Meramec Caverns

One of the best cavern tours I've been on! Most that I've been to just keep the same warm neutral lights all around, so I am very appreciative of the colorful lights to elevate my photography!!! It's been a few weeks now, but I THINK our tour guides name was Jackson or started with a J, he was amazing! Super funny and knowledgeable, he was informing but also kept everything light and fun. This was such a majestic cavern to explore and amazing photo opportunities!

The tour is well worth the experience. One person in our party was claustrophobic, but there was never a time that it felt too tight, never a time that we had to struggle to get somewhere. All the walkways were clear and nonslip, and the amazing cavernous features were fantastic. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, and the gift shop had something for everyone.

My husband and I visited this location and were thoroughly captivated. The historical context of the area was elucidated during our cave tour, and our guide demonstrated exceptional proficiency in her role. The cave extends an additional 60 feet, but that section is inaccessible to the public due to the resident inhabitants of the cave. We also enjoyed the 20-minute Queen Bee Boat ride up and back down the river.

This stop wasn’t originally on our itinerary, but we’re thrilled we decided to visit! After changing plans in St. Louis, we took a short drive down and ended up at the caverns—a fantastic choice! My wife celebrated her birthday surrounded by breathtaking views, making it one of the highlights of our getaway. We joined the 9:00 AM tour and were pleasantly surprised to find it was just us and another group, making the experience even more intimate. Our guides were outstanding—knowledgeable, friendly, and genuinely passionate about sharing the caverns’ history and beauty. They answered every question with care, making the tour truly memorable. This place is an absolute must-visit. Whether planned or spontaneous, it offers a unique and awe-inspiring experience that you won’t soon forget.

It was a good time there, learning about Jessie James and how he had this cool place for a hideout, the gift shop is cool, and some things are a little bit over my price range💰💰💰💰💰💸💸💸💸💸. All the cool artifacts there make me feel like I'm in a museum and the movie 🎬 theater, tops of the list for sure. Kinda wish you could go up into the other floors but all is well, this is my review, peace, please, and peas.

I have wanted to go for years! Amazing tour. Our guide was very patient and kind. We paid for a combo ticket to include a boat ride, but weren't able to due low staff. We were offered a later time, but couldn't make it work with our schedule. A must see!

Tours are offered every 30 minutes, HOWEVER they're not on every half hour. There's a tour at 20 after the hour and ten minutes before the hour. (Example is 5:20pm and 5:50 pm). Many cool things to see inside the cavern! I ended up having a private tour with a 16yr old guide and this was her first job. She was very knowledgeable and was able to answer all of my questions. Although I can't remember the name of the mineral on the ceiling in the "ball room". I think it was Dolomite. The wine table and the spaghetti room were my favorites, plus the theater room! So many unique things to see inside! Well worth it. The wait goes by quick for the tours because of the huge gift shop, fudge shop, ice cream shop and cafe.

Came here as an adult after 15 years and had a wonderful time. Our tour guide Emma was informative and seemed like she really enjoyed her job. We went on a very hot day and it was cool and comfortable in the caves. The rock formations are so beautiful and it's always fun to learn about local history.

The tour was well conducted. Stories were engaging and made it more interesting. I do feel that sometimes there's too much done to keep the crowds entertained rather than just letting people enjoy what nature made as they are. There was a cartoon character at one point. There was an area where different colored lights were used to create effect. After the third color change, it got to be a bit much. The patriotic movie projected onto the wall of the cave felt a bit "propaganda-ish" Overall, I enjoyed it.

My family and I enjoyed our tour this morning. The guides were friendly and knowledgeable, and their spiel was peppered with cheesy but fun one last need that had the ring of having been well rehearsed. You can buy tickets online or at the caves. I'd purchased ahead of time but was very grateful that they allowed us on the earlier tour as our plans had changed. The cafe is paved and except for being a bit slippery in places was very easy to walk through, and the ceiling is high throughout. My 4 year old son was with us and he had no problems , although he did end up wanting to be carried towards the end. We camped overnight, which worked well. The sites are pretty primitive. You can buy firewood at the camp store (it was pretty bad yesterday and mostly smoked, had to work hard to get enough gland for my son to roast a marshmallow). It VERY buggy, so make sure you're prepared to deal with that. They have a playground and showers, which were pretty filthy (and also very buggy last night) but I had shower shoes so it was much better than no shower. But seriously, they could use a good scrubbing.

