Nice cave experience. Easy walk with good lighting. Lots of history and mix of Twain stories. Just under an hour and 52°. We had jeans and sweatshirts and were comfortable. I took a flashlight which was helpful but not needed. This is a huge cave and only walked 1/3 mile. read more

Peter was an awesome tour guide! Very funny, knowledgeable and kind. So glad he was able to give us a tour. The prices in the gift shop are reasonable for very interesting things. 10/10 will be back again! Curious about their Cameron cave open in the summer The signature of Jessy James and the author Mark Twain were awesome discoveries. read more

See all

The staff here were fantastic so helpful in the gift shop, and our tour guide was cute with all her cheesy jokes. great tour and lots of fun. This is a dry cave, so there no stalagmites or stalactites, but it's still amazing. It does stay a brisk 52 degrees, so a sweatshirt is a must, in my opinion. The walking is easy a little uneven at times, but it's also a cave. Great family activity. read more

Mark Twain Cave - Outside - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Hannibal, Missouri

Drove to Hannibel and took the City tour from here. This is my second trip to Hannibel and this time no cave but Bobbie on the tour was funny, informative. Was able to see a side on Hannibel we would not have if we didn't take the tour. It is an open air trolley thru the historic downtown to parks, Lovers Leap and more. Well worth the hour or so on it. read more

See all

We had a great experience! Really interesting place. Braden and Karlee went out of their way to show us a great time! So accommodating! Highly recommend read more

See all

A basic campground with helpful and friendly staff that is expensive for what is provided. The roads and sites need maintenance since many large puddles with almost no gravel were present after rain and anything touching the ground was covered with mud. I asked for a site with no trees, but got stuck in one with so many that Starlink would not work. Interesting area for history buffs. read more

Mark Twain Cave - Too many trees! - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Hannibal, Missouri

Our guide Bennett gave us the basics of the cave but also added some personal stories from previous tours that were entertaining. He spoke clearly and made sure we could all hear what he was saying throughout. If you have young children with you, he'd be a good guide for them, too. He also encouraged questions and didn't just stick to a script the whole time. read more

First of all, our kids (aged 3-10) really loved the cave. We deliberately stayed at the back of the group in case our young boys became chatty. They were totally mesmerized, the 7 year old saying his "mind was blown" and the 3 year old making excited noises periodically. Mid-way through the tour, the older guide told my husband he had to keep our children quiet as some people could not hear the other guide (since we were in the back, I didn't know anyone was talking). Our children were not yelling, but I was concerned that the hard surfaces of the cave were carrying their voices more than I realized. We stayed near the back (one family with young kids behind us) and made a concerted effort to keep the children as quiet as possible. As I approached the end with our 8 and 10 year old girls, the older guide loudly told them they needed to learn to be quiet (they were barely talking the whole time). My husband turned back, told him the girls weren't being loud, the guide apologized to us, and we left. He later told me this guide had said the same thing to our boys on the way out. It was unfortunate that our kids had to end a mostly pleasant experience feeling ashamed and that they had done something wrong. We had to convince them they hadn't. It seems like they need to offer certain time slots that are "kid-free" for guests and guides that do not want to hear excited kids on the tour. read more

The tour guide, a 70 year old man, waited until the end of the hourlong tour, gathered the 25 person group in a circle, and walked up to me to loudly say "you really need to teach your children not to be so loud when others are present. It is just common courtesy." There was one other family and the rest were boomers, some with a teenager or two, and one truly scary 50 year old muscle dude (I will get to him in a bit.) No one defended us, they all just looked at us with sour faces. I am the first person to admit my kids can be obnoxious twits. But they were fine here. There was no warning about speaking in a whisper or considering leaving children under the age of reason home. For heaven's sake, the cave supplies strollers, and kids under 5 are free. We were in the back of the group and could not hear the guide. So, The 9, 7 and 5 year olds chattered happily about the cave. The 3 year old screamed when the guide turned out all the lights, and again when he tripped and fell and lost his shoe. Our voices must have carried to the front because of the cave reverberation, but we did not realize that at the time. There are other reviews on here where people say they could not hear the guide because of young kids, which they describe as "understandable." The manager kind of sort of apologized for the public shaming session and offered us MORE cave tickets, which we declined. This wasn't the cave's fault, but there was a large 50 year old dude on the tour who also yelled at us and then escalated to shouting when we did not ... I don't know, apologize profusely and slink away in shame? Because we asked to speak to the manager? He lurked around the gift shop glowering at us. I ended up feeling unsafe enough that I tried to get his license plate number, but he got out of the car and threatened me some more. Anyway, horrible experience, I feel bad that no one could hear the guide because of our kids' chatter... but no one said anything when we conceivably could have done something about it, and we did not know going in that excited, happy children would ruin the experience for everyone else. We feel like we got set up. The teenage guide seemed embarrassed. I'm pretty rattled. The child-hating guide had clearly been around a while and isn't going to listen to the manager, nor are they going to banish him from family tours. If your kid is into caves, find a different one. read more

