Mark Twain Cave and Cameron Cave
Mark Twain Cave and Cameron Cave
4.5
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
Mark Twain Cave: Traverse the labyrinth which inspired Mark Twain's famous work, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, on an hour long guided tour of Missouri's oldest show cave. The tour route is lit and walkways are level and smooth, with no stairs. A light jacket is suggested as the cave is a constant 52 degrees year round. Cameron Cave: Open Memorial Day - Labor Day. Experience some of this unique cave's 490 passageways via a flashlight tour. Cameron Cave has been left in it's natural state ever since it's discovery in 1925. The 80-90 minute tour consists of a total of a mile long walk which includes a quarter mile hike up to the entrance of the cave. Sensible walking shoes are recommended.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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See what travelers are saying
- NJORGAN13 contributionsCool caveThe cave tour with Ace was great! It is a one hour tour. The cave is a dry cave with 260 passages! Temperature is a stable 52 year round. Wear a light jacket. Very enjoyable.Visited October 2023Traveled with familyWritten October 4, 2023
- MAP12New Orleans, Louisiana632 contributionsMy favorite cave!Whenever I get close to Hannibal I have to go to the Mark Twain Cave. I haven't been to the Cameron Cave, but LOVE the Mark Twain Cave. Every time I go the guide is good and the cave is, too. I'd recommend it!!Visited September 2023Traveled with friendsWritten October 10, 2023
- K A20 contributionsPhenomenal Caves in America's HometownWe visited Mark Twain and Cameron Cave today. We had been through Mark Twain Cave before, and it was wonderful, as always. Bobbie was a great tour guide. It was our first time through Cameron Cave. Peter was our guide, and he was phenomenal! What an amazing undisturbed and pristine cave--such a treasure!Visited April 2024Traveled with familyWritten April 1, 2024
- MATT GDubuque, Iowa50 contributionsA solid experience but pricey for only one hourThe cave itself is enjoyable with a lot of science and history there. Our tour guide Allie was great. I just believe it to be overpriced. $100 (including tour guide tip) for three people to be entertained for one hour is a lot. We had good seats at a Cardinals game for less and that is three hours. Again, nothing about the experience was negative but I left questioning if it was the best use of our allocated budget on the trip. And the picture of my family that was taken should be included with the price and not an extra - don't nickel and dime us! But to end a positive, Allie and all staff seemed knowledgeable and friendly.Visited July 2024Traveled with familyWritten July 11, 2024
- MarcellaLawrence, Kansas12 contributionsTake the Cameron Cave tour!Both cave tours were great, but the Cameron Cave tour with David was DELIGHTFUL. This cave tour is more focused on the geology and natural history of the cave, rather than the Tom Sawyer & Becky Thatcher story. Our tour guide was charming, knowledgeable, and gave a great tour. The winery was also pretty great!Visited August 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten August 6, 2024
- Linda CDublin, Ohio55 contributionsHighly recommend this activityThis tour exceeded our expectations! Mark Twain Cave is a unique cave so just because you’ve seen other caves, don’t assume this is just another cave! The tour guide was informative and engaging, sharing cave history and geology with many stories and humor.Visited September 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten September 12, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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Graced79
Cape Girardeau, MO332 contributions
Aug 2020 • Couples
I love cave exploring especially learning about the history of the cave. The downside of our experience was that our tour guide, Kasen, was EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to understand. He spoke very fast and low and with the mask on, I was only able to understand half of what he said. It was very disappointing. With so little background on the cave the tour was not worth the $20 price of admission.
The unexpected positive was the free 5 x 7 photo we were given at the end of the tour.
The unexpected positive was the free 5 x 7 photo we were given at the end of the tour.
Written August 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are so sorry to hear that! We are addressing the issue with the person who we believe was your tour guide. Thank you for your feedback.
Written August 26, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Peggy B
Bettendorf, IA51 contributions
Sep 2020
The Mark Twain cave tour was good. The website stated that Cameron Cave was closed after Labor day, however it was open Sept 19th.
We only went to the Mark Twain Cave and this review is for that one.
1. IF you want to hear the tour guide, do not be in the back. You could not hear hardly at all and I did bring it up when we got to the big room. However, the tour guide kept doing what he had before.
2. There are tours every hour (top of the hour) so you cannot slow down to look at a lot.
3. You will see the "Clemens" signature but you will not see Jesse James signature. They took a photo for you to see at the end of the tour.
4. It does have slippery portions in the cave, the tour guide was good to point those out.
5. It does have areas that are close, very close to walk through. I am 5'7" about 260lbs (no wide hips or chest) and made it through. No wheelchairs would be accessible through this.
6. The cost for two people with tax for one cave is $43.00
7. This was a neat thing to do, however I would not call it a must do (I love caves)
8. They take a picture of you at the beginning of the cave and allow you to purchase at the end for $10.84
We only went to the Mark Twain Cave and this review is for that one.
