Kartchner Caverns State Park - Benson, AZ - a natural cavern turned into a state park


Kartchner Caverns were first discovered during 1974, located twelve miles from Benson, Arizona they were made public during 1988. There are two rooms the length of football fields and the passages total thirteen thousand feet in the limestone caves. November of 1999 Kartchner Caverns State Park opened with the temperature inside averaging 68 degrees all year long with ninety-nine percent humidity.

The Kartchner Caverns is open from 7am until 6pm all year long. Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve the park is open a half day although it is closed on Christmas Day. Camping and Day Use permits are sold at the Contact Station which is open from 7am until 4pm each day. The Visitors and Discover Center is open from 9am until 5pm Tuesday and Wednesday and from 8am until 5:30pm Thursday through Monday.

There are restrooms located in various places throughout the Kartchner Caverns State Park. There are family facilities that have changing stations as well as being handicapped accessible.

There is a dumb station on site to handle the disposal of stored wastewater.

There is a gift shop at Kartchner Caverns State Park that is open every day except for Christmas Day from 9am until 6pm. A variety of items such as hat pins, magnets, tiles, golf balls, ornaments and a number of other things for visitors to purchase as keepsakes from the trip. The gift shop is making every effort to carry environmentally friendly products. Visitors to the caverns can have a meal in the Bat Cave Cafy which is open from 9am to 6pm each day offering a variety of choices.

The Main Parking Lot's northwest corner is where the Group Day Use Area is found. There are has one hundred and ten electrical outlets, lighting, drinking fountains, water faucets, and eighteen picnic tables one of which is handicapped accessible. An additional fee is required for the use of a built in counter and gas grill. $75 will reserve the Group Day Use Area while $25 is the cost to reserve the grill. All fees are per day rates that have to be paid when reservations are made. The fees for vehicles, tours and camping are additional and charged separately. Visitors are asked to use trash receptacles and clean the grill when they leave. Camping is available overnight at a charge of $22 each night and visitors must be in the park prior to closing at 6pm in order to camp. Fees have to be paid daily; there are no reservations for camping.

Tours of the Kartchner Caverns State Park are guided, there are no self guided tours allowed. There are a number of tours each day that can be taken year round of the Rotunda or Throne tour. The Big Room Tour can be taken from the middle of October through the middle of April during which time there are fifteen tours. Those wishing to visit the Kartchner Caverns State Park should plan to stay for a couple of days to ensure that they get the chance to tour the caverns.

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