Lost River - Karst Information Portal

Saltpeter Cave
Crawford County Caves
Saltpeter Cave is a short but interesting cave.
It is suitable for beginners and properly
equipped children of most ages. The cave is
a short, 10-minute hike from the Wyandotte
Cave parking lot. The nearly walk-in entrance
is found along a usually-dry ravine.
The cave is essentially one large room with
maximum dimensions of 80 feet wide, by 200
feet long, by 25 feet high. Large breakdown
blocks on the floor add a little challenge to
navigating the room. Toward the rear of the
cave on the right is a dome complex which is
worth exploring. There are a few formations
in this area. Opposite this dome area, to the
left or rear of the big room is a lower area
that was likely mined for saltpeter in the
late 1800s. There is also a more modern dug
crawlway which extends for over 100 feet
in an attempt to find more Wyandotte-like
borehole passage.
Beside the impressive room size, this cave
is important as a hibernacula for the Indiana
bat, with recent counts approaching 1,000
bats. The downward sloping entrance profile,
along with a small
secondary entrance
in the top of the dome
complex, allows the
cave to cool to 40 to
45 degrees Fahrenheit
during the winter,
ideal for the bats. For
this reason, the cave is
posted as being closed
from September 1
until May 1st.
The cave is a nice
place to spend an
hour or so during the
heat of the day if you
don’t feel like doing
something more
Bill Baus in Saltpeter Cave. Photo by Elliot Stahl.
ambitious.
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