Laken was a wonderful tour guide. Witty and charming. The tour is a portal to the days of Tom Sawyer & Becky Thatchet. It's as cool as Fonzie! Highly recommended. read more

We toured the Mark Twain Cave in August 2023. Our guide, Abbie, was charming and gave a great tour, complete with lots of goofy cave puns. The cave is chilly. I wore my Patagonia puffer jacket from beginning to end and was very glad to have it. It is an easy walk, mostly flat; there were a couple of inclines, and a couple of damp places, so it's still a good idea to wear tennis shoes and to pay attention while you walk. The gift shop is very nice, with a great variety of items. The employees were all cheerful and polite. You may not have food, water, or chewing gum with you in the cave, so leave all that in the car. The cave tour was one of the highlights of our Hannibal weekend. read more

Fun. Historic. A provincial part of Missouri's and Twain's history. Wonderful guide. My wife tipped because she did such a great job. Although no one ever suggests a tip. It was a high point of a 3 day get away. read more

Cameron Cave was such a fun and interactive tour. Our tour guide Sam (not Jordan) was personable and told a lot of great stories and jokes throughout the tour. You were given a complimentary flashlight that helped light the way. Our favorite part was getting to crawl through one of the secret tunnels. Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area. read more

Fun & easier to traverse than most caves. Paved and only one could be a problem. Stairs & you can skip those.

Being from San Diego having always skipped over the mid-west for the standard touristy vacations destinations I had no idea what to expect from 10 days in Hannibal Missouri; it turns out I have missed quite a bit, the apex of which is the rich history preserved at the Mark Twain Cave (and if you know the right people perhaps a 'Cam & Edward productions' ghost tour as well). If you find yourself in Hannibal Missouri you would be making a mistake to take a pass on their guided tour. The staff are all very friendly. Our guide Jeb made the tour equal parts interesting and corny Cave/Mark Twain puns you didn't know you needed to hear. Places like this just don't exist outside of a small town like Hannibal anymore. I spent 10 days in Hannibal on vacation, I did it all, seeing the cave I read about in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in person was absolutely a highlight. read more

I had a lot of fun here. It was cool to see some of the places that Mark Twain hung out and hear some of the stories. The cave tour is about an hour. Jaelynn was very informative and knew her history of Twain and the cave. We didn't do Cameron Cave as we felt it would be too much for my dad time wise. We did also do the truck tour (aka trolley tour) and that was also very interesting with the history of Hannibal. Samantha was very animated and made the tour fun. This was worth the stop and you get to hear a lot of stories and history. Give yourself about 2.5 hours for both tours. read more

" The Film is Different Than The Tour " We visited the Mark Twain Cave and saw a film about the cave before we did the tour. When we took the the cave tour we did not see some of the colors or water falls. But we did see graffiti on the cave walls and we did not see cool colors etc. It was a little disappointing when we went on the tour . All in All it was just OK ! read more

See all

Super nice place to visit. Kids like it! Whole town is likable, nice restaurants and places to chill out. read more

See all

This cave may not be filled with spectacular stalactites and other formations, but it is rich in history, since it is the cave from the Tom Sawyer novel (and four other Mark Twain books). Walking through its labyrinthian passageways really brings the book into focus, and the guides do a great job of identify various locations mentioned in the book. It's a very easy cave to traverse, with flat floors, no steps, and no climbing. It's also a cool 52 degree respite on a hot summer day, so bring a jacket! read more

See all

The cave was fantastic and Sam :-) the tour guide was energetic and knowledgable. Very professional and fun!

