My 5 year old dd has taken a fancy to caves and "gem mining" and we are looking for a place to do both on a short 3-4 day trip this fall. She is pretty hardy and has done well on hiking trips and anything that involves exploring. Any suggestions for cool places? We've thought of Carlsbad Caverns or Mammoth Cave - but are not that familiar with what else might be out there. Thanks!

There are places in Arkansas that include digging for your own quartz crystals, just for example, but you don't say where you are or how far you are willing to travel.

Doesn't really matter where we go - that's part of the adventure We are in the midwest so it's pretty easy to get to either coast or head south - just as long as we are in the lower 48 we should be able to manage a flight or two and short drive and still have 2-3 full days to explore.

There are a number of caves in the charming California Gold Country. The town of Columbia, is a well preserved Gold Rush town and State Park, and has lots of fun events and living history.

http://www.columbiacalifornia.com/

Here are some links for caves in the area. http://www.visitcalaveras.org/htdocs/todo/caves.htm

and http://www.greenstoneinn.com/thingstodo/caverns.php

This could be combined with a trip to Yosemite.

I remember visiting Carlsbad Caverns many years go (when I was a kid) and being very impressed by them. If you wait at the entrance at dawn or dusk you see the bats return or emerge (depending on the time of day) swirling in a big funnel-like group. I would love to take my family back there some day.

There is a lot of "mining" in Hiddenite, NC. No caves, however.

The Black Hills of South Dakota has two caves and great hikes.

Carlsbad, Mammoth, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Oregon Caves are the Biggies. They all have Wild Cave Tours (aka Spelunking Tours). Most of these have a minimum age of age 12, some even 16. They do have Junior Wild Cave Tours, but you would have to check the age on that as well. If you go to Carlsbad, go in the summer so you can see the bats. Watch them exit at dusk and return at sunrise. Only one day a year, the park hosts an annual bat breakfast and they also do a Night Sky thing. Last year Mr. Hale (Hale-Bop Comet guy) was even there all night with a telescope. This is the time to go.

Several good caves in Arkanas. Also gem mining in Arkansas. Also a good cave near Shenandoah NP, that the name escapes me right now.

I bet she would enjoy a lot of the NP, there is a lot to discover at most all of them. Yellowstone might be a good ticket. Arches National Park is a really good place to discover. Take her on a Canyoneering Adventure with www.deserthighlights.com. I think they do this on a small scale with children this young, and it is great.

I haven't been to any caves other than in California, Oregon and Nevada. But I do recommend Oregon Caves. That place impressed me as a kid and also my own children loved it.

Another interesting one is Lehman Caves in Great Basin National Park (Nevada). Not too many visitors there, and I love that park. It's vertical! You can camp at a variety of elevations.

Moaning Cave in the Gold Country of California is fun - but much smaller - well, deeper. It's near Columbia, a living ghost town.

As for caves in Arkansas, I can highly recommend Blanchard Springs in Mountain View. I've visited several times over the past 30 years, most recently in July 2008 with my 4 year old son. Here are some links.

http://www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ozark/recreation/caverns.html

Also, Trip Advisor reviews.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio..._Arkansas.html

The park also has a nice swimming hole (but it's very cold - spring fed)

Happy planning!

There are two cool caves in the Tucson area - Colossal Caves and Kartchner Caverns. I don't know about gem mining, but there is hiking out the wazoo.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

jcb or spiralbulldog- do you know how far it is from the caves in Arkansas down to the gem mining around Hot Springs or Mt. Ida? Just curious if it is possible to do both during a short trip. A map only tells me so much - not sure what the roads are like in the area.

If you do make it to Yellowstone, consider a side trip to Lewis & Clark Caverns in MT. It's a wonderful cave, and it's full of formations.

It would be hard to do both in a day. I would guess about 4 -5 hours apart. The Buffalo National River is a good place also. Lost Valley Trail has waterfalls and a short cave at the end. The cave has a waterfall in the cave. The waterfalls only run in spring or during heavy rainfall. Petit Jean State Park is probably the best state park in Arkansas. Devils Den State Park has a couple of caves.I have never done the mining, but it is on the travel channel. It is on the one about finding treasures.