Oregon Caves National Monument

Very cool experience. This is a moderate caving experience with a lot of steps, but if you’re even somewhat in shape then you should be fine. Our tour guide was very nice and friendly, and the tour was fun as well as educational. This tour is also good for kids, couples and families. I would recommend. The cave is very cold so bring a sweater.

Review from our trip here in late APRIL 2016: What an absolute blast! I was a bit nervous as to what was expected going into these caves. Especially since our tour guide said we’d be in there for about an hour and a half. But regardless it was such an amazing experience! When my bf and I went, it was the last tour of the day and we were the ONLY ones going! So what a treat it was to basically have a private tour for 2! We got to have our own flash lights too and have a more «in-​depth» experience along with our tour guide. Since we were the last tour of the day, we were basically walking thru complete darkness, I mean despite having our provided flashlights. I forgot the name of the lady who took us, but she was very informative, humorous, and not a boring guide lol. I suggest wearing warm gear and sturdy clothing as there will be tight spaces and slippery spots. If youre taking a trip to oregon, I highly recommend checking the caves out. You wont regret it!

Beautiful area, bit of a drive but well worth it. Staff was friendly and knowledgeable, very good tour of a very awesome cave, been to meany caves and all are so different this one included very cold so bring a coat even in summer my wife was chilly.

A spectacular natural wonder, the Oregon Caves National Monument is exactly what you think of when you think «caves». Stalactites, stalagmites, darkness, wonder, and lots of careful stepping. BRING A JACKET! It gets really cold in there. And not just a little windbreaker: I brought my winter coat and gloves, and it was still cold for me (but mind you I’m a native Californian and this is my morning winter in the chaparral ensemble, when the weather hits 40 degrees and below). There are guided tours every 15 minutes and we bought our tickets just about 45 minutes before our tour. Park rangers providing the tour are extremely knowledgeable and passionate about their work, and it can be heard by their enthusiasm in showing off the wonders of these caves. Wear good shoes with solid footing and plenty of movement (light sneakers with good soles), because there are some great opportunities to climb some ladders and get a fantastic look at little pockets within. If you’re planning a trip in Oregon and not sure whether to divert this far west (or if you live in Oregon and haven’t been), I encourage you to visit! Oh, and if you’re considering a stay at the onsite Château, check out my separate review.

A hollow voice says «Plugh».
The cave adventure will last about 90 minutes and there will be 15 people joining you. We had good group of people — but I would prefer a smaller group. The tours are so popular, each are full and not everyone can enjoy the caves unless they get there early.
Sofie and I went to Lehman Caves in Nevada last year. We enjoyed those caves more because they are much older than Oregon Caves and the tour groups are small because «it’s a long drive». Oregon Caves is rather young but still very interesting.
The cave paths are very well developed — connecting passages were blasted through the rock years ago so that it’s a 90 minute walk instead of a 10 minute walk through one section. A good question to ask: «Would the park service allow the connecting tunnels to be made today if they were not there?» I doubt it… and I doubt there would be such interest without them.
Here is what you will see:
o Interesting cave formations from the drip of calcium saturated water
o Bones of an ancient black bear (I forget how old)
o Graffiti from the 1800’s in impressive script — back when that sort of thing was «cool».
o Photo of some people who thought it would be cute to get married in one of the large caverns
o Some scary cave-​ins with huge boulders. Some kid in the line thought he’d tie his shoe while I was standing under a boulder as big as a small house. Yeah, it’s been up there for a few thousand years, but there is something inside me that says, «Of all the places around here to stand, this not the best place.»
o A spiral ladder that goes down into a deep hole that you get to descend.
o Some cracks in the cave roof from earthquakes in the past
The ranger will tell the history of the cave and things about the geology of the cave. He will also crack a few jokes and talk of the cave’s significance as a national treasure; and indeed it is a treasure to be preserved and respected. I was in Yorkshire England area to visit a cave some years ago. It was the saddest display of a cave I’d ever seen! People had broken the formations, threw garbage in the displays. The people trying to preserve the cave put up chicken wire barriers to keep people from messing things up… but visitors threw trash over the barriers anyway. So, appreciate Oregon Caves while there are still no chicken wire fences set up.
The tour ends with you being tossed out the door on the side of the mountain. It’s a short walk back to the ranger station, or a 20 minute walk up and over the hill back to the ranger station. Sofie and I took the walk and were treated to a nice view, a beautiful trail and a deer hanging around the place.
Plugh.

