Cave Tours

Touring the Oregon Caves has been a tradition for more than a century. Rangers lead you through marble passages and discuss the cave’s natural and cultural history and its preservation.

• About the Cave Tour
• Family Cave Tours
• Candlelight Tours
• What to Bring
• What NOT to Bring
• Cave Tour 2006 Schedule
• Fees for Cave Tour
• Purchasing Tickets
• A Word to the Wise
• Virtual Tour
• While Waiting for a Tour

About the Tour

The 90 minute tour is not for everyone. The cave is located at 4,000 feet elevation and slightly higher carbon dioxide levels in the cave can make breathing even more difficult. While there is a paved trail in the cave, the route is still challenging. The cave tour is considered moderately strenuous and is not recommended for people with heart, breathing, or walking problems. The half mile (1 km) route includes more than 500 stairs, a total climb of 220 feet (67 m), most of which are steep and uneven. If you have back problems you may have difficulty with some of the stooping and bending as the tour passes through low and narrow passageways.

The first room of the cave is accessible to visitor using canes or wheelchairs and for children who are too small to go on the entire tour. Children must be at least 42 inches tall and be able to climb a set of test stairs unassisted to go on the full tour of the cave. Children may not be carried through the cave and childcare services are not available. A parent or guardian must accompany the child at all times.

There is only one emergency exit in the cave, which is a natural cave opening about one-third of the way through the tour. Emergency phones are located in the cave in case of injury and other emergency.

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Family Tours

Children fewer than 42 inches in height are not able to go on the full tour of the cave. However, we offer a "family tour" into the first room of the cave at no charge. Family tours often last 5 to 10 minutes and are given when there is available staff. Times vary depending upon demand.

We also offer a Chickaree Junior Ranger Program for children who are too small to go on the full cave tour.

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Candlelight Tours

Electric lighting, installed in 1930s, has eased passage through the Cave for thousands of visitors. The Candlelight Tour reveals that sometimes more can be seen by the dim lights of candles. Travel through time to revisit early cave explorations that relied on torches, candles, and carbide lamps.

This tour is 90 minutes long but your Ranger may choose to either take you through the entire cave or turn when you reach the Ghost Room platform and go back the way you came. This is how hundreds of visitors went through the cave before 1931 (when the exit tunnel was created). The cave also looks very different when you backtrack through it.

The maximum number of participants allow on the tour is 12. If you know you want to go on the Candlelight Tour, you can buy tickets for anytime on the same day you plan on taking the tour. Spots can fill up quickly and only one Candlelight Tour is offered per day at 7:00 pm (summer season only). The cost for the Candlelight Tour is the same for a regular tour.

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What to bring

• Warm clothing. The cave is 42 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius) year round, the temperature of your refrigerator!
• Good walking shoes. Please do not wear open-toed shoes, flip-flops or sandals without a supportive strap because the trail surface is uneven and slippery.
• Optional: camera. Cameras must be on a strap or be able to slip easily into a pocket. Avoid cameras that are carried loose because they can easily be dropped in the cave. Taking pictures with flash is allowed in most areas of the cave but your Ranger will ask you not to take photographs in areas where bats are known to roost. Taking pictures of sleeping bats can disturb them and possibly cause serious harm to them.

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What NOT to bring

• Flashlight. The cave is lit and rangers carry flashlights.
• Backpacks, large purses and tripods. These are not permitted in the cave due to low ceilings and narrow passageways. Please leave them in your car or check them in at the Visitor Center.
• Your pet. If you can, leave your pets at home. If you are traveling with your pet, bear in mind that the shade will move while you are inside the cave. Please remember your pet.

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Cave Tour 2006 Schedule

Early spring, March 25 - May 26

10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Tours on the hour

Late spring, May 27 - June 16

9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Tours on the hour

Summer, June 17 - September 4

9:00 am - 6:30 pm

Tours every half hour

Candlelight Tours at 7:00 pm

Fall, September 5 - October 9

9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Tours on the hour

Late fall, October 10 - October 22

10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Tours on the hour

Late fall, October 23 - November 26

10:00 am - 4:00 pm

(10, 12, 2, 4)

No tours offered on November 25

Winter, November 27 - mid March 2007

No tours offered. The cave is closed for the season.

Fees for Cave Tour

There are no fees for parking, only fees for the cave tour.

17 years and above

$8.50 per person

16 years and under

$6.00 per person

Family Tours

Provided at no charge for families with children who are too small to go on the general tour of the cave.

National Park Pass holders

Free!

Want to know more about the National Park Pass?

Golden Age, Golden Access cardholders

Free!

Do you qualify for these cards?

Group Rates

$6.00 adult $4.00 junior

A group must have 12 or more people to qualify for the group rate. Each request is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on the needs of the group and the available staff at the monument. It helps if you can call in advance and let the staff know you will be coming. For more information contact the caves.

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Purchasing Tickets

You can purchase tickets for any scheduled cave tour offered on the day you visit the monument. For instance, if you arrive at 9:00 am and want to do some hiking during the cool morning hours, you can purchase cave tour tickets for later in the day at a time when you anticipate returning from your hike, or after you eat lunch.

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A Word to the Wise

During busy summer months, you can avoid long waits for tours (up to two hours) if you keep this in mind. Most travelers arrive here around 11:00 am causing tours to quickly fill. (Only 17 people, including the Ranger, can go into the cave at a time.) You can avoid inevitable long waits for tours by arriving here before the crowd. Also keep in mind that tours are more likely to be open from 5:00 - 6:30 pm.

For the most current information on cave tours, stop at Illinois Valley Visitor Center before driving to Oregon Caves National Monument. The visitor center is located on 201 Oregon Caves Highway (Hwy 46), one block from Hwy 199 intersection. If possible, contact the monument by phone to check the wait times for cave tours. Reservations are not available.

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