Our content manger decided to take her three sons to Inner Space Cavern, where it’s a constant 72 degrees year-round. Her family was in total awe of the beauty of the caverns, and the kids loved the experience! Read all about it!

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A Visit to Inner Space Cavern:

When you’re looking for a unique family adventure, it doesn’t get much more exciting than exploring caves! Inner Space Cavern is just a short drive north of Austin in Georgetown, TX. Hidden for over 10,000 years, Inner Space Cavern is one of the best preserved caves in Texas. On your cavern tour, you’ll get to view nature’s amazing creations like Soda Straw ceilings, “The Flowing Stone of Time,” and the mysterious “Lake of the Moon”.

 

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The history of Inner Space Cavern is pretty fascinating. It was discovered in 1963 during the initial expansion of I-35 north of Austin. To determine if the ground was stable enough to support this large, new roadway, the Texas Highway Department core drilling team needed to take 6-inch core samples, and while drilling one of the test holes, the drill bit suddenly dropped, and the highway crew knew there was something down there besides rock. Within a few months of this happening, spelunkers explored the dark reaches of the newly discovered cave. Inner Space was opened to the public in the summer of 1966, and since then hundreds of thousands of visitors have seen this beautiful cave. (You can click here to view photos & read more details about the cave discovery.)
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Fossils of prehistoric animals were found and excavated at Inner Space Cavern, including at least 44 different species of animal, 11 of which are now extinct. Some of the skeletons included a saber-toothed cat, glyptodont (looked like an enormous armadillo), camel and a ground sloth. During the tour you’ll see a cave paintings of some of these animals, view several bones, and see one of the archeological dig sites.

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At Inner Space Cavern you can choose from 3 different types of tours. We opted for the kid-friendly Adventure Tour, that lasts about 75 minutes. This tour departs every 20 minutes or so on a first come, first served basis (no reservations). This is their popular cave tour where a guide takes you in a group through the cavern and tells you details of the history of the cave, the story of how this cavern was formed (by water passing through limestone), and points out all of the amazing sights.

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Our tour guide was wonderfully informative and very welcoming to the children on in our group. At every stop along the way, she made sure that the kids were upfront so they could get the best views. She showed pointed out bats, stalagtites, stalagmites, ancient flowstones, prehistoric bones and one of the excavation sites. The kids were all amazed and engaged during the entire tour, and we all had a great time on this adventure!

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What to Know Before You Go on the Adventure Tour:
  • You cannot take strollers or wheelchairs on the cavern tour.
  • Wear closed-toe walking shoes (some sections are slippery).
  • You can take photos (no flash photography near the bats), but you cannot bring a tripod.
  • No food, drink, candy or gum is allowed inside the cave, but there is a small cafe at the ticket counter if you should need a snack before or after your tour.
  • Backpacks are not allowed in the cave.
  • You will not need to wear a sweater or jacket. Even though the cave stays a cool 72 degrees, there is 98% humidity.

For those looking for even more excitement, Inner Space Cavern offers two other tours: the Hidden Passages Tour & the Wild Cave Tour. Visit the website for full descriptions of each.

There is plenty of free parking at Inner Space Cavern. There is also a very small playground, a mining area, a gift shop, and several fossils on displays that you can check out before or after your tour. For more information, you can view the Inner Space Cavern website or follow them on Facebook & Twitter for updates.

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