Bad experience. Drove two hours out of the way just to be told they were not going to do anymore tours even though we got their at 3 and the tours don’t stop till 4… They were rude and we even called before we went up! We didn’t even see a cave!!! Jerks…

Oregon Caves National Monument is a fascinating place. It’s a rare marble cave. The Caves Château nearby has a river running through it, literally, that flows from the cave. On the way to Oregon Caves, there’s a giant caveman welcoming people to Cave Junction.
It’s tucked away in the Siskiyous. The Caves themselves have an interesting geological history. They were originally from beneath the Pacific Ocean. The caves are quite young. Oregon Caves is also home to Big Tree, which at 13 feet is the thickest Douglas Fir in the state.
Oregon Caves is a delightful, beautiful place.

The Oregon Caves offer a great escape from the summer heat, a very unique view of a rare marble cave, and a scenic drive through the Siskiyou wilderness. Not the most impressiveness cave features found in North America, but a really cool, unique place to visit if you have the time.

Completely worth the trip. So much fun and the Rangers and tour guides are both helpful and knowledgeable. We will be returning. P. S. Go on the candlelight tour if you can.

This place is awesome!!!
When I was reading through the website, I was getting really excited about the idea of doing the Off-​Trail Tour, but unfortunately I e-​mailed the coordinator, and the tour operates on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 1:00pm June 22^nd through August 31^st for 2014. I had booked the hotel and was planning on coming up before that window, so I ended up just doing the normal tour.
The website recommends coming 2 hours before your tour due to the tickets being sold first-​come first-​serve day-​of, but I asked the waitresses at the Oregon Caves Château café about how busy it was, and they told me that there was usually a nice lull in between Memorial Day and when schools get out. As a result, my tour group at 10 AM on a Saturday only had 4 people (max is 15).
Obviously read the website, and wear nice sturdy and comfortable shoes (no flip flops). It is REALLY COLD in the caves, so a warm jacket and a hat were nice to have. There is also some other valuable information you should read on the national parks site about making sure not to wear any clothes that you’ve worn in caves on the east coast (to prevent the spread of a bat disease), so be sure to do your research. It would definitely be unfortunate if you went all the way out there and only brought one pair of shoes that you couldn’t wear.
The tour was a full 90 minutes, and it was super cool. There were a number of «tight» squeezes and places where even I (5’1″) had to duck. The inside of the caves that we saw on the normal tour was pretty extensive. I was surprised how much there was to see. There was also no back-​tracking — we exited someone different from where we came in.
Our tour guide, Lea, was great. She was very knowledgeable, nice, and you could tell that she really enjoyed sharing the caves with tourists.
There were a lot of stairs and a lot of cool things to take pictures of. One of my favorite parts was our tour guide turning the lights completely off so that we could experience total darkness.
We didn’t get to see any bats due to the fact that in the summer, the only bats that are in the caves are usually sick; the rest of them are out and about.
Ultimately, it’s a neat cave. It’s impressive. It’s awe-​inspiring. The normal tour price was very reasonable. There is a gift shop for you to get your National parks coloring books or t-​shirts.
When we exited the cave, there were two paths: one was a ~10 minute walk back to the entrance, and the other was a ~40 minute short hike to get back. We opted for the longer one (and the 40 minute estimate given by the tour guide was very generous). The only bummer was having to carry our jackets around when it was warm outside. There were also a few other hiking paths in the area that you can check out if that’s your thing. There was an ~3 mile loop to a «Big Tree» that I would have done had we not been on a little bit of a timeline for the day.
If you’re thinking about visiting the caves, do it. I’d definitely consider coming back to do the off-​trail tour, but unfortunately, I live about a 5 hour drive away, so it might not be for a while.

