Cave Exploratory Program
OVER 3,000 FEET OF PASSAGE
There are four main levels to the cave. These levels have underground subterranean tunnels. You may explore each and every level and secondary passages. YOU MUST UTILIZE A BUDDY SYSTEM AT ALL TIMES. If you need to go down before entering a hole, always go feet first. It is impossible to experience the cave in just one weekend.
Maps of the cave are available for purchase in the gift shop.
Our in-cave camping and exploratory program runs from the last weekend of September till the last weekend of April and is by reservation only.
Be a real spelunker for a weekend!
This unique experience is also a fun-filled weekend for all youth groups!
All different types of youth groups have enjoyed Eagle Cave over the years through this great program. We alone have been catering to youth groups for over 30 years.
Any and all youth groups
Boy Scouts ~ Girl Scouts
Church ~ School ~YMCA
4H
Inquire about your group!
Eagle Cave Exploratory Program Itinerary
Friday Night
Arrival: Arrival time is anytime after 6 PM till midnight.
Check In: Office / Game room receive meal tickets and wrist bands then Eagle Cave staff will escort you down to the cave to the area we have designated for you.
Snack: If you bought the entire weekend package you receive a snack. This is a wrapped treat and milk. You can get your snack in the main lodge up until APX 10:30 PM. You must have your wrist bands on and each person must obtain a meal ticket.
Curfew: There is no curfew tonight, however respect others by keeping quiet.
Saturday
7:30 - 8:00 AM: Game room opens
Breakfast: Check your meal ticket for meal times. Line up outside the main lodge 5 minutes before your shift and we will call you in by your group numbers. Your entire group must be present to be let in.
10:00 AM - Golden Nugget Trail Competition: This competition is not guided, meaning that a staff member will not be there to see you through the trail. You may leave anytime after 10:00 AM and complete the trail as many times as you would like. Follow the golden nugget trail in search for small rocks that are spray painted with gold glitter paint. DO NOT share with your partner and do not combine your nuggets together with your partner or group. Collection of your gold nuggets must be an individual effort. There will be one prize for the girl and one prize for the boy with the most. Keep your nuggets and bring them to the 7:30 PM events held in the lodge.
Lunch: Check your meal ticket for meal times. Line up outside the main lodge 5 minutes before your shift and we will call you in by your group numbers. Your entire group must be present to be let in.
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Special Activities. Listen to announcements for special activities and their specific times, such as scavenger hunts, hayrides, or holiday activities. In the main lodge are different games, mazes, word puzzles, magazines, etc. located on the back window sill or you may do your own group activity.
Dinner: Check your meal ticket for meal times. Line up outside the main lodge 5 minutes before your shift and we will call you in by your group nimbers. Your entire group must be present to be let in.
7:30 PM Prizes: Bingo, birthdays, leader recognition, golden nugget winners and all other prize winners in main lodge. Snacks available will be french fries, burgers, pizza, soup, chili, popcorn, etc.
8:00 PM - 11:00 PM: Community fire in the park. Marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate are available for purchase in the game room. Buy a poker or find a stick.
9:00 PM Night Hike: Meet in front of the main lodge for a guided hike through the woods from one of our staff. Bring your flashlight, dress accordingly and don't be late!
10:00 PM to 11:00 PM: Game room closes.
11:00 PM Quiet Time: No more exploring. In your sleeping bags and quiet.
Sunday
7:30 AM: Game room opens
Breakfast: Check your meal ticket for meal times. Line up outside the main lodge 5 minutes before your shift and we will call you in by your group nimbers. Your entire group must be present to be let in.
10:00 AM Check Out: Please make sure your area in the cave has been checked and double checked for any remaining belongings and garbage you may have left behind. If you let our staff know in the game room they will send someone down to do a final check for you. It is very hard for us to ship lost and forgotten items you may have left behind.
Necessities To Bring With You That Are A Must
- Winter Sleeping Bag
- Sweats to sleep in
- Foam mattress, cot or air mattress (can get a single person pool flotation mattress at Dollar Store)
- Flashlight or head lamp
- Plastic drop cloth or camping tarp to put under sleeping gear (2) under and one over your gear during the day
- Old clothes for exploring (sometimes clay doesn't wash out and yes, you will get dirty or possibly wet!)