Our tour guide Michael? Maybe, I forgot. But he was amazing. High schooler very energetic, knew a lot about the cave and the history. His puns were also top notch. We went during the winter and it was 1° the whole time but the cave was very warm. Great for all year round. read more

Mark Twain Cave - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Hannibal, Missouri

Whether it's super hot outside or super cold, you can visit the Mark Twain Cave and it's always 50 something degrees inside. So it's odd but both warm and cool depending on the season. The owners really care about the place and it shows. The grounds are neat and clean and it's a really fun place to bring visiting guests when they are in town. read more

Having read Tom Sawyer in Russian, in USSR (it was translated beautifully!), I am happy to say that the caves were exactly as I have imagined them, minus the bats. Our guide was great, the caves were safe for our little kids, and overall we had a very pleasant experience. Make sure to bring a jacket or a hoodie, as it's chilly inside read more

See all

They begin the tour with pressure tactics to pay for photos! "Line up here for your photo", instead of "If you want to purchase a photo, you can, but you don't have too", which would be the appropriate approach. Some people are too embarrassed to say no to them, I was not (I'm a photographer). Maybe if more people complained they would stop with their extortion tactics! Cave was nice, guide was funny. read more

We did the Mark Twain Cave tour. Our guide, Aiden, did a great job leading us through the cave and provided historical information. It was easy to walk through, but I wish it lasted longer with more to see. Aidan did a great job speaking up with the screaming baby along the whole way. Would love to go back and experience it more peacefully lol! read more

Sooooo fun! They linked Twain's Tom Sawyer to the cave tour and it was fun. The cave has some amazing elements. Highly recommended

went there last summer on a trip with my now ex-husband and his brat kids that are now out of my life forever. I'm glad we split up honestly. we just didn't have anything in common anymore sadly. he was different in highschool but over a period of a few years, we just turned more and more bitter. I'm dating someone new now and happier than ever. He treats me well and satisfies my desires. Cave was good, toar guide was a teenager, would recommend. read more

This is so much fun and so interesting! Mark Twain played in this cave until he was 15 years old so it definitely influenced his writing. One key scene from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is directly attributed to this cave and that is none other than the treasure-finding at the end of the book. Injun Joe says that he hid his treasure in the second room of the cave, under a large sign of the cross, with a boot like pointer directing you to the gold. Well, low and behold, there is such a cross sign and boot structure that show you exactly what Mark Twain was referring to. The cave is always around 52 degrees and it is a veritable labyrinth of twisty passages. All of the special alcoves and hallways are given nicknames, based on their appearance, the shape of the outcrops, or the historical events that went down. Some names are: The Alligator, Mother Hubbard's Cupboard, Marriage Corner, Aladdin's Palace, the Waterfall, etc. I was especially excited to hear that Jesse James hid out in the Hannibal Cave. His original signature that he wrote on the rock is on display next to a picture of him. Awesomeness. In totality the tour takes about 45 minutes. It's a lot of fun, especially if you love Tom Sawyer or if you've never been in a cave. If I had little kids I'd read the book aloud to them for a week and then take them on a little weekend trip to Hannibal to get the hands on experience. Heck, I'm not a kid and I had a great time. Also, the staff is so nice and helpful. They take a lot of pride in their cave! read more

Awesome cave experience! I liked my tour guide, Sam, and her enthusiastic explanation of each part of the cave. I'm so glad I got to see this cave and would want to visit again someday! read more

Gorgeous cave! I feel bad writing anything negative about the tour guide because hes young and tries so hard ......but it was like touring with a cross of that Uncle who tells you the same corny jokes every thanksgiving and Ferris Bullers teacher ( " can anyone tell me how far underground we are? Anyone, anyone, anyone ") I would have liked ( a lot) fewer jokes and more history 4 stars for the cave 2 for the guide ( sorry guide! ) Glad I went but won't ever go again read more

Mark Twain Cave - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Hannibal, Missouri