Went on the 90 min tour and it’s pretty cool. Not strenuous at all and it’s a bit chilly so def bring a jacket. Learned about how the cave was discovered, how it was made, and what it’s made of. The Oregon Caves Château restaurant is also really pretty, worth a quick look cause the stream runs right through it and the bathrooms are cleaner in there.

[[Off Trail caving tour review]]
I can’t believe there aren’t any reviews for the Off-​Trail tour. Upon reading about it on the Oregon Caves National Monument webpage
, I knew this was something I HAD to do on our PNW road trip!
[Booking]
I emailed the off-​trail coordinator with my information two weeks before our desired caving tour date and within two days, received a response. Very quick turnaround and no deposit required to hold your spot.
[The Drive]
We did not encounter any traffic on the road and made it with plenty of time to relax and dive into our packed sandwiches before our 2PM tour. I highly recommend you allot some time to eat, hydrate, and rest. Plenty of physical activity ahead!
[The Set Up]
After processing paperwork and tour fee, we were given a quick welcome orientation and proceeded to outfit ourselves with the provided caving gear (helmets and headlamp, jumpsuits, knee pads, elbow pads, gloves, and do-​rags for your hair). It was a very impressive set-​up to say the least.
Be prepared with…
Durable shoes (my white Asics running shoes were caked in mud after)
Light, loose clothing (it’s cold down there, but you’ll be moving! t-​shirt and jeans recommended)
Camera (I had a tough time slipping my point-​and-​shoot into the jumpsuit breast pocket, but managed to make it work)
[The Experience]
Since this was the off-​trail experience, we did not go through the normal tour route, which was unfortunate since this was our first time to the caves! Oh well… cooler things ahead. Our guides, Mel and Cedar, led us up and down rugged, dark, rocky terrain, using rope leads, belly crawl technique, and squeezing through tight spots. A little bit of rock climbing technique came in handy. I used the «mantling» technique quite a few times to steady myself.
On our excursion, Mel pointed out everything from black bear bones to endemic springtails feasting on a cricket. We took plenty of breaks to check-​in with the group, tell stories, ask questions, and hear facts about the cave’s colorful history. We went with a particularly agile group and managed to complete the off-​trail route faster than usual. We couldn’t refuse Mel’s offer/​challenge to complete the route backwards!
[Overall]
At the end of it all, my boyfriend and I felt REALLY accomplished. Boy, it felt good to see sunlight again. Three hours of caving and we survived! Never have we ever done anything half as adventurous as this. The experience made our trip. We couldn’t get enough so we signed up for the regular tour immediately after. Great tour, but not nearly as fun as getting down and dirty in the caves.
No bats, rodents, or other creepy crawlies,
plenty of mud,
plenty of tight spaces,
a few bruises on my shins here and there (only because I’m clumsy),
one heck of an experience.
Do it while you’re young!

My kids and I were visiting the area from San Diego. I have a 9 and 11 year old and wasn’t sure if they would be bored by this trip. The answer is a resounding. NO! They absolutely loved it. I mean, how many kids get to say they went in a huge cave over the summer? Our tour guide was funny and informative. I would highly recommend with our without kids this spot. Magical!

I’m so glad we were lead to this location as our first experience touring a cave. It was a perfect «first-​time» experience. The Rangers are super friendly & knowledgeable. Apparently, bats can get diseases from spores we pass around if we’ve ever been in a cave before. Bats! What? I forgot that seeing one of those could be a possibility. Did I mention, I’m not a big fan of rodents & I’m definitely NOT a fan of flying rodents? :-D Well, anyway, push onward… I have a husby & 2 kids seeking adventures. Caves can get pretty cold, similar to touring a refrigerator so make sure you wear a sweater at least. There are so many various formations & interesting facts on how they were formed. The Ranger guides know all. If you have additional questions, they are more than happy to answer them. It can get physically strenuous. lots of climbing – stairs, slopes, etc. And the whole tour is about 90 minutes, but it’s so interesting that I didn’t even «feel» the length. There are several trails on the property so the fun doesn’t end with the cave tour. It’s so nature filled & truly beautiful. There is a gift shop & a quaint bar-​seating family style restaurant. There really isn’t any food for miles so the restaurant is pretty much the only choice for some grub…& it’s good so that’s okay. They have yummy desserts too! The drive up to this location is fairly long & winding so again, if you or any family members are prone to car sickness, make sure you «Dramamine» it up. (Can you tell I have experience with this?) And try to come early. They can (& do) sell out… on the way out, we saw a group thinking they were going on a cave tour — alas, the tickets were already sold out. In this case, the early bird does get the worm. Oh, & those bats? We didn’t see any. (Do I sound a little disappointed? Nah… well, maybe… just cuz that would’ve been an awesome story to tell. ;-0)

