April 12, 2024
Driving to Klamath Falls for our Crater Lake National Park base, we realized that Klamath was just as close to Lava Beds National Monument in northern California. We decided to check it out one day. We were so glad we did.
Lava Beds is home to hundreds of lava tube caves - the highest concentration of lava tubes in the U.S. Around 24 are developed and readily accessible to the public. We really liked that you could explore them on your own. Stop by the visitor center and pick up your free pass to display on your car dash. They'll tell you which caves are open. Sometimes some caves are closed to protect bat habitat. They'll even loan you flashlights if you didn't bring any.
These caves vary in difficulty level. The easy caves allow you to walk upright. The intermediate caves require stooping and bending. The most difficult require crawling. All require flashlights. Helmets, knee pads, and gloves would be prudent for any cave beyond the easy level.
We stuck to the easy caves and went through five of them. Most are not super long, but you do still need that flashlight!
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| Rain coming |
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| Paradise Alleys cave entrance |
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| Not sure who startled whom |
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| Three cave entrances |
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| Skull cave - our favorite |
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| Steep stairs! |
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| Lava everywhere |
Hey- the lizard pick isn't clickable! And how did the Skull Cave get its name? It looks kind of cool. :-)
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DeleteThink we fixed the photo now. And Skull Cave got its name from the pronghorn, sheep, and human skeletons found inside.
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