DIRECTIONS :: EVENT INFO :: ABOUT THE CAVES

Shawnee Saltpetre Cave, "Nature's Own Amphitheatre," is one of the United States' oldest natural amphitheatres for the performing arts. The Amphitheatre features 53 acres of large rocky bluffs, strange rock formations, a roaring waterfall and winding waterways, nature trails and wildlife.

The Cave itself is a natural saltpetre cave formed in the side of a limestone bluff. The camping area is surrounded by woodland, and sits at the top of the bluff that forms the theatre. The open-mouth cave is 215 feet wide at the mouth and is Southern Illinois' largest bluff shelter. The cave, which took 1 million years of flowing water to create, is located at the base of one of Saltpetre Park's large rock bluffs. In the summer, the Cave is about fifteen degrees cooler than the ambient air temperature. The area has very few mosquitoes because of the hundreds of cliff swallows who live in the bluff and make mosquitoes their lunch.