War Eagle Cavern


Useful Information

Location: On Scenic State Hwy 12, about midway between Eureka Springs and Rogers.
Open: 13-MAR to OCT Mon-Sat 9:30-17, Sun 12-17.
Tours on the hour.
[2008]
Fee: Adults USD 11.50, Children (4-11) USD 6.75, Children (0-3) free.
Groups (10+): reductions available.
Plus tax.
[2008]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave Speleologyriver cave.
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: T=14,5 °C.
Guided tours: D=60 min, L=1.600 m, suitable to wheelchairs.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address: War Eagle Cavern on Beaver Lake, 21494 Cavern Drive, Rogers, AR 72756, Tel. +1-479-789-2909. E-mail: contact
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

1920s archaeological excavations by archeologist Mark Harrington for the Heye Museum in New York City.
1978 opened to the public.
1998 under new management.

Description

War Eagle Cavern is located on a penisula, the entrance is only a few meters above the water level of Beaver Lake. This huge cave portal was used by Red Indians for hundreds of years before the first white settlers came to the area. Remains of so called bluff-dweller Indians, about 1,000 years old, were discovered here. In the 1920s, the archeologist Mark Harrington made excavations for the Heye Museum in New York City. His collection was later transferred to the Smithsonian Institute. But this first inhabitants vanished before the white settlers came and so this place was not inhabited at the time of the Louisiana Purchase.

Later, since Civil War time the cave was known as Bat Cave. It was the hideout of several men who lived here for three years. Some stories tell about bank robbers using the cave as a hideout too. Of course this stories also include hidden treasures inside the cave. The outlaws which used this cave incude Pretty Boy Floyd and the James gang. Later it was used for for parties and dances as a natural cool place, until the introduction of air conditioning.

The spectacular natural entrance, a wide potal about 6 m high and twice as wide, has a lens-shaped contour. It is the resurgence of a small cave rivulet. The tour leads through this portal and follows the underground river upstream about 800 m until the passage narrows. At this point the visitor has to turn around and leave the cave the way he came in. Highlights of the tour are the stream passage, numerous solutional domes and rimstone pools with waterfalls at the end.