When I visit Lava Beds National Monument, it’s so that I can spend a day of exploring caves. These are not the spectacular, stalactite/stalagmite and cave formation type of caves – they’re lava tubes, left over from when molten lava drained out of self-made underground tunnels. So when I sat down to put together a list of the best hikes in Lava Beds, I first made sure I had my favorite caves on the list, then the above-ground trails that are pretty cool, too!
I first visited Lava Beds in 2003. My group crawled and scrambled and climbed into all kinds of tight spaces – which really isn’t required; most of the well-visited caves are wide and sometimes tall – and generally shone our flashlights into dark spaces, overcame claustrophobia, and wrecked our t-shirts by inching across the cave floor with our backs scraping the roof (remember what I said about not needing to do this kind of epic exploring?). Every few years, whenever we happened to be in NorCal, we’d visit again, and each time we would add another cave or two to our growing list of favorites. We also explored out in the bright sunshine, climbing a cinder cone, exploring a slot canyon, and generally enjoying views to Mt. Shasta.
So here are my favorite hikes and caves in Lava Beds National Monument, in no particular order!
The Best Hikes in Lava Beds
Golden Dome Cave
With no real claustrophobic sections, the bright yellow bacteria on the cave roof and walls is gorgeous! About 15 minutes to explore both loops of the cave
Schonchin Butte
This is one of the more famous above-ground trails in the national monument. It offers some pretty good views of the surrounding area from the fire tower on the peak. 1.5 miles out & back
Hopkins Chocolate Cave
There’s no chocolate in here, but solidified lava drips from the ceiling might look a bit like molten chocolate. This is another great cave without much in the way of tight sections. Visit Garden Bridges if you’re in the area – they’re not exciting, but you might as well see the arches over the collapsed lava tube. Maybe 10-15 minutes out & back
Fleener Chimneys
They’re not crazy exciting, but it is fun to imagine the little volcanoes spitting out rocks! 0.5 mile lollipop loop.
Hercules Leg Cave/Juniper Cave
With a bit of scrambling and crawling (nothing crazy, but claustrophobics might not like it), you can get between the two caves. It’s so much fun! Maybe 20 minutes point-to-point
Big Crack
This isn’t an actual trail; it’s an exploration. Park at the East Wildlife Overlook and head south to find the slot canyon. ~4 miles out & back
Sentinel Cave
If you want a good cave that isn’t too technical, this is it! There’s very little in the way of tight spaces, and even the gaps have been closed by a bridge. About 10 minutes between the upper and lower entrances
History
There are also some historic trails to explore. I haven’t done much with them since I’m not into visiting battlefields. But a few good ones are the Black Crater Trail, Captain Jack’s Stronghold, and Hospital Rock.
Other Good-to-Know
There is a $25/vehicle entrance fee, payable only in cash. America the Beautiful National Park Passes and Lava Beds Annual Passes are also accepted.
The caves are nice enough even in the heat of summer. However, the above-ground portion of the park is much nicer in spring and fall, when the weather is neither snowy nor boiling hot. If you do want to explore in the summer, try to do your hiking before 10am.
You will need a free caving permit to enter the caves in the park. These can be picked up from the visitor center. Also note that any shoes, gear, flashlights, etc. that have been in a cave outside of the park must be sanitized by the park employees so you won’t accidentally carry disease from one cave to another. Or, better yet, don’t wear anything into Lava Beds that has been in a cave in another park.
Flashlights can be checked out of the visitor center (for free) and must be returned before the end of the day. Be sure to test the flashlights while you’re still at the visitor center – some batteries have more power than others (as we’ve found out the hard way!) This all said, the park would rather that you brought your own flashlights or headlamps, assuming they have not been used in caves outside of the monument.
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