I’ve been to quite a few National Parks, they are all my favorites, but Oregon Caves holds an extra special place in my heart. It may be because we saw not one, but TWO bats during the season when bats aren’t regular visitors in the cave. OR, it could be because our ranger Lindsay gave one of the best and most engaging interpretive programs I’ve been on (and, the tour is 90 mins, so definitely not an easy feat).
Wildlife is prolific around this area… from bats, to a deer just off the trail (literally, it wasn’t until she nibbled on plants that I realized she was standing 2 feet from me), and so many birds. Definitely a must see park! I’m sure glad I chose to go last minute.

Not scary, not hard: just memorable and fun.
I say this as a certified wimp. (Yes, you can get certified.) I’m totally scared of roller coasters, large bridges and clowns. Also, i’m still not so sure about this whole nature thing.
The caves turn out to the the absolute PERFECT nature experience for someone like me. All the authenticity of the outdoors… indoors! (Spelunkers of America, I am available to do your re-​branding.)
Even if you are someone who likes your outdoors outdoors, you will probably like the caves, too. They have got lots of unusual natural phenomena (I’m told you outdoorsy types like that) and various kinds of natural creatures (most of them too small or timid to be seen… again, a total plus from my perspective).
And if you are tour-​phobic (like me) you will be relieved to hear that the tour group is just 12 people (small enough to fit into a single room or cave area, which is how you progress through the tour… walking from one cavern to the next, then stopping to hear actually genuinely interesting stuff… neither I nor the kids got restless!)
Key points I wish I’d known about this experience:
— the drive up to the caves is beautiful, but VERY windy and scary (more scary than the caves are by far) so it takes quite a long time.
— the cave path you follow is well-​lit and paved, not rough or dark and scary
— I’m not claustrophobic in general, but I thought this tour might get me in touch with y claustrophobic side: it didn’t! There was only one point in the tour where I felt at all conscious of how enclosed the space was. Unless you’re over 6 foot tall you’ll hardly have to duck at all.
— it is VERY cold. I was wearing a long-​sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt AND a goretex jacket and I was still cold (though not painfully so). A hat, scarf and gloves would have been great.
— this is a great experience for kids. Our 6 and 8 year olds loved it; the main issue was containing their enthusiasm so other people could ask questions, too.
— it’s not THAT strenuous, in my opinion — I work out regularly but I still hate getting on a stair master and this didn’t get tiring or strenuous at all. However I do think the tour might be uncomfortable for larger people — there are a lot of narrow paths and the continuous activity and narrow walls might feel uncomfortable for someone wider and/​or less active.
— when you exit the caves you have the option of a short path back to the visitors’ centre, or the long path. The longer path takes you across the top of the mountain you just walked under… which sounds cool. But basically it’s just a 1 mile-​ish hike over a mountain, not an especially spectacular path, so unless you REALLY feel like a breath of outdoors air and a hike, I’d take the shorter path, especially with kids who are tired from their cave visit. (Ours were, and the hike was way too much for them.)
— the souvenir headlamps in the gift shop are the best souvenir EVER! For once my kids chose a non-​useless souvenir. They made our campaign trip so much easier!
Truly a fantastic experience for us and the kids. Don’t miss it.
Visited July 25, 2012.

