Kartchner Caverns State Park

We spent one night here in March 2026, on our drive from Austin back to Colorado in March 2026. We were in site 42 in the Lower Loop and paid about $55 for the night. Our full field report is still being written, so here is what to know about the place itself.

The short version

Kartchner Caverns State Park protects a living limestone cave at the eastern base of the Whetstone Mountains, south of Benson in southern Arizona. The cave is still growing formations, and it can only be seen on a guided tour.

A little history

• Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts found the cave in November 1974 and kept it secret until 1978, when they told the landowners, James and Lois Kartchner.
• Arizona State Parks kept the project confidential, calling it the "Secret Cave," until the state acquired the property in 1988.
• After more than a decade of careful development, the upper caverns opened in November 1999. The lower caverns opened in 2003.

What it is known for

• The Rotunda/Throne Tour, which includes Kubla Khan, which the park calls the largest column formation in Arizona.
• The Big Room Tour, offered from mid October to mid April. The Big Room closes each summer while a colony of cave bats gives birth and raises its young there.
• A Helmet and Headlamp Tour and occasional photo tours.

Camping

• Every campsite has water and electric hookups. Back-in sites have 30 amp service and pull-through sites have 50 amp service.
• Restrooms with showers, and a dump station near the campground entrance.
• Four two-room camping cabins.

Good to know

• Book cave tours ahead, and note that some tours have minimum ages.
• No cameras, phones, bags or bottled water are allowed on tours. Lockers are available.
• Pets are not allowed on cave tours.
• There is an entrance fee, and cave tours are ticketed separately.