Crystal Lake Cave was such a fun stop during our trip to Dubuque! The guided tour was interesting, and it was really cool getting to see the formations throughout the cave up close. It's an easy activity to add to a Dubuque itinerary and something a little different from the other attractions in the area. Definitely worth a visit! read more

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Wonderful tour of a really cool cave. Perfect afternoon activity to beat the summer heat. Our group included seniors and kids. Seniors need to be able to climb a flight of steps with a railing and dunk their head under some lower ceilings. Wear shoes that can get wet, as the cave floor has some water. Our tour guide was well educated, filled with energy and made sure everyone on the tour (including us in the back), had a great time. read more

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This is a cool little side trip if you're in the area. We took the 45 minute tour which begins in the small gift shop. The walk through the cave is fairly narrow so it was difficult to hear the guide since we were in the back. The scenery was somewhat interesting but not compared to the bigger caves in Virginia or Pennsylvania. If you have an hour to kill it's a good choice. read more

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Amazing cave--a must stop. Great tour, interesting, informative and well worth the time!

We decided to tour this cave on a whim while traveling through town. I must say the cave is an amazing work of natural art and is very well presented but that doesn't take away the fact that the cashier and tour guide was talking about how the United States President should die. That kind of political conversation should never take place in front of customers. Unfortunately our admissions were already paid. No matter what political view anyone has, death of a United States President is never warranted. Shame on you! read more

Visited today (8/12/2023). Tickets: $20 for 12yrs old and older $8 for 4-11yrs old free for under 4 yrs old From a highway, you'll drive thru a dirt road that will bring you to a dirt parking lot beside a Frisbee golf field. The kids were excited. The dirt road added to the ambiance of a "mystery cave to explore"! Ooooh! Ahhh! Upon arriving, we were greeted by a sign on a white, one-storey building that probably has never been renovated since the 1960s that says, "CRYSTAL LAKE CAVE". My expectations were kind of lowered after seeing the 1960s building. If the owners do not care enough to keep the business up-to-date, then what else about the business is not updated? (Answer: the bathroom.) To continue the story, the white building is the dark, old gift shop where you'll buy your tix. The entrance to the cave is in the gift shop. You will descend on a flight of stairs to start your way into the cave. One of the two bored-looking staff in the gift shop was our tour guide. (No greeting, no hello, no engagement when we entered the gift shop; just the look of boredom.) There were about 20 of us in the tour. You will walk single file in the cave. We were on the tail end of the single file so did not really hear nor engage with the tour guide. Seeing the stalactites, stalagmites, and other parts of the cave was cool but it was a "meh" tour. We have been to a cave in Missouri where some parts of the cave had a light show. For this tour, we could have done the "tour" just as well by ourselves as long as there were arrows in the cave that tell you where to go. To protect the cave, we tried our best to not touch any surfaces. I am not sure how much protection the cave has if it is a single file of 20 people and the people in the back could not be monitored. We came out of the cave after 45 mins and that was that. Gave our tour guide a tip despite the "meh" tour hoping it would alleviate her boredom. The kids wanted to do the mining activity outside the gift shop which was $7 per bag and they played at the old, underwhelming "mining" play area. I could not wait to leave. There was only 1 women's bathroom which was under construction (I hope). Newly laid cement, a sink that was barely working, a light switch towards the upper wall, etc. showed signs that it was under construction. I hope if we come back years from now, this bathroom will be in better/cleaner condition. Suggestions for a better tour: 1) If there are kids, engage them by giving them lanterns and hard hats with lights. Better yet: give everyone hard hats with lights to protect heads from bumping low lying stalactite formations. 2) Limit tour groups to 10 people at a time and make tours 30 mins in duration. 3) Renovate/update the gift shop. It is so dark and stuck in the 1960s and please add more seats with shade. 4) Renovate/update the bathrooms. (It looks like this is being done already.) Tips to those visiting: 1) Bring a sweater and a flashlight. 2) Wear shoes that you don't mind getting dirty or wet. 3) If you want to learn a lot, go as close to the front of the line where you can hear your tour guide. 4) If you just want to walk the cave system and don't really care about the lecture, you may stay at the back of the line. Bottomline: -Glad we went but once is enough. read more

