• Schonchin Butte

    Lava Beds National Monument

    National Monument California

Operating Hours & Seasons

Visitor Center Displays

Lava Beds National Monument is always open to visitors.

Lava Beds' caves, trails, camping, and attractions are open year-round. Cave Loop Drive is closed to vehicles after dark, but you may still enter on foot or bicycle. Occasionally in winter, snow can temporarily close park roads until they are plowed.

Most years, the Visitor Center is open every day except December 25th.

Hours are as follows:

  • Summer: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
    (the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day)
  • Fall, Winter, Spring: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (with occasional short closures at mid-day)

Did You Know?

Captain Jack

The Modoc were not a unified tribe. Instead, they were made up of small, autonomous bands. Decisions within the band were made, not by an individual leader, but by an assembly in which all members participated, making the Modoc a direct democracy.