Has to be one of my favorite parks in the US. The fact you can go caving by yourself is great. You just need to check in at the visitor center and get the voucher to hang in the car window. You will need a good torch and a backup and a backup backup. The lava tubes are great to explore, but are very dark and you need good shoes. We did a lot of them, but Blue Grotto and Skull Cave were my favorites, though Valentine cave was also good. This is a great day out playing in the dark. Its also worth doing Schonchin Butte Lookout as the views are fantastic. You need to look at the pictures carefully to get an idea of the scale of these caves.
I had the best time here! I only got through about five caves including skull cave and sentinel but i had the best time! i love that you don’t need a guided tour, it feels much more personal like this. i went with my parents and kid sister, and we all made it through just fine. ducking wasn’t fun, but it was no big deal. i love the yellow bacteria that grows in some of the caves! it looks so cool when the water beads up on it. skull cave was super cool! i love that they still have some skulls on display there. the trails were super easy to walk. i would definitely go back!
It was a great place to explore..if you going late in the evening get your own light.. they stop giving light hour before 5.. there are lot of caves to caves to explore… easily you could spend a day there. Pack your lunch and spend the day it will be worth… the landscape was beautiful too.. if you are in that area stop by the nearby National wildlife refuges.. you could see birds, coyotes and deers..
It’s a wonderland with all of the interesting caves and landscapes. First of all, pack the flashlights or headlights, you may need them if you want to explore some more caves. If not, doesn’t matter, only go to mushpot cave, which has the light. Secondly, the drive I recommend to take California 161 from US-97, you can see lower Klamath lake wild animal refuge area. It’s beautiful. And the drive is very far and don’t drive too crazily fast, take time to see the views. The Lava Bed monument has incredibly nice staff there. Super friendly and gives you the right information.
This is such a cool and fun place !! You would never know there are so many caves. Bring really sturdy shoes for inside the caves. Bring heavy duty flashlights. They let you use theirs until about 4 pm but not always the most powerful lights. If you want to buy them there they are pretty expensive $40.
This place is very much in the middle of a lot of open countryside. A very nice visitor centre provides information about the area and here you can book your drive to discover the caves with different level of experience and expertise required. But even if you don't want to go underground, the area is just beautiful. Follow our adventures @SLYSTRX
While driving home from a vacation in Nevada, I was looking for things to do along the road. This came up on my phone as a national park. We thought well what the hell? Let's check it out. We were so surprised and so happy that we found this place. We drive past it at least once a year, and I've never stopped. We went in several caves, and the people at the information center were amazing. This will definitely be a stop that we make along the way from now on. There's so much to see that we didn't even get to do a portion of it. I can't believe this place isn't well, more well known! We went in the winter so there was no guided tours but you really didn't need them they give you a map you drive around to the caves it tells you the different levels of intricacy in them really truly just a great experience!
The lava beds were pretty much the same as everywhere. It's beautiful, the petroglyphs were probably the most interesting. We didn't find huge caves, would like to have gone on a cave tour.
A super fun national monument! The Ranger at the visitor center was more than welcoming and helped us choose a couple hikes/caves based on our time available. He even lent us a couple flashlights for our journey. The caves are obviously super dark so be sure to bring/get a flashlight/headlamp and wear good shoes, it was be very uneven, wet, and rocky.
Lots of fun but don't forget your flashlight. There are caves for everyone to explore. Very sad about the forest fire. Can't wait to come back and see how much it has grown.
