A Hot Air Balloon Once Floated in This Cave in the Ozarks, in Missouri

For those who might have heard of the region before as The Ozarks, – that’s what people call the beautiful mountain region in Missouri, Arkansas. It’s a long stretch of mountains, rivers, waterfalls, and beautiful views for days, and one of the caves holds a captivating story from the past.

The Discovery in the Ozarks

The Osage Nation was responsible for discovering the deepest cave in Missouri, which later became known as Marvel Cave and was discovered in the 1500s. Its impressive 500-foot depth was visited by Spanish explorers, later on looking for riches and the fountain of youth. Riches were found, but they’re not what you’d think. Bat feces, or bat guano, were in abundance in the cave, and back then, they could sell as fertilizer for $700 a ton, which is approximately $20,000 today.

A More Interesting Attraction

Although the Marvel Cave in the Ozarks still holds the riches found long ago to this day, that’s not the most fascinating attraction anymore. It’s the fact that hot air balloons have floated inside its cave. By 1960, this original mining site became part of the Silver Dollar City theme park, named number one by Trip Advisor in 2023. It has plenty of water and above-ground features to enjoy. You can even enjoy a 40-foot-high underground waterfall along exceptional rock formations still growing today.

Enjoy the Overpowering Beauty

Once you descend into the underground journey, you can still find bats that once made the miners rich, but there is also a blind salamander species that lives inside. The climb back up to the daylight is an impressive 1,070-foot climb aided by a cable train. If the day tour is not enough, you can enjoy a night tour of the Marvel Cave in the Ozarks. Those willing to wait can enjoy the famous Lantern Light tour and experience what the miners did once upon a time.