

Camping

There is an RV park in Marfa, or you can boondock at the Marfa Lights viewing area that has bathrooms. Big Bend National Park takes reservations for its campsites (with no hookups).

César E. Chávez National Monument (California)

Fort Davis National Historic Site (Texas)

Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)

Nearest National Park

Big Bend