In Georgetown just about an hour north of Austin, Inner Space Cavern is one of the best-preserved caves in Texas and one of the few places where prehistoric remains are found. The cavern’s standard cave tour is the Adventure Tour through Inner Space’s living cavern, the Hidden Passages tour for more adventurous explorers goes through an undeveloped trail of the cave and the most challenging option, the Wild Cave tour, takes guests 13 and up through off-trail spelunking. No experience required.

Longhorn Cavern, home to some truly spectacular tours, is an hour and a half northwest of Austin. Explore Crystal City, where hundreds of calcite crystals sparkle from every wall, and the Indian Council Room, where Comanche Indians communed hundreds of years ago. A former dance hall, place of worship, gunpowder storage spot and outlaw hideout, Longhorn Cavern embraces its lively history with special events, including concerts and paranormal tours.

Located in New Braunfels, Natural Bridge Caverns is the largest commercial cave in the state, with ancient formations and the majestic 100-foot-high Hall of the Mountain King 180 feet below ground. Early birds can enjoy the day’s first tour by lantern light, and daring explorers can climb, crawl and rappel through the Hidden Passages Tour. In addition to the caverns, visitors can take part in the Canopy Challenge, a high ropes course and zip line over the Texas Hill Country.

The Caverns of Sonora are an oasis along Interstate 10. Enjoy serene beauty on the Crystal Palace Tour, an intimate walking tour through highly decorated cave passages. Adventure-seekers will love the Discovery Challenge’s maze of off-trail passageways, and those partaking in the Discovery Challenge rappel 50 feet into the Devil’s Pit to experience firsthand the thrill of navigating the cave. After exploring, visitors are invited to camp on the grounds above the caverns in tents or RVs.

North of San Antonio in Boerne, Texas, the National Natural Landmark Cave Without a Name has six rooms of extraordinary formations, including the Grapes, calcite formations that look like a bunch of grapes and have been observed only in the cave’s caverns. Tours depart throughout the day and are about an hour long. Similar to Longhorn Cavern, the Cave Without a Name features live concerts in the caverns on select weekends.