Wind Cave National Park

10/23/2026

Where can you hide a 2000-pound bison? On the road at night! With winter coming, and the days getting shorter, be sure to slow down driving through the park. You never know who is lurking just beyond the beam of your headlights.
NPS Photo

10/05/2026

Today’s homework: thank a teacher.

National parks are places where students can learn about history by standing where it happened, explore science by observing nature, and discover stories that help us better understand the people and places that shaped our world.

Behind those experiences are teachers helping students ask questions, make connections, and learn about the world around them.

On World Teachers’ Day, we celebrate the educators who inspire curiosity, encourage exploration and remind us that learning can happen just about anywhere. (Including places with a really good view.)

Learn more at: https://www.nps.gov/teachers/index.htm

NPS Image

10/05/2026

Every day from October 12 to November 5, 2026, visit Mission San José's granary during park hours (9am-5pm) to view the mission descendant community's family ofrendas.

Ofrendas are an essential part of Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead. The word ofrenda means offering in Spanish. They are also called "altares" or altars, but not for worship. These altars are not only full of family pictures, but of symbols and meaning, honoring the ancestors who have passed, and offering them items of the celebration such a "pan de mu**to" and marigold flowers.

NPS Photo

10/04/2026

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” — Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables

And we’re rather glad there are national parks to experience them in. Fall is a great time to get outside and enjoy the spectacular spectacle (say that five times fast) of changing leaves. There is plenty of room for imagination when you find yourself surrounded by forests painted in brilliant shades of red, orange, and gold. In our experience, you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will. So consider this your invitation to find a little wonder, a little enchantment, and perhaps a kindred spirit among the trees.

Forests, woods, and shrublands in national parks put on their autumn colors from September through December. There’s a whole world of beauty waiting to be explored!

Image 1: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Image 2: Great Smoky Mountains NP
Image 3: Great Sand Dunes NPP
Image 4: Rocky Mountain National Park
Image 5: TheodoreRooseveltNPS

10/03/2026

“On October 3rd, he asked what day it was.” — Cady Heron

It’s October 3rd.

October is kind of a big deal around here. The autumn months splash many national parks with a rich array of fall colors, while cooler temperatures have wildlife getting ready for winter. Some are migrating. Some are gathering food. Some are putting on extra layers.

Same, honestly.

So whether you’re here for the foliage, the wildlife, or simply to judge the leaves on their color palette, national parks are a pretty fetch place to experience fall. Fetch? We’re making it happen.

And if you want to keep up with what’s happening in parks this season, you can find more ways to connect with your national parks at the link below.
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/fall-season.htm

Image: Red Osier Dogwood leaves stand out against aspen trunks at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. NPS/Patrick Myers

10/02/2026

10/02/2026

Wherever military life takes you, there’s likely a park adventure nearby.

Active-duty military members, Veterans, and Gold Star families can get a free America the Beautiful Pass, providing access to national parks and federal recreation sites across the country.

Active-duty military families can also find free events, nearby outdoor opportunities, and resources for exploring national parks, public lands, and waterways through the Military Families Outdoors Program, wherever military life takes them. Visit: go.nps.gov/mfo

Whether you’re PCSing, exploring near your duty station, or looking for a weekend adventure, your next park visit may be closer than you think.

NPS Photo: Rangers at Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park recently teamed up with Blue Star Families and community partners for a day of fishing, outdoor fun, and family time at Fletchers Cove.

Blue Star Families Defense Public Health

10/01/2026

Fat Bear Week has officially lumbered to a close.

What a week. As they say, a journey of roughly 3,000 to 4,500 calories begins with a single salmon. Something like that. There might be some steps involved too.

In the end, 16 bears entered. Bear 89 “Backpack” became champion. Talk about the hunger games. And several ate their way into our hearts. Figuratively. And thousands of us humans spent an unreasonable amount of time judging bears for being excellent at being, well, bears.

It was a week of big bellies, bigger appetites, and absolutely no regrets. We shared some science, learned about the Alaskan ecosystem, stood around for hours watching large mammals eat, and found multiple way to incorporate “chonk” in everyday vocabulary.

Now the bears have more important things to do, such as eating then sleeping, a bit more eating, sleeping, and finally preparing to sleep after eating. As for the rest of us, we all return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Must we?

We must.

We will miss you, Fat Bear Week. Until next year: stay chunky, stay hungry, and remember: there’s always room for one more salmon.

NPS Images

10/01/2026

10/01/2026

Now that Fat Bear Week is over, it's time for Chunky Puppy Day! Tune in to the Puppy Cam tomorrow, Thursday, October 1, at 2pm AK time to find out how big the America's Best Idea litter got this summer.

How much do you think they weigh now? Share your guesses in the comments below.

NPS Photo: Graupel from the Weather litter during a weigh-in last year.

09/30/2026

This is the ideal marmot body. You may not like it. You may not understand it. But this is what peak performance looks like.