We did the bulk of our Hannibal tourism on a Friday evening near the end of National Tom Sawyer days but we ran out of time before getting a chance to do the caves. So after breakfast the next morning before a lengthy drive to our next destination we took the time for a tour of the Mark Twain Cave to remedy that. The other cave at this location is a 1.5h+ tour so we just opted for the Twain cave. If I'm ever back in the area I'll definitely give the other a shot. As it is, I can't recommend the Mark Twain cave enough. The young lady who served as our tour guide was phenomenal and made every step of the trek interesting and entertaining. We've toured a lot of caves but touring a new one is always a reminder that each one is unique. You'll learn a lot of history on this tour: of Twain and Tom Sawyer, of the "mad Doctor" of Hannibal, of Jesse James, bats, cave formations and the history of the town itself. It's a cool (literally at 56 degrees and figuratively of course) tour and one I highly recommend for anyone in the area. read more

I'll start with Mark Twain Cave, which we actually did second, because it was enjoyable. We went through one of the last tours of the day with a young man named Titus who was a little nervous (I think because there was an elderly couple on our tour with a cane and it was about to rain), but who was humorous (even with the requisite corny Mark Twain Cave jokes), had a lot of great information, and was a good storyteller. He made sure all people on the tour could see and hear him before giving out information, and asked us to gather several times to ensure that we didn't miss anything. This cave is more than 200 years old and serves as a true relic of Hannibal and Missouri history, complete with some famous signatures (including Jesse James and Samuel Clemons, himself). This cave has lights, and guard rails, and even simple chains to stop tour guests from darting off-path if they lose sight of the tour guide. At the start of the Cameron Cave tour, you have to hike a little over a ¼ mile (it felt longer than that, but again, I'm going off the website) on slate gravel that was difficult to traverse. But that's not the issue - it was that the tour guide darted ahead of the group by about 200 yards. We literally did not see her again until right before she opened the door. This didn't end here, she frequently was so far away from the middle/back of our tour group that no one could hear her, and she made no effort to slow down for tricky or slick passages (of which there were many). There were many moments in this cave where I slid, twisted ankles, hit my shoulders, arms or head, and I wasn't alone. Almost everyone on our tour was covered in mud and dirt from sliding or falling. In Cameron Cave there are no lights, so you have a small flashlight provided by the guide, and you truly can only see the person in front of you. It is narrow and dark throughout with no markers whatsoever for guests to know the route -- meaning that, in the most terrifying moment of my life, when I lost the person in front of me and was at a three way fork, I made a decision in dark that could have led to everyone behind me being lost in the gigantic cave. The floor is slick, often steep, and requires sliding in places, not even close to the "flat walking surface" with no steps reported on their website. Cameron Cave is also supposed to be a "geological tour," which you would think would mean you would be told about formations or rocks. You would be incorrect, at least on our tour. Never once was information given to the group about formations or markers. Jokes were often made, several off-color, including "corpse water" and blood. In fact, when telling us about an area of the cave under a cemetery, the guide said that, "the infantality rate was low" during a time and so there were lots of children buried above us. Now, I know that what she meant to say was that the "infant mortality rate was high," because that's the only way the rest makes sense, but no one on our tour received that information that day. There is also a portion called the "Bear Crawl" where guests are encouraged to crawl on their hands and knees and squeeze through a very small outlet in the cave walls. The tour guide made several comments about members of the tour "not being as big as previous guests," or "not being as fat as other people that made it through." I did not go though, mainly because the idea of crawling through walls like that was absolutely terrifying. Neither did many others, and the guide made comments about us being scared for the rest of the tour. She tried to make many of the same style of jokes Titus would make later, but she wasn't funny and came off very rude. When we got to the end of cave there were dozens of cave spiders/crickets on the ceiling, and when the little girl on the tour (and some of the grown women) screamed and asked for her to hurry, she called them wussies. The child was about to cry. I did take some photos in Cameron, most are off passages that we were not traveling down. The main issue as how quickly she traveled, which left us to traverse obstacles so quickly it was almost reckless, but if you didn't keep up, you might have been left in a cave with no markers. The tour was billed as a "90 minute walking tour," and we only spent 55 minutes on the tour. That was how fast we were moving. Ticket purchase was great, though online reservations would have been helpful, and the staff was fantastic. We purchased some souvenirs before we took the tours. My boyfriend stopped me from demanding our money back after Cameron Cave, and I'm glad he did. Mark Twain was worth it. But skip Cameron. read more

