Caving at McCormick's Creek SP

Caves are all over southern Indiana, but you don't have to pay for a tour to visit one. Wolf Cave in McCormick's Creek State Park offers an excellent spelunking opportunity for novices. 

The cave consists of a twisting passageway carved out by flowing water. There is one path and it's open on both ends, so there is no fear of getting lost. Turns can be tight, but we even managed to pass a couple hikers who chose to navigate the opposite direction. 

While some wildlife can be found inside the cave, especially when it's wetter, spiders are the scariest thing to be encountered. We traversed the cave in the afternoon, so there had already been plenty of visitors mucking through to scare off any critters.

The western entrance, or the side reached by the shorter section of Trail 5 is low and requires waddling through. But once inside, the path becomes taller allowing hikers to stand or stoop through most of the cave. There are some logs and rocks littered along the floor, debris from river flow during rainy seasons so good hiking shoes are recommended.

The eastern entrance (pictured at top) is larger and has some ceiling collapse creating a large land bridge or arch. The passage into the cave proper was a gap about 18-24" high and required crawling through. Only slightly damp, we came away more dirty than muddy but plan accordingly.

The rest of Trail 5 is well graded with coarse gravel and easy to cover. There is a significant slope but plenty of benches along the way to rest. When we arrived at the Wolf Cave parking lot, it was full and cars double parked blocking in the early arrivals. Fortunately a couple vehicles were leaving and we secured a parking space.

With COVID-19 restrictions in place, it's a good idea to arrive early or check with the park's social media to see about any closings. Here's a short clip my daughter recorded of me going through the last part before the eastern end. Sorry she was behind me so the view isn't the most flattering.