- EXTRA CLOTHES (Always have enough dry clothes to wear)
- Extra shoes, boots, clothes, hats, gloves, etc. (always have enough dry clothes to wear)
- Toiletries
- Towels
- Spending cash if preferred (for game room / gift shop / snacks / extra beverages)
- A couple plastic bags for wet or muddy clothes OR to keep items dry
- Troop's first aid kit
***TIP FROM CUSTOMERS THAT COME EVERY YEAR AND LOVE TO GET IN EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY - Buy old clothes from a thrift shop for a couple bucks and throw them in the dumpster when you're done or if you have a rain gear set that's waterproof, it usually works great. To ensure you won't loose anything of great value leave items at home or locked in your car. Label your cell phones or make sure mom, dad or home is programmed in so that if it is lost, we can find the owner. Also make sure your wallet has your ID name in it. A troop # or your group's name can be even more helpful if it happens to be found after the weekend happens to be over.
NOT Necessities But Things You Might Wish You Brought With You
- Knee pads for exploring down under, crawling around in subterranean tunnels
- Some kind of head protection such as a bike helmet, hard hat, or as little as a baseball cap or thick knit hat
- Snow pants
- Ear plugs and eye masks if you're a light sleeyer
- Sled if desired,, NO RAIL SLEDS (sleds that roll up or inflate are great for cargo space)
- Fishing gear
- Hand held GPS if desired for geocaching
- Troop flag
- Water bottle
SLEEPING IN A CAVE IS NOT YOUR THING,
BUT YOU DON'T WANT TO RUIN THE FUN FOR THE KIDS?
Rent A Camping Cabin
$65.00 Extra per night with exploratory package.
Cabins sleep 5, each have two sets of bunks double / single and single / single.
All have table, chairs, electricity, air conditioning, heat, picnic table, spacious deck and fire pits.
Cabins do not have indoor plumbing, and you must provide your own bedding.
All cabins must be reserved by credit card and paid in full for your entire stay upon reserving. No smoking inside cabins.
At least one adult is needed with children when camping in cave, cabin or both.
The Caveman Menu:
Friday Snack:
Wrapped treat and milk
Saturday Breakfast:
Pancakes, Sausage, Milk
Saturday Lunch:
Homemade Sloppy Joes, Chips, Fruit Cup, Pickle Spear, Drink
Saturday Dinner:
Chicken Tenderloins, Vegetable, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Bread, Drink
Sunday Breakfast:
Pancakes, Sausage, Milk
Caveman's Special:
All meals are per person and are included in the purchase of the entire weekend package.
Note that all activities, rates, times and meals are subject to change without notice and depend on package.
Hiking Trails And Compass Courses:
Eagle Cave offers an exciting assortment of scenic hiking trails for nature lovers. Trails range from 1 to 5 miles laid out over rolling countryside. There's an ideal trail for both casual strollers and serious hikers. Patches are available for purchase. We accomodate field trips, summer camps, birthday parties, and large gatherings. Rent the cave, a group site area, or the entire park. WE DO IT ALL!!
All hiking trails start from the middle of the parking lot. Use the color-coded trail sheet to decide which trail you would like to follow. Folow the colors painted on the trees to keep you on the correct path. YOU MUST STAY ON OUR PROPERTY. Please use hiking trails with your group. Never go on a trail by yourself! We offer novice, intermediate and advanced compass courses. If you need a compass we have some available in the office for you to check out. NEVER CROSS THE FENCE LINES PROVIDED FOR YOU. THAT IS NOT OUR PROPERTY.
Parks And Playground:
Various items to use are available for checkout in the office.
Geocaching:
Coordinates are available to check out in the office. You will need your own handheld GPS. If you don't bring one, try our compass courses instead.
Sledding:
Provided there is adequate snow, sledding is ONLY permitted on the hill beside the lake when the lake is adequately frozen. We will announce whether it is safe to be on the lake. To get to the sledding hill without walking down the road, start at the top of the gold trail and keep parallel with the road. Keep going to the bottom until you reach the lake. You must provide your own sled and it must be plastic.
Ice Skating And Ice Fishing:
Ice skating and ice fishing are permitted on the lake if the lake is frozen. We will announce whether it is safe to be on the lake. You need to ptovide your own ice skates, fishing gear or auger.
