Wind Cave National Park · South Dakota

Prairie Vista Trail

1.3 mi of trail, end to end · about 150 ft of climbing · 4,100 ft–4,189 ft

4,102 ft 4,109 ft · 0.6 mi high 4,189 ft

Visit Wind Cave's Natural Entrance the Park Service's write-up

10-20 Minutes · dogs allowed

a small hole in a stone depression next to a large sign and short rock wall
Wind Cave's natural entrance is a deeply spiritual place to many people. Photo: NPS Photo / Lennie Ramacher

Despite its length and complexity, Wind Cave has very few natural entrances. The largest and most well-known naturally formed entrance is only about ten inches wide. Visitors can still view this entrance without going on a tour. This is a very spiritual place to many different native people and is considered the birthplace of the Lakota nation.

Accessibility Visitors using wheelchairs are able to view the natural entrance. During business hours, it can be accessed via a ramp and paved sidewalk leaving from the visitor center. The natural entrance is approximately 225 yards from the building. After hours, a wide gravel path with a fairly level grade at the picnic area leads to the natural entrance. The natural entrance is approximately 150 yards from the picnic area.

This hike on nps.gov

On the parks map

All 11 trails in Wind Cave National ParkFind a trailOn the parks mapPark on nps.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.