1. IF you want to hear the tour guide, do not be in the back. You could not hear hardly at all and I did bring it up when we got to the big room. However, the tour guide kept doing what he had before.
2. There are tours every hour (top of the hour) so you cannot slow down to look at a lot.
3. You will see the "Clemens" signature but you will not see Jesse James signature. They took a photo for you to see at the end of the tour.
4. It does have slippery portions in the cave, the tour guide was good to point those out.
5. It does have areas that are close, very close to walk through. I am 5'7" about 260lbs (no wide hips or chest) and made it through. No wheelchairs would be accessible through this.
6. The cost for two people with tax for one cave is $43.00
7. This was a neat thing to do, however I would not call it a must do (I love caves)
8. They take a picture of you at the beginning of the cave and allow you to purchase at the end for $10.84
Written September 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for you review, Peggy! We would like to hear more from you on how we can improve our experience. Please feel free to give us a call at the office at 573-231-1000. We will look into working with the guide you were with on how to help make sure all our guests are able to hear. Thank you for visiting!
Written October 13, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jennifer B
11 contributions
Jun 2022 • Solo
The girl in the gift shop juggled many things at once and still gave us all positive attention. The only thing I suggest is if you buy anything, make sure you check it out yourself. I purchased a flashlight and the cashier pushed the button and said it works. I didn't check because she was nice and I believed her. I got it home (300+ miles away) and it doesn't work! I wish I had written information about my tour guide because I don't remember names well. I believe it was Laneya (phonetically spelled.) She did a wonderful job with the tour. You can tell she enjoyed her job because she was informative, spoke clearly, funny, and made sure we were okay. When I mentioned how fast she was walking she apologized and slowed down for us. The best part of that is she didn't act as if our slow speeds annoyed her (thank you so much for that.) Thank you honorary Becky Thatcher.
Written June 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review! We are so glad you enjoyed your time with us and we appreciate the compliments to our staff! We are so sorry to hear about that flashlight! Feel free to give the office a call, we would love to dig a little bit further into that for you. You can reach us at 573-231-1000
Written August 1, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
jillikin
Morocco, IN118 contributions
Mar 2020 • Family
A work trip yielded a little extra time so my husband, 19 year old daughter and I made the Mark Twain Cave our first stop in Hannibal. I get a little weirded out in small spaces or situations I can’t easily get out of but had a great time in the cave. It’s not claustrophobic at all and I didn’t get anxious to leave. Our guide was informative and funny and handled an unhappy toddler better than the rest of the group. It’s unimaginable to me that children used to play here by candlelight! It was a very enjoyable, informative hour.
Written March 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are so glad to hear that you enjoyed your time with us! Thank you for visiting!
Written March 18, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
katyrwalls
Middleburg, FL238 contributions
Jul 2022
Young Sam Clemens played in the cave, and he mentioned it in Tom Sawyer and other books. You can take an hour-long guided cave tour and see his signature on the rock wall. It has been there since he was a boy but was only discovered in 2019. The walk is easy, and the cave is well lit.
Jesse James also left his signature on the wall of the cave. He used it as a hideout after a botched robbery. It’s dated September 22, 1879. His hideout is marked, but you can’t descend to the place where his signature is due to danger.
Jesse James also left his signature on the wall of the cave. He used it as a hideout after a botched robbery. It’s dated September 22, 1879. His hideout is marked, but you can’t descend to the place where his signature is due to danger.
Written August 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We appreciate you taking the time to leave a review! We are so glad you enjoyed your time in the cave and getting to hear all the history that has taken place there!
Written August 30, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Pam B
Cape Girardeau, MO922 contributions
Sep 2021 • Family
The cave tour was a fun hour long activity and the tour guide was entertaining. It cost our family $155 for 4 adults and 4 small children. Based upon the cost we would probably not do it again.
Written September 7, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your feedback! We are glad you enjoyed your time with us even if it was a little more than you were anticipating. We appreciate you coming out to see us!
Written November 6, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Anne S.
40 contributions
Aug 2020
The guide needs to not talk so fast and probably even smaller groups. We had a lot of difficulty hearing the guide...there were a lot of young children in our group that talked the entire time and we got very little history...that's understandable, but possibly groups could be divided better?
Written August 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review, we appreciate the chance to make our tours better. We will be looking into how we could have improved your circumstance.
Written August 26, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
lilly43
Bettendorf, Iowa52 contributions
Sep 2020 • Friends
Us girls are really glad that we went on the Mark Twain cave tour today. Our tour guide, Michael, had a great sense of humor and was very informative. We watched a short video as we started the tour and then you walk out the back door of the cute gift shop, and you are at the cave entrance. It was very interesting to see all of the very old signatures inside the cave tunnels and it was very easy to walk through. You are allowed to bring a flashlight if you wanted, but the cave has lighting. A flashlight would have been nice to see the signatures better and to shine into passages that are along the tour. I really wish that they would have had a longer tour of this cave and let you explore some of the side passages, but the tour was well worth it!!
