North Dakota isn’t particularly known for having deep caverns or huge caves – in fact, very few caves exist in the state. Those that are present are more often than not formed by “slope failure,” when hollows or caverns form in slopes that collapse partially, instead of caves carved out by underground rivers or similar factors. These types of caves still look like caves to us, and North Dakota has a rather special set of caves you may not have known about. Venture under the earth into these gorgeous ice caves:
On North Dakota’s amazing Maah Daah Hey Trail, a 95-mile trail system in the western region of the state, you can find all sorts of impressive natural areas.
Roderick Eime/Flickr
The trail system winds through the badlands, up the buttes, and down into the painted canyons. It also takes you to one of very few caves in the state.
Tim McGrath/Flickr
On the trail between mile posts 108 and 109, you can take a 1.5 mile detour to the Ice Cave cliffs area on the Ice Cave Trail. The steep, rocky cliffs are magnificent to view and hiding beneath them are some very special caves.
Blindly Made Videos/Youtube
The Ice Caves get their name from their chilly interior temperature that has resulted in explorers of the cave seeing ice and snow from the previous winter as far into the year as July. People visiting the caves in early summer can expect to see beautiful ice crystals still present even after months of warm weather.
Blindly Made Videos/Youtube
Even when ice is not present, it still feels cooler in the caves than outside. There is one main ice cave and a few smaller ones that you can explore.
Blindly Made Videos/Youtube
Inside the main cave you’ll find a geocache as well as the dark, rocky formations of the cave. The cave is about 30 feet long from the entrance to the back.
Blindly Made Videos/Youtube
You can explore all the caves in the area and feel just how chilly they are inside, and if you come during May or June, will likely still see ice on the ground or walls of the cave. It’s a spectacular natural phenomenon and a special part of North Dakota!
Blindly Made Videos/Youtube
Check out this video by Blindly Made Videos of their exploration of the ice caves. They do quite a bit of exploring and it shows how big and interesting these caves are, as well as some wildlife you might see in the area when visiting.
Roderick Eime/Flickr
Tim McGrath/Flickr
Blindly Made Videos/Youtube
Have you ever visited the Maah Daah Hey Trail? There are other awesome things to see on it besides the Ice Cave – after all, it’s 95 miles of trails through the beautiful badlands! Read more about it right here.
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