Cavechat.org

Hey everyone,

I am a new caver and am really excited about learning more and exploring the underground! Until recently I thought show caves were the only caves that were accessible. I accidentally stumbled on the Dogwood City Grotto when I was searching for things to do on the weekends when I was stationed at Ft. Benning. Unfortunately I did not get to see much of TAG before I got moved to Ft Riley KS. I am now trying to get involved in the grotto here but am also looking to get out to Missouri to check out some of the bigger caves there. I would love to get some advice from some more experienced cavers and hopefully get on some trips with you all too!

Hi Max -

Welcome to Kansas! I am a member of the Kansas City Area Grotto (KCAG). There are three caving organizations that are somewhat close to Ft. Riley.

First is KSS - Kansas Speleological Society. There is an information page for them at the NSS web site - https://caves.org/grotto/kss/

Second is Pony Express Grotto. They are based out of St. Joseph, Missouri. They are not an official NSS grotto and there is no web page for them.

Third, of course, is my grotto KCAG! More information about us is at https://kcgrotto.caves.org Our meetings are open to the public. You might want to join our email list since our summer meeting schedule is sort of messed up. Updates will go out on the email list. Our web site has a list of upcoming trips and events. The novice trips listed on that page might be just the thing for you to get started.

It is true that most serious caves around here are in southern Missouri. That makes it quite a trip for you. Even from Kansas City it is 2 hours or more to get to any caves. Maybe you can get assigned to Ft. Leonard Wood, which is in the heart of Missouri caving.

Bill Gee

Thank you so much for the information and recommendations Bill, I just subscribed to the mailing list for KCAG. I hope to attend a meeting or trip soon!