The Discovery of Mystery Cave State Park

By Deborah Locke, Communications Specialist, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Jamelle Davenport grew up in St. Paul with a love for the outdoors and a sense of competitiveness influenced by her stepfather and male relatives.

“Growing up in a family full of guys made me a tomboy,” she said. “I was always trying to compete on their level –football, baseball, running. I even played on a male soccer team for three or four years.”

From a beginning like that, it’s not surprising to learn that she mastered the four-hour wild caving tour at Mystery Cave in southeastern Minnesota where climbing, crawling, stooping, stretching, and wiggling are required. The thirteen-mile cave is part of Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park. Visitors can participate in four tours: scenic, geology, lantern and wild caving, and reservations are strongly advised.

Davenport is a volunteer leader of Outdoor Afro, a national not-for-profit organization that encourages Black people to learn new outdoor skills and have fun. Participants in the local network are women with whom Davenport has a lot in common, especially this: they embrace a physical challenge, and work together to achieve a goal. The group is not just women-centric, however. Many of the community participants are men, and whole families are welcome as well. Recently Davenport went sailing for the first time with the Outdoor Afro network.

“Typically, I think of the wind as a way to cool off,” she said. “But when sailing, you learn that wind plays a pivotal role that makes the difference between life and death. It will tip over the boat if you’re not paying attention.”

That day she noticed wind caps on the water and variations of water color, all indicators that need to be monitored. She said that there are learning moments with everything you do, like learning the importance of wind on water.

Learning moments become key to Mystery Cave visitors who take the wild caving tour for the first time. For example, they learn that teamwork is imperative. Cave manager Dawn Ryan has led wild caving tours for more than 20 years and initially reached out three years ago to the Outdoor Afro Twin Cities group to see if anyone was interested in the 1.6-mile wild cave tour. Five women signed up, the maximum number for this type of tour. Since then, the group has done the wild cave tour at least four times.

“They help each other out,” she said of people who take this tour. “If someone is short and needs a boost, they will get one. If you are climbing and don’t know where to put a foot, someone will help talk you through it. You work as a team in a cave, with a sense of curiosity and the ability to get over your fears.”

Wild cavers, no matter what cave they tour, need to be in good physical shape and know in advance that some cave passages are only three to seven feet high and three to seven feet wide. One short passage is 18 inches tall; most are about three feet tall. With time and practice, some wild cavers become so adept that they can tour in a small group without park staff present. One of them takes the lead.

Now if the above sounds like way too much work, know that there’s a reward at the end, Ryan said. When wild cave tour participants finish up, they are smiling. They feel a lightness following a challenge and it makes them happy.

Davenport said that physical movement outdoors – or in a cave — always makes her happy. Cave exploration came about by accident: while traveling abroad, she booked a wrong tour, took it anyway, and has been caving ever since. As we conducted our telephone interview, she speculated about getting outside afterward for a lengthy hike – in the rain. That’s right, rain or shine, through snowfall or a blizzard, this woman is walking. A 20-mile hike is nothing. Outdoors, she finds peace, joy, and a place to reflect in the company of trees, clouds and floral scents.

“You can listen to the wind and buzz of insects and feel wide open,” she said. “Walking is the best exercise there is. Outside you can feel free and find joy in whatever you do.”

Last winter the local Afro Outdoors group spent a weekend in Ely, Minnesota where they hiked, ice fished, and went dog sledding. Davenport said that during a sharp turn, she flew off the fast-moving sled and landed on her head. The fall brought the other sledders to a quick halt. “I just got back up; I was fine. I was scared but fine,” she said.

Maybe that attitude has something to do with growing up with brothers and boy cousins, or with deciding to learn something important from every new experience. Or maybe it has to do with being positive and open to learning new skills and letting the outdoors lead the way.

One thing is for certain. When a group of wild cavers finish up, they are exhausted, their confidence is boosted, they are happy with themselves, said Dawn Ryan. You can see it in their faces and their eyes.

For information about Mystery Cave tours at Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park, go to mndnr.gov/tours. Reservations are recommended. For this season, all the wild caving tour slots are taken. For directions to the park, do not rely on a GPS; instead, note instructions on the cave tour page under “How to get there.”