Meramec Caverns

Meramec Caverns is a show cave system along the Meramec River in eastern Missouri with passages that extend through multiple levels and are made accessible through electric lighting. The site includes rooms with limestone deposits that have taken various forms and are explored through guided routes.

Local groups used the caverns as shelter before French explorers mapped them in the early eighteenth century. Later the passages served for saltpeter mining during the Civil War and were developed as a commercial attraction starting in the 1930s.

The ballroom inside takes its name from square dances held there starting in 1890. Musicians still use the room for concerts because the limestone carries sound naturally.

Guided tours follow paved walkways that maintain a temperature near 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 Celsius) throughout the year. The routes require no special gear and suit visitors with regular walking ability.

The largest chamber is named Stage Curtain because of a limestone wall that looks like a folded drape. This effect formed through water flowing along the same lines for thousands of years.