Meramec Caverns

The cave was mined for saltpetre to make gunpowder in the 1700s and again in the 1860s, and after the larger system was found in 1933 Lester Dill opened it as an attraction in 1935; he was as much a marketer as a cave operator, the cave still has more than fifty billboards along Interstate 44, 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, for which there is scant historical evidence and which the operation still features. It is the most-visited cave in Missouri.

What's there

• Large flowstone formations - including the Stage Curtain wall.
• A saltpetre mining history - worked for gunpowder from the 1700s.
• The roadside advertising - billboards along the old Route 66.
• A Jesse James claim - promoted heavily, with scant evidence.

When to go

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

Good to know

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.

Key facts