The application for fee waivers for the 2017 season will open November 1. Follow the link below to plan a field trip.
For Teachers includes:
Curriculum Materials
Distance Learnig (Virtual Field Trip)
Educational Fee Waivers for Teachers and Students
Timpanogos Cave National Monument is excited to be part of your school's continuing efforts towards excellence. The National Park Service has a strong tradition of education and we are proud to promote parks as classrooms. To assist local educators with their curriculums, Timpanogos Cave National Monument has a fee waiver program in place for educational or scientific institutions.
A limited number of educational fee waivers are available for the cave tour season. Larger groups may need to divide and visit the caves over two days.
An educational presentation from a park ranger in your classroom may also be possible, whether your school is able to visit the cave or not. Ranger presentations emphasize grade-level state science core. Call BJ Cluff at (801) 756-5239 ext. 301 or e-mail us to see about scheduling a classroom visit.
Fee Waiver Application Process
For a link and more information on the fee waiver process, visit our Plan a Field Trip page. Please note that Visitor Center construction will likely occur during the 2017 season, but final construction schedules have not been set. This will likely impact tour availability. Once a construction schedule is determined, we will do our best to accommodate as many requests are we can.
Waiver Notices
- All approved and paying groups are required to present completed School Group Organization Form(s), signed Student Conduct Rules form and verify that all chaperones have read the Chaperone Responsibilities form.
- Tours are limited to groups of 16 and must have at least two adults per tour group. Large groups will be divided into groups of 16 or less.
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Educational fee waivers are not granted on holidays or on weekends.
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A fee waiver may be revoked and a bill of collection sent to your school, if your group behaves inappropriately, or if the group's activities indicate that the primary purpose of the field trip was recreational, rather than educational, in nature.
Group Rules and Safety
- As your groups travels up and down the 1 1/2-mile cave trail we require that one adult is in the front of the group and one adult is at the back of the group with the students in between. By staying within voice range of each other, group leaders can communicate the need to stop and adjust a pack strap, get a drink of water, or tie a shoe.
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Please make sure your group knows that they are visiting a national park site where everything is protected. This includes the rocks, flowers, leaves and wildlife. Leaving everything where you find it allows other groups that come to have the same wonderful experience of discovery.
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ROCKFALL can occur at any point on the trail. The areas of the greatest amount of rockfall are marked with a red stripe. Most of the time rockfall may be heard before it is seen. When rockfall is heard, immediately duck down on the inside of the trail, close to the wall, and cover your head with your hands and arms. Remember not to stop in the yellow striped areas.
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RUNNING is extremely difficult for children to resist as they come down the trail, but running on this steep trail can lead to injury or death. Keep your group with you at all times as you walk down the trail and make sure students are watching where they are going.
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SHORTCUTTING causes damage to the thin canyon soils and a loss of vegetation - often leaving noticeable scars for many years. It also causes rockfall that may injure visitors below.
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ROCK THROWING is strictly prohibited! The trail winds steeply up the mountainside, and there are often hikers below you that you cannot see. Even very small rocks pick up enough velocity to severely injure any visitor, wildlife, or building they may strike. DO NOT let your students throw or kick rocks off the trail.
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To help prevent the spread of White Nose Syndrome, a disease that is killing millions of bats in North America, the monument prohibits any boots, shoes, clothing, or gear (including cameras) that have been in ANY other cave or mine at ANY time. Please share this information with your students to protect bat populations.
Monument Conveniences
- Restrooms are available at the visitor center and just below the entrance of the caves.
- Food is available at the snack bar located next to the visitor center. Students may eat on the cave trail but no food or drinks are allowed inside the cave system.
- Picnic tables are available at Swinging Bridge picnic area and a few tables are available across from the visitor center.
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A 20-minute Orientation video is shown on request at the visitor center.
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The Western National Parks Association bookstore and the concession gift shop are open daily. A 20% discount is offered to teachers on book sales.
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We consider the 1 1/2 mile trail to the caves to be a strenuous and difficult hike. Visitors gain over 1,092 feet elevation in that distance. The narrow cave trail is paved but rough with water bars and rain gutters. For everyone's safety, pets and wheeled vehicles (including wheelchairs and baby strollers) are not allowed on the trail. The visitor center, snack bar, and picnic areas are wheelchair accessible.
Who to Contact
Contact Sheila Hunt at 801-756-5239 ext. 203 for questions or comments about the educational fee waiver program.
Contact the visitor center at 801-756-5238 for general questions about the monument and the cave.