Written September 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for leaving such a sweet review! We are so glad you enjoyed your time with us. We hope to see you again in the future!
Written October 13, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Royanna
2 contributions
Aug 2021 • Couples
Just did this tour, the tour guide a awesome job, I can’t remember if it was Nate or Nathaniel, any how this was the worst experience I have ever had and I have been on many tours though caverns.
1. I guess it was our fault we didn’t look around at the people we were going to go in the cave with because their were several families with children under the age of one, and through the crying and the yelling I could not hear anything the tour guide said.
2. How many caves have you gone into that turns off all the lights so you can experience total darkness? Yeah none that I have been on, well that didn’t happen because some woman wouldn’t turn off her phone flash light because her kid would freak, the guide asked her nicely but nope she said this is America and told him to skip this and keep going. WTF?
3. Why lady would you not check with the front before you bought your tickets?
4. So my experience was cut short because of one woman who didn’t do her due diligence for her kid.
1. I guess it was our fault we didn’t look around at the people we were going to go in the cave with because their were several families with children under the age of one, and through the crying and the yelling I could not hear anything the tour guide said.
2. How many caves have you gone into that turns off all the lights so you can experience total darkness? Yeah none that I have been on, well that didn’t happen because some woman wouldn’t turn off her phone flash light because her kid would freak, the guide asked her nicely but nope she said this is America and told him to skip this and keep going. WTF?
3. Why lady would you not check with the front before you bought your tickets?
4. So my experience was cut short because of one woman who didn’t do her due diligence for her kid.
Written August 15, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are so sorry to hear that your experience wasn't the best because of other guests. Hopefully if you pass this way again we can get you on to a quieter tour. Thank you for visiting!
Written October 28, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Andrew P
1 contribution
Nov 2022
At first, I was a bit hesitant to spend $25 to go in a cave but this was a great experience. The cave itself is incredibly cool (and much bigger than I thought), with many interesting passageways and other geological features. It also features a lot of history, including a strong connection to many of Mark Twain's stories and even an authentic signature from Twain (Clemens) on one of the cave's walls. Our guide, Peter, did a great job balancing the geology, history, and folklore involved in the cave (cave puns included) throughout the roughly one hour tour. I would strongly recommend this tour!
Written November 10, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Can I still purchase a ticket and go on the cave tour with a school group if I wasn't signed up in advance?
Written April 5, 2024
Does anyone know if the Mark Twain cave will be open for a tour on Oct 11, 2020? Website says Cameron closes Labor DAY.
Written September 4, 2020
Sorry, I don't know; but I'd call them as they are attentive. It is SO worth seeing Cameron Cave. If this isn't possible, try the Bonne Terre Mine. I found it much more interesting and the guide was excellent. It's close to the other attractions.
Written September 5, 2020
Can a person wear flip flops, or is the path too rocky?
Written June 26, 2020
Mark Twain Cave Complex
Hannibal, Missouri
We have had people wear them on tours before. We like to suggest comfortable walking shoes. The tour for the Mark Twain Cave is a little less than a half mile long and the tour for Cameron is Cave is a bout a mile in total. You would be walking on glacial clay in both caves which can be a little slick in some places, and the walk up to Cameron is on a gravel path.
Written June 29, 2020
Mark Twain Cave Complex
Hannibal, Missouri
We have some very narrow passageways on the tour route. We have some umbrella strollers that we know fit through that are free to use on a first come first serve basis.
Written July 30, 2019
Mark Twain Cave Complex
Hannibal, Missouri
Most Stroller do not fit. However, we do have a couple umbrella strollers that we know fit. Just ask for one at the front desk.
Written July 30, 2019
Unfortunately not. The path ways are too narrow
Written July 22, 2019
Do you allow a 17 year old to tour the cave without an adult (parent/guardian)
Written July 19, 2017
Mark Twain Cave Complex
Hannibal, Missouri
I work for the Mark Twain Cave Complex as the Marketing Manager. All tours are guided tours so anyone purchasing an "Adult Ticket," which would be 13 years or older, would be able to go on the tour without their parent or guardian.
Written July 21, 2017
I would think so but we only did the Mark Twain cave. If you like to see caves that have bats in them then you would need to do the other cave tour as the Twain cave does not have them.
Written June 28, 2016
I believe the Mark Twain Cave tour was $15/person. Cameron Cave was $21/person. As the other person responded you can get both tours in a package but I don't recall the cost since we weren't interested in both. It would have been expensive for our family of 4 to do both. I feel its worth the $ to do at least 1 of the tours though. Cameron Cave has bats living in it where the MT cave does not if that makes a difference to you.
Written March 25, 2016
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