Ledge View Nature Center

Montgomery Cave - Carolyn’s Caverns - Mother’s Cave

Useful Information

Location:	W2348 Short Road, Chilton, WI 53014. 2.5 km south of Chilton, east of Lake Winnebago. (44.0015050, -88.1554197)
Open:	Park: All year daily dawn to dusk. Nature Center: All year Mon-Sat 8-16. Caves: Carolyn’s Caverns Cave Tour: MAY to OCT Sat 13. Adventure Cave Tour: MAY to OCT last Sat in month 9. [2025]
Fee:	Park: free. Nature Center: free. Caves: Carolyn’s Caverns Cave Tour: Per Person USD 9. Adventure Cave Tour: Per Person USD 11. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	electric torches, lanterns.
Dimension:
Guided tours:	Carolyn's Caverns Cave Tour: D=2 h, MinAge=5, Max=30. Adventure Cave Tour: D=3 h, MinAge=10, Max=30 V=33,000/a [2007].
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Wisconsin Traveler (2002): It’s cool to spelunk, WNR Magazine, June 2002, p 31. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. online
Address:	Ledge View Nature Center, W2348 Short Road, Chilton, WI 53014, Tel: +1-920-849-1471. Calumet County Parks Office, N 6150 County Road EE, Hilbert, WI 54129, Tel: +1-920-439-1008.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1860	first visits of Montgomery Cave.
1973	Calumet County puts the property under the jurisdiction of the county parks commission.
1978	county park dedicated as a partnership between Calumet County and the Friends of Ledge View Nature Center.
1981	Nature Center built.
1986	Carolyn’s Caverns discovered.
1998	new exhibit hall built.

Description

Ledge View Nature Center offers educational tours into three semi-wild caves. The caves are not lighted and the visitors should bring electric torches, the guides will supply lanterns. Difficult descends are equipped with ladders and steps, so climbing equipment is not necessary, but all caves include crawling passages. The visitors should wear old clothes as they might get dirty. Long pants and a sweatshirt are necessary because of the low temperature. Good shoes, walking boots, are advisable too.

Montgomery Cave was the earliest visited cave and thus shows several remains of human impact. It has been known since the American Civil War. The tour is held with emphasis on its history. Carolyn’s Caverns are actually three caves called Bat Cave, Carolyn's and Dave’s Sink. This tour shows numerous cave formations. Mother’s Cave is narrow and low, the whole tour is done crawling. Some time ago members of the Wisconsin Speleological Society connected Carolyn’s Caverns and Mothers Cave, which are now part of the same cave system. It is possible to make a through-trip now.

There are some restrictions to the age of the visitors. Children must be at least five years old, and at least ten years for Mother’s Cave. All minors must be accompanied by an adult. Because of the crawling these caves are not suitable for old or disabled visitors. A certain amount of physical fitness is necessary. But there is still Ledge View Nature Center, a museum showing many beauties of the area. Animals and plants, geology and landscape are explained. It has interactive exhibits on bats, lake sturgeon, birds, and the Niagara Escarpment. Special features are Wisconsin’s bats, which are explained in an exhibition called Bat Barn. There is an arboretum and an 18 m high wooden observation tower offering expansive countryside views. They also offer guided walks through the surrounding forests. They also offer educational tours for school classes through the museum, birding or flower hikes, cross-country skiing, and they rent snowshoes. Ledge View Nature Center is a natural museum staffed by 3 full-time naturalists and an intern.