Caves Trail

The Caves trail at Craters of the Moon was probably my favorite part of the park. We had a lot of fun in the relatively easy Lava Tubes and my young son loved it. The trail to the Caves is paved and there are a lot of descriptive signs telling you what you are looking at and how the tubes formed. You must stop by the Visitor Center and obtain a permit for free if you plan on entering the caves. The trail head has a large parking lot and is very well signed along the scenic drive. The trail is paved and goes right through the middle of a massive lava field. While from a distance, the rock may look like an ugly black mass there are actually many colors and variations to be seen. Here are a few examples of cool things we saw. Looking out over the lava I am sure there are countless lava tubes that are not advertised. It really is like a different planet. We first explored the Indian Tunnel. This is by far the biggest and the one to choose if you are only going in one. Much of it can be done without a flashlight as well because of the natural sky lighting. There is a staircase down into this cave also giving it the easiest access. This cave is huge! Over 30 feet tall, 60 feet wide, and 800 feet long! There were also some VERY healthy pigeons living in the cave. We skipped Dew Drop Cave because it is the smallest and went on to Boy Scout Cave. This was the most technical entrance that required some squatting and scrambling to get in. While not as cool as Indian there were still some cool things to see and some that almost looked like limestone cave formations but with a strange metallic color. There was also some ice. We went at the end of October so I would assume it holds ice year round. The last cave is called Beauty Cave. This also has a somewhat open entrance and is the second biggest. A flashlight is definitely needed here. There was a lot of interesting moss in this one. You return the same way you came. The entire trail makes a big Y. I highly recommend buying the small book at the visitor center that does a great job explaining the geology of the area you have explored.