What a great weekend! We decided to take advantage of this perfect weather we’ve been having in Utah by going on a hike up to Timpanogos Cave. Neither Cole nor I had ever been to the Timpanogos Cave National Monument before so we had no idea what to expect. We started off by hiking a 1 1/2 mile trail, which gains 1,160 ft in elevation! The view of American Fork Canyon was amazing!
After making our way to the top of the steep trail, we joined a small tour group led by a park ranger inside the cave. You can only enter the cave as part of a guided tour for your safety as well as to protect the cave. Inside it was dark, damp and a chilly 45 degrees!
Touring the cave was unlike anything I had ever done or seen before. It was so beautiful and totally fascinating!
What surprised me most was how large the cave was. The tour lasted about 45 min. We made our way down dark narrow passages, ducked under stalactites and had to be very careful not to touch anything.
You have to be very careful not to hit your head. Be prepared to duck…a lot!
Exploring Timpanogos Cave was seriously so cool and so much fun (especially for a geologist like Cole!) If you live in Utah and have not yet visited the Timpanogos Cave then I hope you get out and do it soon! Just make sure to do the hike before it’s too hot in the summer, otherwise I can’t imagine it will be too pleasant hiking in the scorching heat.
You must pay a fee at the visitor center for the guided tour (you cannot pay at the cave). In my opinion it is well worth it. There’s also a snack shack nearby in case you forget to bring water. There’s no drinking water available on the hike or at the cave. The snack shack also has corn dogs and soft serve ice cream, yum!
