Don’t Miss Your Chance to Visit the Robber Baron Cave Open House

Robber Baron Cave only opens to the public once every 18 months. Don’t miss your chance to visit on November 11, 2017. This unusual cave near San Antonio has numerous features inside and a fascinating history. Learn more about how you can visit Robber Baron Cave and what you can do and see there.

Open House

Photo: Facebook/Bj Neesvig

On November 11, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Robber Baron Cave will allow the public to tour the cave. You will get the chance to do some caving in a wild cave in the Hill Country. Wear durable, old jeans, shirt, and close-toed shoes. The Texas Cave Management Association will provide you with helmets, lights, kneepads, and gloves at this free event. If you’d like to give to the cave’s maintenance and preservation, they will welcome monetary donations. Experts will also provide be on hand to answer questions about the cave and surrounding area after your self-guided tour. Don’t miss this rare event that comes only once every 18 months. It will be April 2019 before you can see Robber Baron Cave again at an Open House.

Robber Baron Cave History

Photo: Facebook/Texas Cave Management Association

Like many of the caves in the Texas Hill Country, Robber Baron Cave initially was explored by locals. Occasionally, wayward amateur cavers would find themselves stuck inside the tight spaces of the cave or lost in the maze of passages, requiring rescuing. During the heyday of prohibition, these passages made an ideal place for bootleggers, who hoped the inaccessibility of the cave would make it harder for “dry agents” to find. Unfortunately, the cave was raided, though nothing was found. AJ Hart ran the cave as a commercial show cave from the 1920s through 1933, the Great Depression ending its profitable run. In the ensuing years, vandals threw trash into the cave and drew graffiti on its walls. In 1995, the property owner passed away, leaving the cave to the Texas Cave Management Association in his will. This group took over restoring the cave to its natural state and maintaining the wild cave to preserve the flora and fauna inside.

Features Inside the Cave

Photo: Facebook/Images of TEXAS

This cave distinguishes itself as the longest cave in Bexar county with mapped passages measuring more than one mile. Inside the cave, many native species make their home, including two endangered. The Bexar Grotto group works with Texas Cave Management Association to maintain the cave’s environment by carefully regulating who and what enters the cave system. Carved in Austin chalk from water, the humidity of the cave is almost 100 percent, which makes it feel uncomfortable despite temperatures of 71 degrees Fahrenheit. If you plan to visit, be ready to experience these conditions in addition to very tight spaces that require squeezing through small openings in rock.

Visiting Robber Baron Cave Outside the Open House Dates

Photo: Facebook/Olive Castro Brzostowski

If you want to visit the cave outside the open house dates, you will need to know a few things first. The cave, generally, does not allow the general public to enter, but preservation groups do go inside to clean up the area. If you’d like to volunteer your time, join the Friends of Robber Baron. Service hours with this group will net you the chance to go inside the cave itself. This dedicated organization protect and restore the cave from natural and man-made damage. It’s a great chance to combine volunteer work with outdoor exploration.