Pima County, Arizona – Make Colossal Cave Mountain Park part of your holiday celebrations.  See Colossal Cave by candlelight or headlamp on one of the park’s Adventure Tours.

Colossal Cave, which is full of stalactites, stalagmites and other cave formations, was used for centuries by prehistoric peoples before it was “discovered” in 1879.  The 2,400-acre Colossal Cave Mountain Park, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is home to hundreds of species of mammals, birds and reptiles, and is open every day of the year for cave tours, hiking, birding, trail rides, picnics, camping, parties and cookouts.  Winter hours (through March 15) are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Coming up:

• Sunday, Dec. 4:  Marc Severson of Old Pueblo Archaeology will share holiday stories from native peoples from 2 to 4 p.m.
• Friday, Dec. 16, and Saturday, Dec. 17:  Don’t miss “Holiday in The Park” – wagon rides around the 132-year-old La Posta Quemada Ranch, followed by hot chocolate and s’mores, and a Candlelight Tour of Colossal Cave.

The Candlelight Tour (1-1½ hours, candles are provided) is one of three Adventure Tours available by reservation for groups ranging in size from 2 to 20 people.  Visit mysterious, off-route areas of Colossal Cave few others have seen on the Ladder Tour (1½ hours, helmets and lights provided).  Follow in the footsteps of outlaws and early explorers into the depths of the earth on the Wild Cave Tour (2-4 hours, helmets and lights provided).

Call 520-647-7275 for more information and Adventure Tour costs and to make reservations.  What a great gift for adventurous friends and family members!

Regular Cave Tour Rates (no reservations required):

Adults (ages 13 and older)…………………$13 (up from $12, effective Nov. 15)

For military with ID……………………..$11

Children (ages 5-12)…………………………$6.50

For military with ID……………………..$6

Children ages 4 and younger………………FREE

You can get half off the price of a children’s ticket with purchase of an adult tour ticket if you print out a fun pass at http://www.colossalcave.com/PDF/FunPass.pdf

Daily park use fees are $5 per auto ($1 per person over six people); $1 per bicycle; $2 per motorcycle; $1 per person on a tour bus; and free for school buses.

For more information about the Pima County-owned park, go to www.colossalcave.com or call (520) 647 PARK (7275).

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 15th, 2011 at 4:05 pm and is filed under Natural Resources, Parks & Recreation, Pima County, Southern Arizona, Tucson. Tags for this post: birding, caves, families, hiking, holidays, trails. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.