Caving | Cave of the Chocolate Drop
Hype:
The Cave of the Chocolate Drop (also sometimes called Black Window Cave) is a small cave on West Mountain, Utah. The cave blows a high volume of hot, humid air and can consequently attract rattlesnakes. The cave has a nearly vertical entrance pit that can be slippery. The cave continues down a small crack that is barely big enough for a 2nd grader, but some small adults have squeezed through. Total depth is about 40 feet before it gets too tight to continue.
Cave Type: Horizontal
Time: 5-20 minutes
Length: 10 ft
Depth: 40 ft
Gear: Helmet, headlamp
Fees: None
Recommended Ages:
 | 0-3 |
 | 4-11 |
 | 12-19 |
 | 20-49 |
 | 50-69 |
 | 70+ |
Recommended Months to Visit:
| Jan |
| Feb |
| Mar |
| Apr |
| May |
| Jun |
| Jul |
| Aug |
| Sep |
| Oct |
| Nov |
| Dec |
Permits: Open
Navigate to 40.115812, -111.827742.
If you're on an ATV, you can drive right to the entrance of the cave. Otherwise, park on the shoulder of the road about 250 feet from the cave.
Closest City or Region: West Mountain, Utah
Coordinates: 40.115812, -111.827742
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Cooper Dye, ,
For family night, we grabbed some fast food and headed over to West Mountain and explored around a bit.
We stopped at the Cave of the Chocolate Drop first. Everyone but Tara dropped into the entrance pit, but only Savannah could fit down the crack in the floor. She wriggled down a ways until she got to a dropoff that was too big for her to safely climb down on her own then she came back up. We were amazed by how much air was blowing through the cave and by how hot and humid it was.
After the cave, we walked down the hill to a prospect. The prospect doesn't have a name as far as we know, but it shows up on the USGS topo maps. We found some cool crystals on the wall of the mine, so after we took some pictures inside the prospect, we dug around in the tailing pile for a while. We found a bunch of small crystals and geodes and had fun rockhounding a bit. Immediately to the side of the tailing pile, we found a bunch of limestone rocks with a high concentration of fossils in them, so that was exciting too.
Next we drove up to the peak of West Mountain and looked out over the valley. It was windy and starting to get chilly, so we didn't stay too long.
On the way back down the mountain, we saw a small cave on the side of the hill next to a shooting range, so we stopped to explore it. There was a sign about protecting rock art, so we explored around a bit and found several petroglyphs on the boulders and several more small saves or alcoves.
Caves
Tight Squeezes
Headlamps required
No Drinking Water
Wayfinding
No Restrooms
Road Access is Dirt - Low Clearance
Access Road is 2WD Accessible