Very Very Cool Attraction in Dubuque! I LOVED getting a tour through Crystal Lake Cave! The caves are 50-100 feet below ground and incredibly extraordinary! With stalagmites and stalagtites ranging in various lengths, this cave is full of beauty for everyone to enjoy. The cave's tight corridors and turns made the tour even more exciting. The guide was very knowledgeable about the entire cave. There were so many neat creations to see inside the cave! Droplets of water dripped on us through the cave with moist cave floors beneath our feet, but it was still very cool. Tour was 35 minutes. And leaving the cave you have to walk through water up to your ankles for about 20 feet and then climb up a ladder and go out the manhole-like door. I felt like I was in a movie, lol. Temperature inside the cave was 50 degrees. Nice place to go on a hot summer day. Definitely a MUST SEE attraction in Iowa! read more

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If you want to experience seeing orbs and spirits roaming- you will find them in the caves just turn on your light and press play on your video as you record and watch the orbs float past you! Amazing read more

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TOURIST REVIEW: Low expectations. Overall, it wasn't as good as we would have wanted. You get for what you paid for and for the $15, it was honestly "eh". There were about 15 people on the tour and we were told that in the previous tours, there were maxed at 25 people so we were considered "lucky" that we didn't have as much people. The tour guide was nice and luckily we stood by him in the front so we could hear everything. I'm not sure if anyone in the back could hear because you were walking in a single-file line. The tour total time is about 45 minutes long, but one hour from lining up to exiting the cave. Some of the questions I asked weren't really answered because of either unsure of the answer or there just wasn't one so it was a bit unsatisfying. Also a lot of silent moments when there would have been more storytelling especially with the signs of the rock formations but nothing. So it was not very entertaining. Either way, it was an okay tour. Nothing memorable. I wished it was a lot better like the one we went in Austin, Texas. I wouldn't quite recommend this place but if you've never been to one and really want one, you can come and see it for yourself. I mean it IS only $15. Oh yea, don't forget to wear shoes you don't mind getting dirty because there are tons of pools of water you step on. read more

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Crystal Lake Cave is conveniently located about a 30 minute drive from Dubuque IA. It's a small family run business. Tour guide Andy was very friendly and knowledgeable. He also told us about Maquoketa Caves State Park which was only an additional 30 minute drive. I recommended visiting both Crystal Lake Cave and the state park with more caves - a great family experience at both. read more

One of the nicest caves I've been to. If you get to go on the tour here, make sure you take it with Andy (tall, slim scientist dude). While being one of their tour guides he also had multiple titles for a biologist, and has tons of knowledge for everything down there. Also, very good story's and explained how everything works and how to preserve what people haven't on the past to project a better future for the caves and its inhabitants. The property is also family owned which includes the cave itself. If you're debating on coming here, definitely worth the experience. FYI get the big bag of rocks/ jemstones to sift through, they host the best deal for rocks and such. read more

Being under the cave for the first time, this is by far the best experience I had ! We came here at night and I thought it was going to be spooky to be honest but it turns out to be so informative and very interesting with a cute gift shop that I couldn't resist getting lots of cute little memories for the road. If you are a first time cave person like myself or you just like exploring different types of cave, this is the place to be! It was a little spooky but our guide made it very fun and nice. Will recommend to anyone. And the lady is so sweet, she even let me have my service dog join which he really enjoyed too. read more

