Meramec Caverns

The cave was mined for saltpetre to make gunpowder in the 1800s and opened as an attraction in 1933 by Lester Dill, who was as much a marketer as a cave operator: he had barns along Route 66 and beyond painted with advertisements in exchange for a free roof, eventually hundreds of them across many states, and he is credited with inventing the bumper sticker to keep the promotion moving. The cave's Stage Curtain formation is a large flowstone wall used as a screen at the end of tours. Dill promoted a story that Jesse James used the cave as a hideout, which is not supported by evidence and which the operation still features. The Meramec River floods the lower cave periodically.

What you actually see

• Large flowstone formations - including the Stage Curtain wall.
• A saltpetre mining history - worked for gunpowder in the 1800s.
• The barn advertising campaign - hundreds painted along Route 66.
• A Jesse James claim - promoted heavily, not supported by evidence.

When to go

Year round; the cave holds about 15 degrees. Two hours.

Honest expectations

It is a commercial show cave with a light show at the end that divides opinion. The Jesse James story is marketing. Flooding closes sections after heavy rain. Summer and holiday tours are crowded.

Nearby

Stanton is at the exit; the Meramec River runs past.