forestville/mystery cave state park

We camped in this area for a weekend and really enjoyed ourselves. The Mystory Caves and Historic Forestville were a fun day. We took our kids who have never experienced a cave before and thought it was cool. You have a tour guide who takes you around and talks about the caves. Historic Forestville was neat to see as well, you go on a tour of the little town to see what Lonsdale fee was like back then. Everyone there is really into character.

Spent the weekend visiting family and getting to know South East MN better-our typical visits find the kids enjoying Grandparent's Horses and 4 wheeling on the farm. This year, we ventured out to "Mystery Cave" as Spam Museum is closed for relocation (and will open May 2015). Initially, I was the only one of my family of 5 who was excited about visiting a cave-my spouse went along because it was "something different". Within feet of the entrance, my youngest (age 9) was pleading to turn back. Within minutes of entering the cave, all of the disenters were silenced. We saw about 10 bats, beautiful rock formations, learned of the geology of SE MN as well as some local history and the importance of preserving our ground/drinking water. By the end of the tour, my spouse and 15 year old thought this was "pretty cool". The 11 year old and 9 year regaled their grandparents and cousins with all they saw and did. The 11 year old wants to go back when he turns 13 for the "wild cave tour".

I'm so happy I chose Mystery Cave for my first cave tour. I never even knew of the cave until I was looking at the DNR parks website and came across it. Mystery Cave is the largest network of caves in Minnesota and most in Iowa, and it sure seems like it! The tour started off great, and our guide was so friendly and knowledgeable. I am somewhat read up on caves and was glad to learn even more on the tour, including scientific explanations about how caves are formed, why they are shaped the way they are, and what sort of features can be formed depending on the environment. This cave is known for wide and flat low ceilings so it was very easy to maneuver around. Not only did I learn a lot on the tour, our guide was extremely genuine and fun. I will definitely come back for a more in-depth caving next time I have the chance!

We took the one hour walking tour and really liked it! Very easy walk through with some interesting features common to caves. The guide was excellent, very knowledgable and friendly. It can be a little tricky getting there, as the website, warns don't use GPS or you'll end up lost and backtracking! Additionally, the facility offers adventure caving that takes you deeper into the cave. Our tour guide told us they're very popular and they typically fill reservations by mid summer so, if you're interested in these, book in advance!

Awesome Cave,We had brought our summer school class to Mystery cave for a field trip here in hot July weather. It was nice and cool inside the cave during out tour. The park ranger was very informative on the history & knowledgeable of the cave during our tour. There is a beautiful small 10' deep lake inside this cave & 13 miles to explore of ancient past.There are different types of tours one can pick from guide tours to going and exploring on your own with cave gear. Mystery Cave is surround by a beautiful hard wooded forest with picnic areas in front of the cave center. Definitely must explore & great time. Would do it again!

The tour was great and the guide very knowledgeable. The Park is a bit tricky to find, so watch the road signs carefully. Watch your fellow tour mates as they allow children and even infants in strollers. The tour wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been listening to a very disgruntled toddler scream for nearly the entire 1 hr tour.

Loved this tour. So many caving options here. Informative and fun. Out of the way, but worth it. Nice picnic area!

Rangers who are guides are very knowledgeable. Very organized. The 1 hr. tour leaves every 20 min. There are other more adventurous tours available also. Well worth the money and timer. They are very good with young children. Handicap accessible.

Tour lasted about an hour. Our guide was well informed about the history and the more interesting facts about the cave. The formations were very interesting to see. Perfect place to go when it is rainy or looking for a change of pace.

We were able to get tickets for this tour, which is only available on weekends. This tour offers more in-depth information about the science that was involved in the formation of the cave. This tour is 2 hours in length and is lighted only by flashlights. Everyone on this tour carries a park-provided heavy-duty flashlight. Our tour guide, Heidi, was new at leading this particular tour, but was very well informed about the geological features of the cave and could relay all that information in a way the was easy to understand, and all with a great sense of humor. We had folks as young as 8 and as old as 65 in our group, and everyone had a good time. For families with younger children, there are shorter tours available. This tour involved stairs, but there are other tours available with wheelchair access. Mystery Cave is part of Mystery cave and Historical Forrest-ville State Park near Preston, MN. Forrestville is an historic town with volunteers who 'live' the roles of townspeople and demonstrate what life was like back in the old days. Check out their website for calendars of events and demos. There is a fee for all tours, plus you must have a State Park pass.

First things first. I'd like to reiterate what everyone is saying by repeating: Do NOT under any circumstances follow your GPS to get here, especially if you have reservations for a tour you have to meet. That being said, I really wish the signage was better. There are signs stating that the road is closed, but it doesn't tell you where to go. Also, be careful when taking the gravel roads. Do not take any roads that states "Low Mainenance Road". We had to practically ford a small stream to get over it.With all that said, we were late to our flashlight tour (which I HIGHLY recommend), and the group left without us. One of the staff at the front desk drove us out there and we were able to catch the tour. Extremely grateful for that. The tour itself was awesome. Our tour guide Kate taught us more than I've ever learned in a cave tour. We saw some really interesting fossils and formations, including a raft formation, which only 5% of caves have. All in all, it was worth it and I'd come back.

Our guide was very thorough and knowledgeable and it was one of the better cave tours I've been on. Lasted about an hour. Park dept. has loaner jackets as the cave is always 48 degrees.

First off this place is kind of hard to find. There is a state park with the same name about ten miles away. The road getting here is a little rough as well. Basically you get there and pay for the tour and wait for it to start. They have a giant vault door in front of the cave so no sneaking in. They have lights in there that really illuminate the caverns well. The formations are beautiful and unlike anything you will see on the surface world. Nice and cool on a hot summers day. Worth the price of admission.

We really enjoyed the cave and our guide was great. There were lots of formations to look at and one I had not seen in a cave before, it was a shelf with little pools of water in it. We also enjoyed the large pool of water with the underwater lights. I would like to come back in late October to see the bats! This Cave is great for all ages to tour as there are not a lot of steps and it is not a long walk to the cave!

The family enjoyed the trip to a unique set of caves. A seventy foot waterfall INSIDE the caves was amazing. A nice guided tour and worth a stop, or even a special trip to see.