Mark Twain Cave in Hannibal Missouri: A Review

Mark Twain Cave is located in Hannibal Missouri. Mark Twain Cave is listed as the oldest show cave in the state of Missouri with tours for the last 114 years. The cave is made famous by the fact that Samuel Clemens (pen name Mark Twain) frequently visited the cave when he was a child. The cave is mentioned in Mark Twain's book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Mark Twain Cave is also a Registered National Landmark.

We visited the cave on a Saturday morning in August. The cave is a refreshing 52 degrees. The guides do suggest a jacket but neither I nor my friend needed one during the hour tour. The price of admission is $15 per adult, which is the typical price for cave tours in Missouri.

The tour started with an 8 minute video on cave facts. The video contained the typical info like how stalactites form and what soda straws are. This is not my first cave tour so all the information was pretty redundant for me. Our tour guide then directed the group to the entrance of the cave. I was little surprised by the size of our group. Every cave tour that I have been on, the groups were limited to twenty or less. There was no limit on this group and there were at least thirty people, way too many people for the tour guide to be able to keep track of. My friend and I quickly walked to the front of the group and pretty much stuck by the tour guide so we could at least hear her speech.

The tour guide was knowledgeable and likeable but she didn't really seem too concerned about the back of the group or if we were losing any stragglers. Mark Twain Cave is a maze of crooked paths and skinny walkways. It would definitely be easy to get lost in this cave.

Mark Twain cave is different from any other cave that I have visited in Missouri. Every other cave is strict about not allowing visitors to touch any part of the cave (besides man made railings) because the oils in our fingers stop the growth of stalactites, etc. Our guide never once warned us about touching anything. As a matter of fact, she encouraged it. We even sat down on stone shelves for a bit half way through the tour. The maze like quality of the cave is interesting but the stonework itself is quite boring. Stalactites are few and far between and I didn't see a single soda straw. We just endlessly walked around the pathways, all of them being eerily similar.

The cave wasn't totally boring because we were treated to bats. We saw two bats hanging from the ceiling and two more bats flying around. I love any cave with bats and I'm always on the lookout for bats. Unfortunately, the lady behind me hated bats as I got to hear her say over and over and over again.

The tour took exactly an hour and was a little less then a mile walk. The walk itself is easy enough with no stairs and only a couple of slippery areas. The cave is also well lit with some handrails when needed.

As usual with any cave that I have visited in Missouri, the tour guide pointed out that the cave was a hideout for Jesse James. Jesse James was sure well traveled and well hidden because I have lost track of how many caves claim to be a "Jesse James hideout." The cave was interesting but not enough to require a second visit.