Really neat experience! Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. The video played at the end was a bit odd, but overall, I enjoyed getting to see the cave.

Although advertised as kid friendly and all ages welcome, this was not our experience for the cave tour. Our tour guide singled out fussing children throughout the tour and even removed a family at the end for their children being "disruptive". With strollers not allowed and no food or water allowed on the tours, you are bound to get kids that cry. Really disappointing how it was handled. It's understandable the tour guide had valuable information that perhaps some could not hear. However, the group was fairly large and she did not have a microphone/headset.

Fun experience for my 5 year olds! We will have to come back when they are older so they can do the ropes course. We did the tour which lasted an hour and then spent some time in the gift shop. It appears this place gets busy so I suggest going early or on a weekday.

We did the cavern tour with Aiden as our guide. He was great! Definitely recommend. We also rented the kayaks and had an amazing time .

I went to Meramec Caverns on a guided tour from St. Louis and had a nice trip. We had the shortened tour through the caves which was really nice but there were a lot of older people in our group that it was kind of dangerous with how wet the ground is with handrails only on one side in some places. I really enjoyed the riverboat tour it was a really nice way to see the river. Next time I'll make sure to bring the family and enjoy some of their other offerings.

What a fun trip. My oldest son hadn't been there since he was young and took his three kids with us this time. We all had a really good time and the tour guide was very informative we will definitely be bringing them back in a couple of years to experience this as the grandkids get older. They live in Ohio now and come to Missouri for vacations and holidays

This isn't just another hole in the ground. This is a CAVE. But it's not just a CAVE. It's a BIG CAVE with lights, and sidewalks, and natures air-conditioning, and a river, and even a big, huge (former) dance floor! It's got a log cabin, and a couple of neon signs, a video with music honoring America, and fortunately not too many stairs. I have made two trips here within the last couple of years to show some of my grandchildren a bit of the awesomeness of God's creation. They have ranged from about six years old all the way up to early teenagers. They've all loved it! All tours through the cave are led by guides. I've noticed some guides are better than others. It's just the luck of the draw. But as long as they all get you through the cave and back out again, I suppose they've done their job. There are tons of stalactites and stalagmites, and they are very adamant that you do not touch them. I don't know what will happen to you if you do, but it probably will not be pretty. So be sure to tell the children to behave themselves. Quite seriously, the cave is beautiful and I strongly recommend that you take an hour to spend in this national treasure. If you bypass the gift shop and the restaurant, it is not cost prohibitive. But it is also not free so you might want to go to the website and check that out ahead of time. There seems to be plenty of free parking. Viva la CAVE! (Be sure to tell your kids that there are bats. Not the baseball kind. The kind with wings. You may not see them, but ... they see you...)

the structure of the cave is really interesting. you enter through these huge grand halls and get to see some gorgeous rock formations. the lighting in many areas creates some gorgeous optical illusions. I'd give the caves a higher rating however we were plagued by an older tour guide that mumbled the entire time. I could barley understand what he was saying. when he would start to talk coherently his speech pattern would then pick up speed and he'd rush through the information. also at the end they make you watch this religious american propaganda video. it has the notoriously racist kate smith singing god bless america accompanied by random stock footage and pictures of american monuments. it was so jarring and out of place

This is a childhood memory that always brings a smile to my soul. The field trip where we piled in the bus toured the cave, learned cool stuff about bats, stalagmites/tites, and the James Gang was a memorable highlight of grade school. Today we like to take the family camping for the weekend just to unwind and chill. It's so close, it serves well for seasonal work up cruises readying the fifth wheel.

I was really looking forward to this cave tour, and had such high hopes of liking it. While it was neat to see the different kinds of rock formations, this felt like a very gimmicky tourist attraction...which I feel like says a lot coming from someone who lives around all the theme parks in central Florida. While I am glad I got to see it, I'm unsure if I would recommend a friend to come here. This tour is definitely geared towards families and tourists. While the story line of Jesse James was integrated into parts of the tour, we were left sort of confused as to his importance. Maybe it's because we aren't from the area, but we weren't really sure what made him a "notable" person to begin with. The tour guide seemed very well versed in knowledge and skills related to the cave.

