Spook Cave lies in the bluffs along Bloody Run Creek, about seven miles west of McGregor in Clayton County, in the Driftless Area of northeast Iowa. The creek is a small tributary of the Upper Mississippi, and the country around it is karst, riddled with caves, sinkholes, disappearing streams and cold springs.
The cave had its name before anyone had been inside. Early settlers of Clayton County heard strange noises coming from a hole at the base of the hill and gave it a wide berth. In 1953 a local man, Gerald Mielke, went after the source and found the flooded cave behind it, and it opened for business in 1955. A lock and dam at the entrance hold the water high enough to float boats through, and in winter the stream is let down to its natural depth, about shin high.
The whole tour is by boat. You board at the landing outside, a guide takes you in, tells the story of the discovery and development of the cave and points out the formations, and you are back out in 35 to 40 minutes without walking a step. The cave holds 47 degrees all year, so bring a layer even in August. In places the roof comes down low enough that everyone in the boat bends forward, so be ready to fold up.
Tours run daily from May through October. Reservations are needed on weekdays in May, September and October, and the rest of the season is first come, first served; from 1 June to Labor Day the boats run from 9 a.m., with the last tour at 4:45 p.m. The cave sits on a 93-acre private property with a campground and cabins. Inside the campground is Beulah Falls, free to visit from May to October and named for the town of Beulah, which a terrible storm in the 1800s turned into a ghost town: floods washed homes away and tore down the railroad bridges. The waterfall on Bloody Run is what is left, and you can hike the bluff above it.
Other places on the map within a couple of hours.
