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| Entries to the Tartarus Cave System at Cherney Maribel Caves County Park. |
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| Cherney Maribel Caves County Park map. Click for larger version. |
The 0.75-mile Bluff Trail runs past a variety of natural caves in a limestone cliff. Many of the caves here were discovered during the 1800s.
To reach the caves, from Interstate 43 take Exit 164 at Maribel and go east on County Hwy. Z. At County Hwy. R (aka N. Packer Drive), turn left/north. The park road will be on the right/east; follow it to the parking lot.
From the parking lot, take the Bluff Trail northwest atop an escarpment ridge that rises about 60 feet over West Twin River. The limestone formed some 419-443 million years ago when this section of the world was beneath a tropical sea. Shells of dying marine animals fell to the bottom of the sea floor and, over the eons, hardened into rock. Then, about 14,000 years ago, water rushing out of Glacial Lake Oshkosh down the West Twin River cut away the cliffside.
Since then, springs, carbonic acid, the changing seasons, glacial ice melt, and temperature variations have broken down the limestone, resulting in small caves and openings.
When the trail reaches a junction as heading down the bluff, go right/southeast. This leads to caves’ entries.
The first among them is the Maribel New Hope Cave, which was discovered in 1984 when steam came out of it. Talus blocking the entryway was removed, and on October 31, 1990, explorers removing sediment from a two-foot-high, 20-foot long passageway broke through to a cave room; it is now known as the Halloween Room. The largest of the park’s caves with stalactites and soda straws, it is open to the public only during special tour hours.
Continuing along the bluff’s base, the trail passes Pancake Cave. There’s no natural trail to it, and you have to climb over talus to enter it. The small solutional cave – meaning it was created by carbonic acid from groundwater dissolving the limestone – is about eight feet long and shaped like a pancake, hence its name.
The trail next comes to Coopers Cave, which is open to the public during park hours. A footpath heads up to a large, rectangular entrance. A square solution cave, it goes 20 feet deep and has two rooms that you’ll have to crouch in.
Just below the cave entrance is the Seepage, a moss-covered talus pile through which a natural spring flows. It flows year round, trickling down to the river.
The trail then swings away from the bluff to the river, briefly joins the River Trail, then circles back to the escarpment, passing the Millpond Dam, the small Cave of Treasures, and Watercress Spring along the way.
Among the best caves to explore at the county park comes next – the Tartarus Cave System. Its dramatic stone entrance is easy to spot. The cave system actually has three entrances. The passageways are still being explored and may link to other caves or sinkholes. This cave is open to only during special tour hours.
Next, take the stairs back up the bluff. Once at the top, follow the trail back to the parking lot.
Another cave associated with the bluff is the Spring Cave, which sits north of the Maribel New Hope Cave. A spring flows from the cave, and that water was used for drinking, cooking, and bathing at a hotel that sat near the site many years ago. The cave is on private property so cannot be entered.
The guided tours last 20-30 minutes each and are given select Sundays May through October from late morning to early afternoon. They are free. Caves open to the public can be toured anytime during park hours.