Shore Fishing:
Fishing is available in many nearby streams and in the Wisconsin River, or stay right on Eagle Cave's grounds and fish on Little Blackhawk Lake. There are excellent catches and NO LICENSE REQUIRED on our private hatchery!
If the lake is at a thaw you may fish from the grass. We have beautiful bass, northern and bluegill. You must provide your own fishing gear. IF YOU ARE NOT A REGISTERED CAMPER, YOU MUST REGISTER IN THE GAME ROOM. Sorry, no swimming.
Snacks:
SPECIFIC TIMES AVAILABLE
Available in the game room and restaurant most of the day. We offer soups, chili, candy, french fries and other yummy snacks. See our menu in the restaurant. Times are posted in the lodge.
Field Trips
We accommodate field trips for any youth groups, schools. churches, etc. by reservation only, please.
Cave Exploratory Rules:
1) Buddy System - No matter where you are on the grounds of Eagle Cave, you must utilize a buddy system. If you are in the cave exploring or out on a hiking trail, groups of 2 or more is a must. Hiking trails are best utilized in bigger groups. You never know what you may encounter for wildlife. Orange vests are free for checkout in the office for your safety and are mandatory during hunting seasons!
2) Absolutely no candy, food or beverages other than plain water are allowed in the cave. No smoking or eating anything in the cave. This includes opened or unopened items you may have in your bags or pockets. The only beverage allowed in the cave is pure drinking water in a bottle. While some of you may enjoy wildlife or little critters running around, others may not wish to have them! Please use the garbage cans provided on top before entering the cave. Keeping your pockets empty also eliminates on lost items, such as keys, batteries, money, etcetera as well as keeping our cave clean and healthy.
3) Payphone - The payphone on the porch can be used to make a call the way it is intended upon. If there would be an emergency and you need to call for help, you may use it to dial 911. If you are playing around and dial 911, even if you don't actually speak to anyone, it will go through to the dispatcher. The law is made to protect us and therefore even if there isn't an actual emergency, the police will need to come and check. Dialing 911 without an actual true emergency could be subject to crime. Action will be determined by the emergency official whom arrives at the scene.
4) No Climbing on the rocks outside of the cave entrance.
5) Bathrooms - There is only one place you may utilize for a bathroom. The main bath house is located up near the parking lot next to the play equipment. It is the big brown building with the lights around it. If you are caught or reported "doing your business" in our cave, you will most likely be asked to leave. This is unacceptable.
6) Vandalism is unacceptable. There should never be any reason to deliberately hurt or ruin anyone else's property. The cave is a work of nature that has taken thousands of years to create. Please help us by reporting anyone whom may be hurting the cave and it's environment. You may be in the cave and accidentally break a light bulb. Accidents happen. Please take the time to report it so we can get it cleaned up and replaced. There shouldn't be any reason to be playing with the light bulbs.
7) No transporting rocks (in or out of the cave). Leave rocks where you see them. Do not pick them up and move them.
8) Respect everyone's belongings. You wouldn't want someone to walk across your bed with their muddy shoes, or keep waking you up when you are sleeping. Be respectful of others and their belongings, in the cave and on the campground outdoors. Use the walkways and for heavy traffic areas help keep a path provided for others to get through. Curfew should be enforced at 11 PM on Saturday night, this means in your sleeping bag and quiet at 11 PM.
9) Our Seasonal Campers - We have permanent campers that camp here year round outside in the campsites on the east side of the park. Please respect them and do not enter their campsite areas.
10) Cavers motto, "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time."
Cave Exploratory Policies:
***Must be affiliated with some type of youth organization
- $5.00 deposits are per person - No refunds on deposits for any amount of people dropped. No refunds if cancelled. You loose your deposits if using a weather occurrence. All other money paid transferable.
- Payment in full 60 days prior to arrival - if payment is not here 60 days prior to arrival your reservation will be cancelled and there will be no refunds on deposits.
- If more than 60 days prior to your visit you want to change a date, you may with no penalty. If you just cancel without moving your date, you will lose your deposit.
- If there is a bad weather occurrence and Eagle Cave cancels the weekend we will refund all money paid or by your decision move you to an open or available date of your choice.
- If you cancel because of a legitimate weather occurrence then we will not refund any money, but you may choose another open or available date of your choice. If there are no other dates available then you will have to change to a date for the following season.
Click here to download the Cave Exploratory Reservation Form.