About

To celebrate 2021 and 2022, the International Year of Caves and Karst, our collaborative effort called the Driftless Area Karst Trail (DARK) was developed under the National Speleological Society and modeled after the Virginia Cave and Karst Trail. The DARK Trail highlights Discovery Areas in the driftless states—Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois—that showcase the region’s dramatic landscape, including caves, springs, trails, state parks, scenic overlooks, and exhibits.

Here on our website, you can search and explore the DARK Trail geographic Discovery Areas by state and county. You can also explore these locations with the interactive Flyover Country App, developed by the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and the National Science Foundation.