Caves in Iowa

Iowa's cave country is concentrated in the Driftless Area of the northeast corner — an unglaciated region of limestone bluffs that looks nothing like the rest of Iowa. Maquoketa Caves State Park has multiple wild cave entrances in Silurian dolomite with a self-guided trail connecting them. Spook Cave near McGregor is a small commercial boat cave on the upper Mississippi. This is the Iowa that most Iowans don't know exists.

Every cave listed here is on public or accessible land. Always bring three light sources, water, and let someone know your plans before entering any undeveloped cave. Temperature inside: typically 50–62°F year-round. Explore all caves on the Trek4Free map →