Cave tour was enjoyable. We were still able to social distance. It went faster then expected. Make sure you wear good shoes and walk slow. It was slippery. Very neat to see and the tour guide was nice. You could tell she had repeated herself so many times that she spoke quickly. There was never a time that I felt like the space was too small. I would totally go again to see more. read more

Mark Twain Cave - Inside cave - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Hannibal, Missouri

So not worth the money they give you no time to do anything they say it's a hour long tour then schedule both cave tours exactly hour apart like nobody wants a drink and maybe restroom after walking a hour come on really can't rework your schedule give people time in between..... one thing with the prices they charge they should think a little more about the customer and not just the dollar ....because the Tom Sawyer book is already out of schools you run all the people interested in mark twain off you will end up with a nameless cave read more

The cave was cool for historical purposes, but otherwise was the crappiest cave I've been into. It's totally dead on the inside and all the graffiti is mind blowing. If you want to do the tour for the historical value, definitely do it! Our tour guide did a great job of incorporating some of the cave's history and some of the "Tom Sawyer" relevance into the tour, which was really fun. But if you want to do the tour to see a beautiful cave with remarkable geological features (thinking Onondaga or Meramec), definitely pass. read more

This was fun to do with the whole family. Tour guide Morgan was great and dropped jokes every chance she got. It was a great value for the tour you are receiving. I highly recommend this cave tour if you're in the area. read more

As much a museum as it is a place to hide from bookies, anyone who is not a total jerk would love this cave. Please enjoy the bullet points below. *Sam Clemens, who we all know grew up to be Jackie Robinson, played in this cave as boy. *Much of Tom Sawyer, and a little of the far superior Huckleberry Finn took place here. *It was once used to perform experiments on how to preserve human corpses. The owner's daughter was left there in a cylinder for two years as part of the experiment. *It was likely used a hiding place for Confederate weaponry. *Jesse James hid there and left his signature. *Hundreds of others signed and dated a spot on the cave for a period of well over 100 years. *I saw a bat! read more

Growing up on the Mississippi River I felt like I had already experinced much of the same stuff Mark Twain described in His :Adventures of Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn" So when I was 12 yrs old my parents took me here to see the caves Mark Twain used to play in. The guided tour was very exciting quite a story. The whole adventure was remarkable and towards the end they even let us kids take off and run around hiding from each other in the caves. A great place for a family pit stop. Check it out @ http://www.marktwaincave.com/ read more

A cave tour? For claustrophobic me? I was definitely not excited about this. But I decided to just go for it. And I totally enjoyed it! It was one of the coolest things I have done. I could not believe the passageways and all the twists and turns in this cave! I was also intrigued by all the names of the people who signed the cave walls as they went through it. (You can not do that now. You will be fined for it!) Some of them are from the late 1800's, so it is just amazing to think about how many people have explored this cave! This cave is equipped with electricity and the guides do carry a walkie talkie and a flashlight should anything happen! But I thought it was just crazy when they turned the lights out and lit up one single light (that is as bright as a candle) to show us how it would have been exploring it with a candle! Oh my! I would not have come into the cave with just a candle! I would still be lost in there!! The story about the doctor Joseph Nash McDowell who actually tried to petrify the remains of his deceased daughter was creepy and interesting all at the same time! Jesse James (the bank robber, not the serial cheater) hid out in the cave and even signed his name on the wall! Our tour guide, Erin, was amazing! She was funny and really shared the history of the cave in a fun and memorable way! read more

$15.95 for a 45 min tour is about double what it should cost. The history of the cave and Hannibal is more interesting than the cave itself. If you are looking to be wowed by the cave itself, prepare to be disappointed. There are no stalactites or stalagmites, in fact the one stalactite they did have was knocked down when they blew up the rock to make the entrance. The small section of soda straws is disappointing. read more

See all