MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ark. – How does 58 degrees sound on a hot August day? That’s what you’ll find every day at Blanchard Springs Caverns underneath the rolling Ozark Mountains in northern Arkansas.

Blanchard Springs Cavern. Image by Tom Adkinson.

It is the only tourist cave administered by the U.S. Forest Service and the only one owned by the federal government that’s not in a national park. You can cool off three ways. The half-mile Dripstone Trail is fully accessible for wheelchairs and strollers, the Discovery Trail is a hardy 1.2-mile up-and-down walk and the wild cave tour is a multi-hour adventure that’s definitely off the beaten path.

Trip-planning resource: BlanchardSprings.org and Arkansas.com