Those who love spelunking will love Cascade Caverns, located in Boerne, in the Texas Hill Country. It’s not just being underground and exploring everything this unique setting has to offer that entices so many people in. There’s actually an underground stream in the midst of it, hence the name. There were seven waterfalls which used to flow through the caverns, however, all that remains is one, the only underground waterfall in Texas.
Cascade Caverns was first named a show cave in 1932. The first six waterfalls which slowly dried up disappeared in the 1950s over the course of a drought. Although there’s only one remaining, the fact that it’s the sole underground falls found in the state of Texas is an exclusive! Guests to Cascade Caverns descend 132 feet underground. The caverns contain bats, crickets, and beetles, as well as a salamander which isn’t found anywhere else! Visitors can spend approximately an hour exploring the caverns on an informative, guided tour, and learn about its formation. The varying geological formations are amazing, and learning about how a subterranean waterfall is able to flow is an experience you have to try at least once. At a year-round temperature of 64 degrees, it’s one of the best ways to beat the Texas heat!
Video: YouTube/KSAT 12
Shared by KSAT 12 on their YouTube channel, the experience of taking a tour through Cascade Caverns is brought to life in the video above. While the underground falls wasn’t their primary features, the fact that their access provided them parts of the tour others don’t take is one good reason to pay attention. The additional access they achieved allowed them an exit route through a drainage tube in the Cathedral Room, where the water from Cascade Caverns drains into the Edwards aquifer. The fossils which are found in this tourist attraction are stunning, including mammoth and sabre tooth tigers! The details on the ancient coral reef which is found here are also exciting to learn about. Along with the guided tour, there are two other excursions, including the one you see above into the lower cave, as well as a flashlight adventure in the evenings. As witnessed in the video above, the former necessitates crawling through cramped quarters, rappelling, and swimming, and is only offered in the summertime. This entails four hours with a supporting guide, so you don’t have to worry about navigating the caverns on your own. The evening flashlight tour runs for approximately 90 minutes, featuring all of the ins and outs of being this far beneath Texas soil really looks like.
