Courtesy Bluespring Caverns
Boat ride in the Bluespring Caverns
Bedford, Indiana
A short walk through a deep cavern leads adventurers to a boat trip on a subterranean river at Bluespring Caverns Park. The park runs the Myst’ry River Voyage tour, a one-hour expedition into the depths of the limestone cave.
“The cavern boat tour runs through the longest navigable underground river in the U.S.,” said Jim Richards, president and general manager of Bluespring Caverns Park. “We cover quite a bit of ground. You see a lot of rock formations and caverns along the way.”
Tour guides point out intriguing rock formations, as well as blind crawfish and endangered blind cave fish living in the cave. The onboard electric lighting creates a feeling of remoteness while illuminating cavern passages.
Groups of more than 32 can split into smaller teams for other activities, such as gemstone mining and a sinkhole interpretive walk. For the gemstone experience, guests search through a bag of gemstones to identify and keep various types of stones. The Karst Development and Sinkhole Experience allows groups to examine Indiana’s largest sinkhole and learn about its formation.
Rock climbing with Shawnee Adventure Guides
Makanda, Illinois
It is hard to fully realize how high something is until you climb it. Guests can experience dizzying heights firsthand by scaling high-rising sandstone cliffs in southern Illinois. Shawnee Adventure Guides takes both rookies and aspiring experts up the canyon walls in Giant City State Park and Ferne Clyffe State Park.
Climbing guides take groups up rock inclines on tours ranging from Try Rock Climbing to Advanced Climbing. Participants need only show up, as the company provides food, gear and the information needed to face the heights safely.
Shawnee Adventure Guides also offers rappelling and bouldering classes for groups looking for a different way of enjoying the region’s unusual rock formations. Groups less inclined to ascend the cliffs can take in the views on one of the company’s half-day, full-day or backpacking hiking trips.
The company is able to run a variety of outdoor adventures because of the region’s plentiful protected lands, among them Shawnee National Forest, the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, the Cache River Wetlands and other nearby state parks.
www.shawneeadventureguides.com