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The unexpected treasures you can find following the advice of a billboard. I was looking to explore on my drive out to the Field of Dreams movie site and saw this billboard coming and going so I decided to stop. I was already planning to go to the Cave of the Mounds but had plenty of time to kill. Between the Mounds and this one, I think the Crystal Cave is better and more interesting with a lot more features. I would do both as they are different. The Crystal Cave is a better squeeze your way through and step in puddle kind of place and the Mounds is more refined hallways and large bored tunnels to get you around. I personally like the little more natural feel of the Crystal Cave and it had easily twice as many features to be amazed at. read more

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Great for kids, awesome stop for Iowa/Illinois/Wisconsin road trips! Highly recommended - bring a jacket & wear shoes you won't mind getting dirty. read more

Crystal Lake Cave - Tours Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

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We happened to be passing through the area so we decided to check out this cave. The admission price is $14 per adult and tour lasts 45 minutes. You enter the cave through the gift shop by going down steep stairs. The gift shop is a bit outdated but they have several rocks and crystals for sale. It's consistently 50 degrees in the cave year round. It's very wet in the cave and you have to walk through several puddles. The passageways can be tight and many times you have to duck for low ceilings. The formations are pretty but all are calcium stalagmites/stalactites. I would recommend it if you're in the area. read more

Crystal Lake Cave - Tours Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

I can't say enough about this. Our guide (Julie I believe?) was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about it. The history of the cave is amazing and beyond gorgeous. The gift shop also had a lot of cool things! $15 for a tour is insanely underpriced for the duration and experience of the tour. Definitely coming again next year! Covid precautions were also in place, masks, sanitizing hands every time they touch a personal item, and distancing. read more

Crystal Lake Cave - Crystal clear lake. Those points you see at the bottom are actually reflections of the top!! - Tours Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

I really enjoyed visiting this cave. The formations were interesting and the guide seemed to be knowledgeable. I am pretty sensitive to toxic mold issues and have had issues with some caves that I have tried to visit. This one was not a problem for me at all, though. One of the nicer tourist attractions that I have visited in the Illinois/Iowa/Wisconsin area. read more

Friendly staff. Main complaint; 22 people in tour group was about 10 too many. They oversold having 15 adults, 5 children and 2 under the age of 4 in one tour, this really should not be allowed. Additionally, the $15 cost for an adult admission and $7 per child is way too much for what you little there is to see considering the small size of the cave system. And with a large group you can't hear the tour guide unless you're standing in front. read more

A very cool cave with very cool formations. Our whole group enjoyed it, and that's an impressive feat. Well worth the money. I wasn't a huge fan of our tour guide, but she was nice and certainly knew the facts. It has a gift shop, naturally, with fairly cool souvenirs, mostly rock-related. read more

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GREAT. Everything about this attraction was great. The tour of the cave was so much fun and very informative. All ages friendly for sure. Tour guide was funny and so nice. Great tour for the price. The tour was about 45 minutes and was only $15 for adults! I would recommend this to everyone. read more

loved the tour of the caves . Our guide was great. she talked loud and kept everyone together. it was a great experience. thanks loran . A five star tour!! read more

Very fun! Not for those who are claustrophobic! Neat things to see and experience. Kids really enjoyed!! Good tour guides as well! read more

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Family owned cave. The tour guide is very knowledgeable. Remember the cave is cool, about 65, so bring a sweater and a flashlight. Lasts about an hour and has impressive formations for being a shorter depth cave. read more

Worth stopping in if nearby, but not all that impressive. My second cave tour after previously touring a "VERY" impressive cave in the Black Hills. We had a high school or collage aged boy as a tour guide and he seemed obviously bored with his job. While there have been several weddings performed in the cave, when I asked if they ever held sleepovers in it, his response was, "No, because that would be stupid". He also kept flicking his flashlight on a string around like it was some sort of ninja stick the whole tour to relieve his boredom I suppose. I just wanted the tour to end so that I wouldn't have to put up with this annoying person anymore. Was my 11 YO daughter's first cave tour and she had a blast. If you go, make sure to get the woman tour guide. She seemed outgoing and friendly as our tour groups passed eachother. read more

