Lava River Cave

Beautiful and surreal experience! The cave is 60 feet high at some places. If you buy the vehicle entry, then everyone in your vehicle can enter the cave, there is no separate ticket to purchase to enter the cave, just pay the few bucks for the vehicle entry. Highly recommend renting the lights. Our head lamp could barely illuminate the roof, where as the rental light could see it all. It is about 6 degrees Celsius, so quite cold. Friendly and informative ranger gives a run through for 5 minutes at the start and then you can tour the cave without a tour guide which was nice. Highly recommend this stop! Tickets are available to purchase at 7am the day before you want to enter.

Be sure to make your parking reservation the day before you come or you can't park. The cave is awesome. Pretty cold, about 42°. It's kinda steep going down but the grating helps with your footing.

You have to reserve parking in advance and it is best to show up right on time. They give your group lots of information as to why it is important to not wear clothes that you have worn in a different cave. The caves are always about 46°F so we had on light jackets and brought good flashlights. They do have flashlights to rent if needed.

Subterranean hike in a big cool dark natural tube. Bring a jacket and some lights. We had to reserve parking ahead of time. Their $7 lights for rent are super bright and the kids had fun with it. Not sure if we'd go again but was a great experience the 1st time.

Reserve your tickets in advance especially during peak travel times. But this was such a fun experience and my first cave experience. Clean bathrooms, great rangers at this post with good education, rent the flashlight, and dress in layers with a warm jacket. They aren’t kidding about the temperature down there.

Awesome and unique experience. Get a parking pass in advance. The parking passes are limited and were released 1 week in advance and again 24 hours in advance. If you are claustrophobic this may not be for you, though it is a big and long cave. Only had to duck my head in 1 short stretch. Rent their flashlights, $7 well spent. It is hard to capture the beauty of the cave but found the coolest pics were using the lights of others ahead of you.

Very cool place to explore!!! Make a reservation in advance, bring warm clothes and a good flashlight. Lamp rentals are also available. They do work significantly better than a flashlight. Limited parking. Only open seasonally. Do not bring clothes/shoes that you've worn in other caves, or you will not be permitted entry.

Super cool and rare self guided hike through lava tube. Soldi shoes are advised but you can rent flashlights. Access is controlled by parking reservations, need one ahead, only maybe 100 released for each day.

Loved this experience! It was great to walk through a geological wonder and see the power of nature. It's also very spooky to find a spot that is just you and turn your lights off, the dark is oppressive! Things to note for your visit, dress warm! We are talking hats, gloves, and thick coats as it is cold in the tunnel; even if it is 90 outside. Headlamps and/or caving lights are a must, your phone light will not cut it. This hike is not mobile challenge friendly. It is a natural tube with plenty of uneven surfaces to navigate. You also need to book your tickets as early as possible as they do sell out fast during the busy times of year.

Just some of my favorite pictures taken in a fascinating place to visit. Remember to wear closed toe shoes, warm clothes and bring a good light or rent one. It is pitch black down there!

What a cool natural gem! This cave offer the opportunity to explore a lava river cave that is approximately one mile long! You can explore at your own pace and enjoy all the natural wonders! As it's all natural, come prepared! Bring a headlight and perhaps another solid light to see the natural wonders! Wear good walking shoes or hiking boots are the ground is not level. Dress for walking in 45 degree weather! The park has built great infrastructure so everyone can enjoy the depths of the cave! With that said, you need to be able walk up and down 180 steps and on uneven grounds. Don't miss this cave if you are at the park! Make reservations in advance online as timed slots fill up in advance. Note the cave is not open all year long, so check the website before visiting to see if open and how to make reservations.

It was one of the coolest things that the family had ever done. Slot for entry was strictly regulated. Reserve on line no sooner than 7 days out with a fee. Park ranger manned entry to parking lot. No reservation, no entry. There was no park ranger inside the tunnel, self exploration. It was 42 degrees inside the tunnel on the date of our visit. We were prepared with light jackets, gloves, and beanies. Flashligh rental at $5 a piece was available. Having hiking poles and shoes is not a bad idea. We had fun.

The gate opened right on time and things were nicely organized. We happened to have scheduled a time with a school group, but luckily they allowed the rest of the time slot to go in ahead of the kids. There's not much to say that hasn't been said already. Just remember there's no previous caving clothing allowed to keep the bat population safe, dress warm, and bring your headlamp (or rent there). Our only disappointment was the fact that it's an out & back tube. It very much compared to the family friendly lower tube at Ape Cave. While we much preferred the bouldering fun action of the upper tube at Ape, you still can't help but have fun.

Took us two days to get the permits to go in here, no one will tell you how to get both of them. Even on an off day there's a bunch of loud children and irritating people everywhere. Be ready for the park Rangers to treat you like trash.

This was an absolute blast. Its a cool as hell and a baby cave to get you excited about potentially caving. I had friends who did spurlunking in the past, and I missed out on those opportunities. I might just get into caving in my older age because of this. If you can break away from the group and turn off all the lights its really cool. Its a little busy but totally worth it.

Family cave hike was super fun. Great time w the family. Would recommend for sure. Suppppppper cold. Even with 95 degrees outside. I would bring gloves for everyone especially kids.

Lots of family fun. Definitely a walk. Our entire family enjoyed it. Not for those who don't like small spaces or darkness. It's dark and very cold but we worked up a sweat doing the 2 mile round trip.

