It was 105 degrees outside when I first visited Cascade Caverns, so it’s not a small surprise when I say that the first thing that struck me about the place was the gust of almost refrigerated air that overtook our group as we approached the mouth of the cave.
That was nice. Can I stay for a week?
Cascade Caverns, a few miles outside of San Antonio, Texas, is a small unassuming cavern with a visitor’s center that looks like it was dragged in from the wrong side of Mayberry. Apparently, there had been some flooding some years ago that destroyed the old visitor’s center and the new temporary center had eventually become the permanent one (though, I was told that there are plans afoot to renovate the old center).
The Cavern itself is a wet cave, cool and comfortable, though you will have to make some of your on-foot journey bent over as the passageway is less than four feet tall. This is rather difficult for me, a fat 6 foot 2 guy, but I braved it because there’s a pot at the end of this rainbow.
Not so much of a pot as a waterfall. Cascade Caverns is named well for at the end of the walking tour, you come face to face with the feature that gave the cavern its name… a raging waterfall with water so clean and pure that you can barely even see it.
As an added bonus, the coolness and extra humidity provided by the falls also gives the cave the unique feature of having fog underground which is both amazing to look at and a little eerie.
Still, it was a much enjoyed side-quest after a week of teacher inservice. San Antonio has a lot to offer, but a cave like Cascade Caverns is just proof that the outskirts hide treasures as well.
Jason Gaston 