Fern Cave Preserve
Fern Cave
The Kay Hill Deen Fern Cave Preserve, is a privately owned tract adjoining the federally-owned Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge.
Fern Cave has five entrances. Four of these are on the Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge (US Department of the Interior), and one (The Fern Sink, or Surprise Pit entrance) is located on property the SCCi owns. One section of the cave is the largest gray bat hibernaculum in the country. As a result, new restrictions are now in place to protect the bat colony from White Nose Syndrome. We ask that everyone who visits the cave take the decontamination request very seriously.
Entry into Surprise Pit requires a permit. The other four entrances of Fern Cave that the US Fish and Wildlife Service owns are still closed. Contact Fern Cave Access Coordinator Steve Pitts at fern@scci.org at least TWO weeks before you would like to visit the cave.