Kartchner Caverns State Park

Kartchner Caverns is a limestone cave system within a state park in Cochise County, southern Arizona. The underground chambers lie beneath a hillside and extend across several connected rooms with varying sizes of halls and narrow passages.

Two cavers found the underground chambers in November 1974 and kept their discovery secret for several years. The Kartchner family later sold the land to the state, which began developing it into a public park during the 1990s.

The park serves as an educational center where visitors learn about cave formation, geological processes, and the importance of cave conservation.

Several guided tours last roughly ninety minutes each and can be booked in advance. The cave environment remains consistently cool and requires sturdy shoes because of damp walkways and occasional steps.

A colony of Mexican long-nosed bats uses certain sections of the cave as a nursery during warm months. An exceptionally long formation of mineral tubes hangs from the ceiling and measures over 21 feet (6.4 meters) in length.

Location: Cochise County

Inception: 1988

Official opening: November 5, 1999

Operator: Arizona State Parks

Address: South Highway 90

Website: https://azstateparks.com/kartchner

GPS coordinates: 31.83750,-110.34722

Latest update: December 17, 2025 08:06