Now that Fat Bear Week is over, we’re returning to our regularly scheduled programming: other fat mammals.

The tundra-dwelling yellow-bellied marmots have been preparing for hibernation for the last couple of months. Since marmots spend more than half their lives hibernating, they’ve developed some impressive adaptations for surviving the winter:

✅ First, they’ve been building up healthy fat reserves (sound familiar? Bears. Us too, but that’s another post) to sustain them for up to eight months. Basically, a nice winter savings account.

✅ When they finally enter hibernation, they become true hibernators, slowing their heart rate from around 200 beats per minute to as low as 30. It’s an impressive energy-saving strategy.

✅ Speaking of saving, they also save on utilities by cuddling up with the colony in a communal burrow. Because heating is expensive, and roommates are the answer. Was that on the lease?

NPS Photo: A rotund marmot standing on a rock at Rocky Mountain National Park

09/16/2026

Wind Cave National Park will offer ranger-led elk bugling programs on select evenings in September and October in addition to daily cave tours.

The Rocky Mountain elk’s high-pitched whistle heralds the arrival of fall and the elk’s mating season. On Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday evenings from September 14 through October 10, meet on the front lawn of the Wind Cave Visitor Center at 7 p.m. for a ranger presentation about elk, followed by a drive to a pullout within the park to listen to elk bulging. Participants should bring a flashlight, a camp chair or blanket to sit on, and dress warmly.

Fall Cave Tour Schedule
Cave tours along different tour routes are offered daily throughout the fall. Fall routes include the Natural Entrance, Fairgrounds, and Garden of Eden. For all tours, participants are encouraged to bring a light coat or sweater and good walking shoes.
- The Natural Entrance tour lasts approximately 75 minutes and involves 300 stairs and is offered through September.
- The Fairgrounds tour lasts 1.5 hours and involves 450 stairs and will be offered starting October 1.
- The Garden of Eden tour lasts one hour and involves 150 stairs and is offered year-around.

Reservations for cave tours can be made up until two days before the tour at www.recreation.gov.

Fall Visitor Center Hours

The park visitor center will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through September. Beginning October 1, winter hours will be 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/wica or call the park at (605) 745-4600.

09/13/2026

The cave phones are fixed, and tours resume today, Sunday, September 13, at noon. Tickets are available today on a first come, first served basis.

09/13/2026

All tours Sunday, September 13, have been suspended due to an outage with the cave phone system. This outage affects all phone lines inside the cave and inside the elevators, preventing emergency calls to the surface should an incident occur. Once emergency phone service is restored, tours will resume with tickets available on a first-come-first-served basis at the visitor center.

09/11/2026

Wind Cave's elevators have been fixed, and the cave is open for tours beginning September 12.

09/10/2026

Cave tours at Wind Cave National Park have been suspended (September 10) pending the repair of one of the elevator doors. Tours will resume as soon as a replacement part arrives, which is expected to be within a few days. Until then, virtual tours of the Natural Entrance Tour Route using Lidar technology will be offered on the hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

08/24/2026

Theodore Roosevelt impersonator Kurt Skinner will bring the country’s 26 president to life at a performance at Wind Cave National Park on August 27. This free program begins at 7 p.m. at the Elk Mountain Campground Amphitheater. The program is sponsored by The Friends of Wind Cave National Park.

Colorado-based historian and Theodore Roosevelt reprisor Kurt Skinner takes audiences of all ages back to a time when Theodore Roosevelt embodied all the promise of the new American century. A retired military officer-turned high school history teacher, Skinnert is a life-long student of history.

In his performances throughout the country as Theodore Roosevelt, he aims to honor and faithfully represent this man that he so admires. His goal is to engage, entertain, and enlighten audiences, and remind us, in Roosevelt’s own words, what has always been great about America.

Although he never visited Wind Cave National Park, President Roosevelt signed legislation creating the park on January 9, 1903.

The Friends group supports activities like this to better enable Wind Cave National Park to attain its mission of protecting and preserving these natural treasures for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations.

For more information, contact the park office at 605-745-4600

08/07/2026

Happy ! Flowstone typically forms when water containing calcite flows over rock, depositing that calcite to form a gooey-looking layer over the top. Flowstone is rare throughout Wind Cave because of its relative dryness.

07/31/2026

“Rangers lead the way, not because they have to, but because they want to.” – Anonymous

Today we are celebrating World Ranger Day, a day to honor all the hard work done by rangers in parks across the world.

Here at Wind Cave National Park, rangers wear a wide variety of hats. This park, like others, is home to park guides, administrative workers, maintenance workers, wildland firefighters, custodial workers, law enforcement officers, and physical scientists, along with many more.

As a part of World Ranger Day, we aim to honor rangers who have been killed or injured in the line of duty. We honor their sacrifice and work to protect our parks for future generations in their memory.

NPS Photo

07/30/2026