School Group Tour Details

School Group Tours are only suitable for Grades 2-12, ages 7 and older. Lower grades and those with younger students may not book a school group tour.

School Groups must contain at least 12 participants to book as a group and receive discounted pricing.

* Discounted tickets are not available on weekends, holidays, or during the entire month of March.

School Group Tours must meet a ratio of at least one adult chaperone to four students (even if students are 18 years old).

 * Park staff and volunteers do not count as, and may not serve as chaperones.

A maximum of five school group tours per day are permitted in total, regardless of school affiliation.

Reservation Policies

No tours will be guaranteed without a reservation. Reservations can be made up to a year in advance.

Payment for school group tour reservations must be received in full no later than 30 days before your scheduled tour or the reservation will be canceled.

    *Payment may be made using Visa, Mastercard, cashier's check, or money order. We do not accept purchase orders. Checks must be received 30 days prior to the tour.

A tour confirmation letter will be provided via email once payment is received.

Refunds of any kind will not be issued within 30 days of the tour, including any day-of no-shows. The number of children at each age range as well as the number of adult chaperones must be finalized 30 days before your scheduled tour and must match who physically attends each tour.

What to Expect

Introductions to the park will take place at the school bus drop off area. Please remain under the ramada.

Send one chaperone/school representative into the Discovery Center if needed.

Park staff will lead your group to the group lockers and restrooms.

• Please review the prohibited items list and make sure that all of these items are stowed in the group lockers.
• No restrooms besides porta potties are available once you board the tram; please use the restroom and drink water before then.

Cave Tour Prohibited Items

* These apply to ALL participants

• Cell phones, cameras
• Purses, packs, backpacks
• Flashlights, binoculars
• Bottled water, candy, gum, food of any kind 
• Strollers

Wheelchairs and packs for medical devices are available. Please inquire at the front desk.

Your school group is able to visit the Discovery Center, cafe, and gift shop.

Students should never be alone without a chaperone, even in the gift shop and cafe.

The gift shop only allows 10 students inside at a time, attended by two adult chaperones. Gift shop purchases should be made after the tour unless the tour time is later than 1:15 p.m. (it closes at 3 p.m.).

There is an informative, 15 minute video that runs at the top of the hour and 30 minutes past the hour inside of the Discovery Center’s Theater - guests are encouraged to view this film before their tour.

Tickets must be picked up at the Discovery Center front desk one hour before the tour begins. Reservations will be canceled if the entire group is not in the Discovery Center at least 15 minutes before their scheduled tour time.

The bus driver, if not also attending the tour, is welcome to visit the Discovery Center and any other above ground park facilities including the restrooms, cafe, gift shop, picnic areas, and hiking trails.

You will be riding a tram to and from the entrance of the cave.

• Please follow the instructions of your tour guide and driver.
• Stay seated and keep hands, arms, legs and feet inside at all times.
• A teacher or chaperone needs to ride in each tram car.

Inside the Cave

The cave is warm, it is unlikely that anybody will want to wear a jacket/outer layer once inside the cave.

No gum, candy, mints, etc. are allowed in the cave.

Touching or damaging formations is strictly prohibited and punishable by law.

If anybody needs to leave the cave before the tour is done, a chaperone must accompany them and must also leave with as many students as needed to maintain the minimum ratio of chaperones to students in the cave.

Read and Ready to Book?

Once you have reviewed all of the information above, please complete this reservation form and email it to kartchner.reservations@azstateparks.gov.

School Curriculum

You may download a complimentary copy of the Kartchner Caverns State Park curriculum for your school or organization.

The goal of this curriculum guide is to assist teachers in conveying the unique story of Kartchner Caverns to their students. The lessons will encourage students to develop an appreciation of the geological and biological forces that created such a magnificent cave. We also hope to promote an understanding of the interrelationship between humans and Kartchner Caverns. We encourage the students to think about the choices that were available in the development of the cave and the consequences of each.

We hope that through the use of these activities the learners will gain a sense of ownership and stewardship toward this non-renewable natural resource. Each activity includes the approximate age for which it was designed, a listing of the lesson's objectives, reproducible pages, materials' list, glossary of terms, cross-referencing, and other useful information that will assist teachers in dynamically presenting the curriculum. The curriculum meets state standards for science education.

Additional Information

Please familiarize yourself with our park's Accessibility Information and our very important Park Rules.

Back to top