I loved the tour here! We’d never come to the caves because we had read that it took a long time to drive in, which it definitely did. The road up to the caves was the scariest part of the whole thing for me (sitting on the passenger side), and that wasn’t TOO bad. I would REALLY recommend going through all the information on the website (
) for how to get there, what time is best, and how to prepare yourself. We chose to arrive outside of the most crowded 11 AM-​3 PM window, around 4:30, and were able to get into the 4:45 tour (it says they close at 6 PM in the summer which I’m guessing means the last tour leaves around then, since our tour finished after 6).
Anyway, there’s a nice little gift shop & café to kill some time in before the tour starts. There are numerous warnings that you have to climb 500 steps and bend over a lot, and this definitely was the case. I liked that about ¹⁄₅ of the way through the tour (about 15 – 20 minutes in), there was a spot to opt-​out of the rest of the tour. 3 – 4 people out of the dozen who started chose to leave at that time, and I thought the guide did a great job of being completely neutral — not pushing people to leave or stay. Overall, the caves definitely were not as claustrophobic as I had expected them to be, but they were a little harder to move around in than I had anticipated. The guide walked pretty quickly, and it was a little tricky to figure out where to put your feet on the wet, uneven steps AND make sure you weren’t going to brain yourself on some low-​hanging rock. So I would not recommend the tour to anyone who has trouble walking, and it’s definitely going to be trickier the taller you are! But at the same time a woman who was probably late in her second trimester had no problem with the whole thing.
But most importantly — the caves are AMAZING! I’d never been in caves before and the formations were fantastic! I took lots of pictures and was stopping ever few minutes to stare at something incredible. Our tour guide also pointed out all sorts of interesting things, from where people signed their names and rock formed over it to interesting formations. I loved it! I’d definitely recommend stopping here as long as you have enough time to get in and get out. And I would recommend wearing warm clothes — my husband brought gloves which was pretty brilliant, as you have to grab onto lots of wet and cold handrails!

Fantastic place to visit! If you like caves you should visit this place! 90 minute tour of the caves and it was pretty intense!
We ended up with one of the best tour guides I have ever had! Derrick was interesting and so knowledgeable about the caves. We learned a lot!
If you are not a fan of cramped spaces then this may not be for you. I have been to several caves and this is close quarters for sure! I am 5’2 and there are times I had to duck. Some of the passage ways are narrow and dark. On a positive note there is running water throughout the cave, so it doesn’t feel as claustrophobic in most areas. It is also 40 degrees in the cave so you are chilly the whole time which also takes your mind off the small space.
We paid $ 8 per adult for the 90 minute tour. Definitely worth the money. The road to the caves is windy so keep that in mind, but it is a cool place to explore!

Recommendations on getting the best out of the Oregon Caves:
~ Go on a hot day! The 44 degrees inside is refreshing and delightful!
~ Bring pants and a sweatshirt. It’s cold in there. They have restrooms where you can change, and lockers that return your quarter when you’re done using them… well, at least mine did.
~ IF you camp at the Cave Creek Campground… and it IS beautiful… it doesn’t say so from the campground, but just know that the 2 mile hike to the caves is 100% uphill, rising about 1200 feet, and it oddly dumps you out at the back of the Château. If you choose to carry water, you will be wise. Either way, after your uphill climb, the cool breeze coming out of the cave entrance will breathe sweet life back into your heated body, and the trip back down the trail will be pleasant indeed.
~ If you see someone walking around with ice cream on a cone, it did not come from the coffee shop. However, the coffee shop/​soda fountain/​diner does offer lovely waitresses, as well as milkshakes whose size indicate that they are definitely overcompensating for something.
~ For unknown reasons, there are two gift shops. I think one may be an interpretive center or something? But it’s the one swarming with forest rangers you’ll want to visit to get your tour ticket.
~ Wear shoes with slip-​resistant soles. Be ready to climb up and down stairs. Watch your head.
~ Take the 3-​hr off-​trail tour and tell me how it is… I really wanted to try it!

I was a cave virgin-​until yesterday. Take that any way you want as they would both be true, but wow-​what a great experience.
We met up with the BF’s parents, and brothers’ family. Cave tours happen every ½ hour and cost $ 8.50 for adults, $ 6.00 for children. What a great tour. For 1.5 hours, you go in, up, down, around, and then some. Amazing-​and I am so glad I got to see this place. The surrounding areas are gorgeous as well with lots of hiking trails and other stuff to see.