Know that you need a reservation on reservation.gov for timed entry. We didn't but got one of the last spots before entering. It was a great cave, nice to have flash lights to rent.

If you're in the area it is worth the drive to explore this cave. This is about a mile long lava tube. They also rent these great lanterns that light up the place really well, way better than anything I brought. And I thought I had a good flashlight! This is a self-paced tour and we didn't really run into any problems with slippery conditions or tripping on anything. Some of the parts of the cave are really Spacious and some of it is quite low where you can hit your head so just pay attention what you're doing and you will be fine. Such a great place to explore. Our whole family enjoyed it. I believe it was free and the lanterns cost five dollars so this is affordable. We went mostly in the off-season so it was not busy but I can imagine it might get busy in the middle of the summer. The staff are all great and answers to our questions.

Stopped in for a couple hours and had a great time spelunking. We had to wait about 20 minutes in line, but once it was our turn one of the rangers spoke to a large group of us for about 15 minutes about the rules and some history on the cave. Then we checked in, rented a lantern (absolutely do this - it's $5 and worked so much better than any of the flashlights we brought) and waltzed into the cave. It was cold (wear a sweatshirt and pants) and took us exactly an hour roundtrip. We all had a great time and really glad we did it.

what a cool experience and a great way to stay cool (pun intended). we were in Bend during the heat wave and the cave is a cool 42 degrees. We didn't sigh up early enough for the guided tour and took a chance to get in for a self guided tour. Didn't have to wait long and the intro / education session before you are allowed in the cave was informative! There was 4 of us, so splurge and rent 4 lanterns. While 2 can work, you have to be the same pace as the other person and stay close to the other two to maximize the emitting light. Splurge for 4, it's not that expensive. the self guided tour can be 1-1.5 hours. It's pitch black, rocky/bumpy (as you are in a cave so it's not smoothly paved) and cool! After a while, your ears and hands do get cold. We wore layers and happy we did. When we got outside, it was 90+ degrees so the sweatshirts quickly came off. Enjoy the cave tour, it's really neat to see the different structure formation.

What a cool place! A lot of fun, relatively chill, and super interesting history. It's a guide yourself type of excursion after a 10 minute orientation and safety talk. Bring a high powered flashlight, for sure: 750 lumens or greater (or rent one there for only five dollars, a donation to the park)! Probably bring one per person. Also, bring something warm. The cave gets to the low 40s. It is about a 1.5 mile hike each way, sometimes over uneven terrain at times, and sometimes requiring crouching or maneuvering. There are also a couple hundred steps to get in/out of the cave, FYI. The park staff and rangers are exemplary. They know their history, safety, and a lot of interesting information. I definitely recommend hitting them up after your trek to get your questions answered. A really friendly, professional, and accessible group of folks. (Thank you!) Lastly, remember to make your reservations online, which are very inexpensive, because spots fill up quick. Recommended!

Really fun and great experience. Over a mile round trip in the dark tunnel. Fascinating how lava caves work and what gets left behind. A awesome experience.

So much fun! Expect wait times upwards of 30-40 minutes in the summer, but well worth it. Our 8 and and 5 year olds really enjoyed the cave walk and it was definitely doable for kids, we saw toddlers making their way through. Definitely bring a coat and flashlights/lanterns, it gets very chilly and I saw some people without coats shivering (a sweatshirt is fine in the summer with shorts.) The staff were super kind, knowledgeable and friendly, entertaining all of my boys' 75000 questions about the cave. Definitely a must see if you're in the area and love really cool natural monuments and formations.

Best lava cave! About a mile long and cool. Be prepared to bring a jacket. It takes about an hour. One of the best experiences!!

A really cool family friendly lava tube. There are built steps and railing for the first 1/4 of the cave, over the jagged rocks. And rest of the cave is smooth and easy to hike. I have seen families with young children (3-4 years old) hiked the whole thing. It is very dark in the cave. They rent out flash light for $5 each. If you drive in, it's $5 to park the vehicle. There is no charge to enter the cave. Inside of the cave is cold - around 40 degree. Long pants and a light jacket is necessary. Overall, a cool place to visit if you are in bend/sunriver area.

We have done several cave hikes and this one is pretty cool considering it is so close to a major highway. Usually to find a cave like this you would need to hike through the woods first. I like cave experiences like this where you can go at your own pace and do not have to follow a guide. It is a mostly level walk, but does have stairs and incline to get into and out of the cave. Bring a couple light sources - headlamps are perfect - but they do rent lights also. Really enjoyable for all ages!

This place is the perfect starter cave for youngsters. Our 4 and 6 year old made it to the end. In an age of screens I could tell this made an impression. Notes: - if you have been to another cave, do not wear those same clothes into the cave - protects the bats from lethal fungal disease (there are documentaries on Netflix about this for the curious) - need to listen to short safety presentation from ranger before entering - bring jackets, gets cold inside the cave. - bring your own light source or rent the park's for $5 - 1 mile to the end of the cave - there are a couple spots right near the end of the stairs that are slippery due to dirt on top of stone - nice strong light source is ideal to view the fairy castles - no real steep inclines or declines except 1-2 spots - unlike other caves, people seem to be able to touch the walls etc making it ideal for kiddos - just really cool being inside a lava tube