Description
What it is
This is the Jewel Cave National Monument design in the Scenic Highways magnet series. It is a 2 inch by 3 inch button magnet with a full magnetic backing at 1.0 oz, light enough to mail in a padded envelope. The art is a vintage-style hand-drawn illustration rather than a photograph.
About the design
The artwork shows the monument in the early era of National Park Service operation, when the park service began running guided tours in 1940 for fifty cents. A guide in a hat holds a lantern overhead, lighting the rock as a small group follows him deeper into the cave. That places the magnet in a specific moment in the park’s history, before the exploration teams of the 1960s and 70s revealed just how large the cave system would turn out to be.
About the site
Jewel Cave is on US-16 between Custer, South Dakota, and Newcastle, Wyoming, within the Black Hills National Forest. It was discovered in 1900 by brothers Frank and Albert Michaud, who heard wind rushing from a small hole in the rock, and established as a National Monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. As of 2026, surveyors have mapped more than 220 miles of passage, making it the third-longest cave in the world. The name comes from the calcite crystals lining the walls, dogtooth spar (sharp and pointed) and nailhead spar (flat and blunt).
About the artist
The Scenic Highways series comes from Scenic Hwys, an art company based in Manti, Utah. The artist travels to each site, photographs it, then draws an original illustration rooted in the history of the place. For Jewel Cave that history is the lantern-tour era, which is why the design looks back to 1940 rather than to the modern paved Scenic Tour.
Specifications
- Dimensions: 2″ x 3″
- Weight: 1.0 oz
- Construction: button magnet with full magnetic backing
- Design: Jewel Cave National Monument, early NPS era (1940)
- Part of the Scenic Highways series (also posters and stickers)
Who is this for
It is a fit for someone leaving a Jewel Cave tour who wants a keepsake tied to the monument’s history, and for collectors filling in Black Hills sites that get less souvenir coverage than the big western parks. The 2″ x 3″ size sits cleanly on a visor, water bottle, or filing cabinet.
Frequently asked questions
What size is the magnet?
2 inches wide by 3 inches tall, with a full magnetic backing.
How strong is it?
A button magnet this size holds on a refrigerator door, a filing cabinet, or a metal locker. It is not rated for industrial or safety-critical use.
What does the art show?
An early lantern-lit guided tour from the 1940 era, with a guide leading visitors into the cave by lantern light.
Does buying this support the monument?
BHPFA is the official nonprofit partner of Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Scotts Bluff National Monument, and Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, as well as the Black Hills National Forest and Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands. Proceeds from every purchase support education programs, conservation projects, and visitor services at these sites.
