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There are a few parks that my family and I circulate back to every few years: Redwoods National Park; Grand Canyon and other nearby parks, such as Bryce Canyon and Zion; and this one. With more than a dozen caves and tunnels to explore, you can step into a world unlike any other you can find aboveground.
Mushpot Cave | Easy | 770 ft
Lava Beds’ only lighted cave, Mushpot boasts a very easy route and interpretive signs. My brother is terrified of just about every cave except for those we find at Lava Beds, and this was the first cave he ever managed to enter, back when we first visited. It gave him the confidence to explore the other lava tubes at this park. If you or someone you’re visiting with is feeling at all nervous about caving, or even just wants to learn more about the caves themselves, I cannot recommend Mushpot enough. Sunshine Cave | Moderate | 466 ft The highlights of this cave are self-evident: in two parts of the cave, the roof has collapsed in, creating a sunny spot for plants to flourish. The cave is safe to enter now (they wouldn’t allow people inside if there was a danger of the roof collapsing again), and is a truly beautiful, if short, trip.
Hopkins Chocolate Cave | Strenuous | 1405 ft
Remember how I mentioned my brother was terrified of caves, and only stepped foot in Mushpot because it was a well-lit, easy trail? Guess which cave he begged us to visit right after? Hopkins Chocolate Cave--or just Chocolate Cave, as we called it--is so named because the walls look just like melted Hershey’s chocolate! Unfortunately, they don’t taste quite as good (so I’ve been told), but it’s still a very fun, whimsical place to behold.
Hercules Leg & Juniper Caves | Strenuous | 1948 ft & 2362 ft, respectively
It wasn’t always known that Hercules Leg and Juniper Caves were connected; the National Park Service itself writes that“these two caves were connected by the removal of debris in a collapse pit”. What most people don’t know is that the two caves were actually accessible even before the debris was removed. There’s a bit of a story here. One fine summer day, on one of my family’s later visits to the Lava Beds, we decided to visit Hercules Leg, where we got hopelessly, terribly lost. At one point, I scouted ahead and managed to find a tiny passage through the debris, leading to a tunnel that you can really only get through if you’re a kid with no grasp of the dangers of caving, or a parent who isn’t about to leave one of their kids alone on the other side of a debris field because he won’t come back through the tunnel. When we emerged an hour later, dirty, sweaty, and very pleased with ourselves, we found ourselves to be at the entrance to Juniper, which didn’t even connect to Hercules Leg on the map. We spoke to a ranger later that day, who tried to tell us that Hercules Leg and Juniper didn’t connect; it wasn’t until a few years later that we returned to find they had, indeed, been connected on the map and the debris we crawled over cleared away. While I’m sure that plenty of other people “discovered” that passage along with us, that little afternoon adventure means Hercules Leg and Juniper caves will always hold a special place in my heart.
Crystal Ice Cave | Strenuous
While I was extraordinarily lucky to be able to witness part of this cave before it was closed to the public, you can still access the rest through a guided ranger tour. The three-hour tour is offered once a week from January through March, and takes you through an icy wonderland. For those of you visiting during the summer, as my family is more inclined to do, an easier, one-hour tour of the gorgeous Fern Cave is open from July through September. I haven’t been lucky enough to take one of these tours yet, but it’s definitely on my bucket list!
An above-ground sunset at our campsite
Maybe part of it is because he’s been coming here all his life, but despite his fear, I know my brother feels the magic of this place, just as I do--and it is a magical place, no matter where you look. This place is so important to me and my family, I feel these caves like part of my own body and soul, and my sincere hope for you is that you get to experience the wonder of this place for yourself.
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2 Comments
Paula Rose
7/30/2018 11:46:20 pm
Crystal Ice cave is only accessible by guided tour now? I'm sad, but I'm glad they are trying to preserve what is left.
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Orion Rose
7/31/2018 07:38:30 pm
I feel ya! But I got the impression that they take you quite deep into the cave during the tour, however, so I think it's the best of both worlds: they minimize the impact while still allowing people to experience the cave.
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Hi, there! Call me Kris. I’m a world traveler, author and artist working to showcase the world's beauty and inspire you to find your confidence to see the world!
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