Came here on a weekday. Not much crowded. Tickets are $27 per person. Tour is about 1.5 hour. After the tour there is a gift shop for souvenirs. They have a snack bar section if hungry. Bathrooms are clean and keep tidy. They close around 4pm, so come early. Experience was a five star. Recommend.

Basically a "middle of the country" tourist attraction; with gift shop, restaurant, and one-hour guided cave tour that is well-maintained. You are allowed to walk about 300 feet into the cave to the main ticket entrance. The actual tour was a little over a mile. The sights were beautiful and the way that they use the colored lights made it really interesting. The water that is so pure you don't even know that it's there. Guides do a nice job of telling stories. The last leg of the caverns has a steep staircase to climb and the air is thick/hotter at the top. It's not a difficult climb, but it was enough to make my asthma flare up. Wear shoes with traction. Some areas are slick.

Couldn't float with our own kayaks, and staff were rude to rivergoers breaking on a nearby bank for lunch, even though they were in the water. I suggest going with a different outfitter that is less of an "owner" and more of a steward to the beautiful public resource that is the Meramec River.

Meramac Caverns. I grew up spelunking as a young person and I have always love going into caves. They are all so different, very unique. One of my favorite things is what is called cave bacon. No wonder people used to live in caves in the past because they have the same temperature here around. Do you know the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite? I do. There is so much history at this particular cavern. It is noted for one of Jesse James is hideouts, I did find some loot. TV shows and a lot of music have been performed at this location. I have been in this particular Catherine at least 11 times. Beautiful area, great to camp,they even have a zip line, and a river cruse. I WOULD RECOMMEND.

Out tour guide mumbled and was very hard to understand. He ignored questions; no one could hear his jokes. We were a cross-section of ages and none of us could hear him. I was eager to learn more about the beautiful cavern. I was not interested in long muffled stories about Huck Finn, Jessie James, and Lassie. Nothing in the video at the end of the tour was related to the cavern. The only words I clearly heard from the tour guide was his request for a gratuity following the video. Take your own photos; don't waste your money on the photo package. MERAMEC CAVERN earns a GOLD STAR for its beauty and magnificence.

Visited 2/18/2020 Sadly this time of year most of the attractions were closed. I will return.

Amazing guide Craig was very funny down to earth and informative of questions. And helped with whatever was needed

Beautiful cave and well maintained for privately owned. I enjoyed the tour and just simply seeing the beauty of creation was wonderful. I felt it was worth the admission.

The tour is definitely worth it for the price. It's about an hour and a half long and the scene is beautiful. Our tour guide Faith, was very knowledgeable and she did a great job of ensuring our large group stayed together and giving us sufficient time to take photographs.

Good time with the grandkids. Pretty place. Tour size doesn't seem to be controlled so we were with like 45 people and missed most of the guided tour comments being in the back. Suggest doing no more than 25 people at a time and wait for the back to catch up...

Contrary to what was previously reviewed, we visited the cave, socially distanced, everyone was masked and so was the tour guide. The cave was amazing and a really neat piece of Mother Nature to enjoy and witness. Also contrary to what a couple of the below hippies mentioned, there is no heavy religious overtones or anything else that a thin-skinned liberal should be offended by. You are taking a tour in a small town in the middle of one of the most 'red' states in America. If you are surprised to see America the Beautiful played with images of Americans (of all colors) and one or two military personnel, then probably best just not come to Missouri to begin with. Some people are just too easily offended these days, the trouble with America as a whole right now. A really cool place to visit and witness Mother Nature at her best!

Our tour guide Craig was very knowledgeable and I appreciated his sense of humor. His jokes were the highlight of my afternoon! Along with the cave tour and zipline.

Me and my friend went to visited on August 6, 2021, and we really enjoyed the cave. Both of us had been to the caves which were bigger than that in Idaho, but comparing to that Meramec cave was very oriented, clean, and lights they set up were absolutely beautiful. Our guide was Joseph, and he was very fun and professional.

