Lava River Cave Interpretive Site

About Lava River Cave Interpretive Site

Explore a mile-long lava tube. Lava River Cave offers self-guided exploration of a mile-long lava tube. It takes approximately 1.5 hours to tour the entire cave. Initial access descends 55 stairs to a combination of flat boardwalk, uneven surfaces and stairways. In the interest of preventing the spread of White-nose Syndrome to bats that reside in the Cave, we ask that you not wear or bring into the cave any clothing or gear you have used in any other cave or mine. Please wear close-toed shoes and warm clothing. Average temperature in the Cave is 42 degrees Farenheit.

No pets are allowed in Lava River Cave.

Recreation Fee Site: Parking at this site requires a $5/vehicle payment or a valid recreation pass.

Reviews & Ratings

Read TripAdvisor Reviews

August 31, 2025

7871649

Amazing

On August 8 my son & I walked the Lava River Cave, it was our second cave we did on our trip, it was really nice. It wasn’t that cold, got to see a lot of different lava formations, plus we got some good pictures. Plus besides wearing on jacket use gloves so you don’t contaminate the cave & a walking stick to prevent you from falling.
July 16, 2025

Greg L

A Cool Cave for a Hot Day

A cool, damp romp through the caves with 11 guys was a nice getaway from the heat while also having a chance to soak in a different kind of natural aura. Highly recommend for folks wanting a low-stakes excursion into nature, with zero chance of overheating on your way. Just be sure to wear proper foot gear, and don't hesitate to rent a light if you did not bring a good one for yourself. We saw someone who injured their ankle partway into the cave, so it's safe to say that it's not a completely casual walk through the rocky terrain. The cave trail is itself adequately long, but not so long that you will end up turning back out of boredom. Hitting the end-of-path will likely happen in under an hour depending on your pace, at which point you will turn around anyways.
August 22, 2024

scoutscrapper

Best Cave Experience!

This was an exciting cave adventure! Unlike other caverns, the dark cool lava tube was a totally different experience. Dress in layers, rent a flashlight. Take your time. Great value for the money. S2.00 reservation for timed entry-(do in advance). $5.00 day pass for our car, $5.00 flashlight rental.
June 21, 2024

Timothy J

Memorable experience

This may have been the highlight of our trip to central Oregon. Super cool cave that you can hike a good ways back into. It’s very different from most other caves we’ve visiting as it’s tall and pretty uniform throughout — almost like a train tunnel vs a typical “cave.” There is not a lot of variety within the cave but that in itself makes it unique. Lots of headroom and wide almost the entire time so this is a good one for people who usually shy away from tight spaces. Great for kids too. Definitely check it out!
October 3, 2023

sopaca

One of the best things we did on a long road trip

This was a real highlight of our 16 day road trip in Washington and Oregon. We only learned of the cave as we drove north from Crater Lake to our next destination so booked a ticket that evening for 9am the next morning. Despite it being August 27th there were still quite a few tickets available which was lucky. It was only $2 (£1.60) so a real bargain. I think the booking is so they can mange the parking lot not being too full as well as not too many at a time in the lava tube. We were also very fortunate as we were the first to enter the cave so the whole 1.1 mile walk to the end we were alone which was an amazing experience. When you turned the lanterns off it was VERY VERY dark! The cave was a lot bigger - width and height - than I'd expected and it was quite an easy walk. We're both in our 60s but had no trouble with the terrain although we did wear our hiking shoes. The floor is mostly level and sandy but there are boulders to watch out for and occasional changes of height - both floor and ceiling. There are also useful info boards along the way to tell you about the features and geology of the cave. The path finishes after 1.1 miles although the cave doesn't! It was quite surreal to think you were 1.1 miles into the ground. We were told it was 42F/5C in the cave so wore sweatshirts, down jackets, hats, gloves and scarves but actually it didn't feel that cold and much of the warmer clothes were discarded as we were walking the whole time and it didn't feel that cold at all. Do be sure to not wear anything that you've ever worn in a cave before in the USA as they are working hard not to transmit white-nose syndrome which kills bats and can transmit decades later from spores on clothing. I can definitely recommend hiring their lanterns for $5 as they are very powerful and our experience of seeing the cave walls, ceiling and way to walk was a lot better that that of those people using their own torches/flashlights or even phone for illumination. We shone our lanterns on the ceiling for several people on the way back who only had dim lights and got 'gasps' as they saw what they were missing with their poor illumination devices. I’d also caution against using a headlamp as while it might illuminate your path you’ll miss the flexibility of seeing the ceiling and wall and also it shines directly into the eyes of those coming the other way!

Hide Ratings & Reviews Read all reviews on TripAdvisor

Lava River Cave Interpretive Site

Explore Lava River Cave Interpretive Site

About Lava River Cave Interpretive Site

Reviews & Ratings

Amazing

A Cool Cave for a Hot Day

Best Cave Experience!

Memorable experience

One of the best things we did on a long road trip

Related Content