Real home-town feel kind of cave. Julie and Jesse were so friendly, accomadating, and helpful. There was a group of us in Dubuque for work for the week. We did the wild cave tour, they ask that you book 2 weeks out, but we wanted to go on a whim when four of us found out we had the same day off. They got us in 3 days out. Really a cute little cave- definitely worth the drive. read more

This was really fun. My kids loved it. The tour was roughly 45 minutes long and very informative. Wear long sleeves as the cave temperature was around 51 degrees. read more

Great cave tour! Lasts around 45 minutes and the cave contains some very nice formations and colorful lighting. The tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly. The gift shop employee was very friendly and they have some nice souvenirs and various minerals and rocks for purchase. Sweatshirt and sturdy shoes are recommended for the wet cave floor. read more

Me and my friend consider ourselves to be cave experts, and plan a trip around different caves through out the Midwest every summer. We planned our trip around crystal lake cave this year and were incredibly disappointed. Firstly, the gift shop is very outdated and small; we found nothing that we could justify spending money on to symbolize our trip (not that we wanted to after the tour anyways). Second, our group was with about 15-20 people and we were in the back and could not/did not hear anything the tour guide was saying. Based on our previous cave experiences, if the cave has tight and narrow passages, like this cave did, the cave staff usually only bring small groups down at a time to prevent what happened to us. Lastly, it seemed like the cave staff did little to protect the cave elements: signs were hung from stalactites, body parts were constantly touching the cave walls due to such large groups being brought down, etc. Overall, we had very high hopes for this cave and were very disappointed. For such a largely advertised tourist attraction, it didn't seem like much thought or funding was put into this cave. Caves are always a really cool experience so I wouldn't advise against visiting crystal lake cave but for knowledgeable cave goers such as my friend and I, please don't waste your time with this place. read more

Just over an hour drive from the Quad Cities, Crystal Lake Cave, is located 5 miles south of Dubuque, Iowa. While its a fairly short trip to get there, Crystal Lake Cave is worth the drive from anywhere. As a matter of fact they get visitors from all over the world. What makes this cave so special, is not just the number of pristine crystal formations, but the quality of these formations. The beauty of this cave is unequaled in Iowa, and just about everywhere else, but don't take my word for it; stop in and take a tour for yourself. read more

This place is a great and family owned. It was the highlight of my trip to Galena/Dubuque. Our guide, Lexi, was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. She did a great job of managing a large group of people to make sure everyone was having fun. Our group had a lot of kids and she kept us entertained in the front of the line while we waited for all the kids to finish looking at things. Lexi also gave us ideas of things to do in Galena. This is a good spot to stop if you want to do something a bit different :) read more

An interesting thing to do near Dubuque, but I don't think it's worth $14. Had I known how small the caves were and how quickly they shuffle 17 people through I wouldn't have paid more than half the price they were charging. I've been to other caves and seen more impressive displays before so maybe that ruined this one for me. read more

My parents took me to this cave in the late 70's when I was little. We traveled from Chicago and spent the weekend in Dubuque. I remembered the cave the most since we spent a whole day there and had a family picnic/barbeque at the cave park. We had fun. I revisited this last summer (30 years later) and brought my 3 children, to my amazement the cave and park were exactly as I remembered. My family had a great time and again spent the day and had a picnic in the park after going through the cave. The cave is so beautiful, crystals every where you look, words can't describe. My 3 kids eyes were so huge through the entire tour. We bought a lot of gifts at the cave gift shop, they have some very unique gifts. The management and guide were very friendly and helpful. The park was very well maintained and clean. It was like stepping back in time. It is so difficult to find places these days that are so family friendly and affordable. If I had to complain about 1 thing it would only be that the tour guide show more interest and excitement, but I would not hold this against the cave since I myself am a business owner and know how hard good help is to find today. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this attraction a 9. I would recommend Crystal Lake Cave to everyone. read more