My dad; stepmom; brother; and I visited Meramec Caverns on 21 June 2021. Although I had been there before, it was Lance's first time. We both enjoyed the tour. We saw all kinds of fascinating geological formations that were, in some cases, enhanced by the installed lighting. We also learned about some of the caverns' history. For example, as I remember, even though Missouri was a Confederate state during the American Civil War, the Union actually had a supply depot and/or an ammunition dump located inside the caverns. In addition, after the war, Frank and Jesse James used the caverns as a hideout for their gang. The tour ended with a short film that included a young lady singing God Bless America while different scenes were shown. What a way to cap this exciting adventure!

It's a trap, you go through this hour tour pay and pay 25 per person and at the end a lot of religious propaganda. Stay away it's not worth it.

Good day trip. We came from Illinois for a small vacation, and decided to stop by because I remembered enjoying it when i was younger. It was affordable (you can find coupons online and on their facebook) and fun!

We we have been driving by this place for years now on the road and I finally made him STOP today. He really doesn't like caverns and closes spaces but he said he would try. It was awesome and he did fine. Just a big baby... lol. We just got in and it wasn't busy seasonally yet. They said July is busy. The tour started right away which was great. We wound up and around in there. The guide stopped every so often and had commentary. Jesse James and Frank has a kewl place to hide out back in the day! The formations were awesome and they did colored lights on them and all!! So glad we came. It was a bit chilly in there ( till I climbed the 58 stairs)! Haha. So bring a light jacket. And wear shoes. Then I was hot. But after that they had a seating area with the screen ( stalactites ) and showed an America the beautiful video. It was nice to sit! After that we had an ice cream. Then we went down to the river and took the little boat tour. It was short but pretty. They had the fishing derby going on so a few speed boats were passing us by. Lol. Good fun day.

If you are looking for something "cool" to do on a blazing hot day...how about a cave that's 60 degrees year round? Pun intended... About a one hour drive from St. Louis, this privately owned cave takes about a 1 1/2 hours to walk through and offers some pretty amazing sights. It's pretty pricey at $22.50 for an adult, less for kids, but you'll still drop about $80 or so to get a family through it. They do have a small discount available through their FB page, so that will save you enough to grab a small snack on the way out in their on-site cafe where you can get sandwiches, pretzels, drinks, etc. The cave itself has well built pathways with good lighting which make it easy to navigate and safe to travel. It is chilly and damp (as are all caves). I was very comfortable in just shorts and a T-shirt but others in our group were happy they brought along a light jacket. The tour guides are knowledgeable, but they repeat the same information all day so it does come off as highly overly rehearsed which can make it difficult to understand at times. This was guide dependent as we encountered a number of them on our tour. The light and sound show at the end was particularly enjoyable, and I liked how family friendly the whole experience was. A must do for a day trip from St. Louis.

A very nice place to spend with family. We did the tour and boat ride. Money we'll spend

It was a great experience we did the zip line course and had a cave tour guides were well informed and did an excellent job

Great cave and tour. Beautiful lighting. Some steep inclines but overall well graded for this 1 mile tour! You should seriously disregard the review below from "Hello I." who mentioned "religious propaganda" at the end. I think he was referring to the excellent patriotic tribute light show and film at the end that ended with a bible quote from Psalms 33 that read Blessed is the nation whose God is Lord. It was lovely.

Our tour guide Craig was perfect, answered all the questions and kept mood fun for the kids. The caves were beautiful, if a little chilly. A good place to visit if you're in the area!

our tour guide was very informative and funny! thank you carter for a great experience

Great tour guide and amazing history behind the Meramec Caverns! Decided to take my mom there while she was visiting me from Tennessee. The wait for a tour guide wasn't long & they were on time. The zip lining was incredible and the staff made us feel really safe and comfortable! Also, there was a beautiful set up for an Easter play they were hosting.

Absolutely loved our time at the Meramec Caverns!!! Beautiful sights at every turn. Our tour guide was really fun and very informed. Loved the light show at the end!

