Meramec Caverns, Stanton, Mo. is just off Interstate 44 at Exit 230, south of St. Louis. Moderately strenuous walking tours last about 90 minutes. The cave is open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Admission is $11 for adults, $6 for children 5 to 11, and free to children under 5.
Operating hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during November and December and 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. July 1 through Labor Day. Call for hours of other months.For more information, call 573-468-3166 or 1-800-676-6105 or check the cave's Web site at www.americascave.com.
Fantastic Caverns, Springfield, Mo., is located at 4872 N. Farm Road 125. Visitors explore the cave during a one-hour tram tour that is accessible to wheelchairs.
The cave is open from 8 a.m. to dusk every day but Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Admission is $13.95 for adults, $7.75 for children 6 to 12, and free for children under 6.
For more information, call 417-833-2010.
Marvel Cave, Branson, Mo., is located inside the Silver Dollar City amusement park just off Country 76 Boulevard, west of downtown Branson. One-hour tours involve a moderately strenuous downhill walk that takes visitors 20 stories underground. The return to the surface is by tram.
Tours are included in the price of admission to Silver Dollar City, a turn-of-the-century-style Ozarks village theme park. Admission to the park is $22.99 for adults, $12.99 for children 5 to 12, with children under 5 admitted free.
The park's winter operating hours are 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. The park is closed from Dec. 31 until early April. Call for spring, summer and fall operating hours.
For more information, call 417-338-8127 or 1-800-475-9370 or check the park's Web site at www.silverdollarcity.com.
For information on other Missouri caves, contact the state Department of Natural Resources 573-368-2190.