Wow! Didn't expect something so much to learn from rocks! Overall, good experience from tour guides, pretty rocks, and customer service! 5/5 and would recommend

Amazing cave! The lighting is fantastic. The Jesse James history as well as the caves history it self was fun to learn about. We had a fantastic guide named Hannah. She was great with the history and great at answering questions. It's kind of expensive but they had a good military discount that really helped out my family. During our visit we stood at the campground which was pleasant on weekdays. Probably cramped on weekends. We wanted to try the restaurant at the cave but it closed at 5 so we missed it. The float trips here are fun as well. They have zip lines and climbing walls here too. We didn't try them. The cave itself is worth coming for. With all the other things to do you probably want to spend a couple days. They have an affordable motel as well. My father stood there and liked it. We will definitely be back!

This is a great tour especially if you have young children or someone who needs a smoother path with rails to walk or even wheelchairs or strollers! It is a bit pricey! It's privately owned and kept nicely. It is well lit. So much so that during the tour the guide will double back and turn off the lights as you leave one area and walk to the next. They offer a great snack bar, ice cream shop and nice gift shop.

My family and I enjoyed our spelunking adventure here. It has a concrete walkway throughout, with one optional section of steps toward the end of tour. I would say it is probably a pretty easy walk as caves go, with wide walkways and only a couple of steeper ramp sections. At one point people 5' 7" and taller have to duck down a little bit. Our tour guide was very informative and funny. Tours head out about every 30 minutes. The only thing I would criticize is the adult ticket price is about $22, which I thought was a little steep for an hour and a half tour.

The cave has lots of cool formations and our great guide CRAIG was very nice and helped us learn lots about the cave.

The cavern tour was fantastic. It was such an unusual experience and such a beautiful piece of nature. Our tour guide, Emma was very knowledgeable and did a great job leading us through the cavern trail explaining each aspect to us. The trail itself did have some small inclines and some a bit steeper. There also was one set of stairs to view an upper cavern. Most of these trails were wet, however handrails were available throughout. I would recommend good shoes. I felt it was reasonably cool In temperature and long sleeves would be useful. The end of the tour offered a nice light show in a seated theater. I would highly recommend the cavern tour, but would caution based on your physical ability. It was well worth the entrance fee. The Riverboat tour was a separate attraction from the caverns. It was a rip-off. Do not donate your money to this "attraction", which was 15 minutes long at best.

Nice, but I have been to better caves, not amazing but a decent tour. The employees were all very nice, and the overall facility with food and gift shop is nice. too.

Definitely a good stop whether you're a local or just passing through; we had a blast! The tour is just about the right length and was suitable for most individuals in terms of walking (mostly ramps, I don't recall many stairs). My husband and I have visited a number of caves and this was great experience. The staff is super friendly AND knowledgeable, which made the cave tour interesting, informative and entertaining.

The caverns are beautiful and a wonderful place to spend a swelteringly hot day BUT our guide was extremely difficult to understand. At first I thought it was just me but I asked our adult children and they said they could understand about 50%. I asked the people around us and they agreed that they were missing about half of what was said. There were lots of families in our group and as the tour progressed the children became more and more restless which made it even more difficult to hear the tour guide. But the issue was not hearing him, the issue was that his diction was so poor that it was difficult to understand what he was saying while standing next to him. The tour was very expensive and much longer than an hour. It was definitely not the fun family outing we had planned.

The caves are really beautiful but the religious propaganda was a bit much. I tree s less about the natural beauty and more about a light show.

The attraction far exceeded my expectations, especially for a small family run operation. The facilities are very clean, the personnel personable and well informed. The cave tour was interesting, moved at a good pace, and was a good value compared to many tourist attractions. The "floors" of the cave are smooth, there are a few mild ramps along the way. There's gift and snack shops you can visit before or after the tour. The facility also rents canoes and rafts for 4-6 hour floats down the adjacent lazy river. The water is warm enough to swim in, and you can stop along the way to sun or picnic (bring your own), and the river moves along so you don't really have to work at getting to the end. Good fun. Also a good value. The attraction has a large campground and a small motel, which are closed this season (2017) due to storm damage last winter. Repairs seem well underway tho.

This place was pretty cool, there was a section of the cave that was closed, so we didn't have to pay the full price of admission. The guide was great, and the tour was very informative. overall walking through the cave was pretty cool, it is a little cool inside so do dress appropriately. They have a restaurant and souvenir shop on site, and right outside the cave you can rent canoes and go zip lining.