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The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time.
-Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, 1849
Lehman Caves is the longest cave system in the state of Nevada. Tours have been entering the cave since 1885, and you can become another visitor in a long tradition of explorers.
Lehman Caves is only available to enter on a ranger-guided tour. It is impossible to visit the caves without having tickets on a tour.
Cave Tours are offered year-round except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. Times and tour types vary, see below for current schedule.
Two tours of Lehman Caves are currently offered: Parachute Shield Tours & Gothic Palace Lantern Tours.
Cave tours are limited to 20 visitors each, and are regularly sold out. Reservations on Recreation.gov are highly recommended. Do not expect to see the caves without a reservation. All visitors, including children/toddlers/infants, are required to have a ticket to visit the cave.
Walk-up tours (indicated with an asterisk * on tour schedules) may be offered as scheduling and staffing levels allow.Walk-up tour tickets are available at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center desk beginning at opening on the day of the tour, and often sell out within the first hour.
Journey into Lehman Caves Safely
NPS
Cave Rules & Safety
White Nose Syndrome Screening is mandatory at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center. In brief, this process involves ensuring that no items enter Lehman Caves that have been exposed to another cave environment without thorough cleaning or disinfection. Help contribute to the safety of our bat population by leaving items that have been in other caves behind. Learn more about white nose syndrome at this link.
Please arrive fifteen (15) minutes prior to your tour time to check-in with the front desk at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center. Visitors who have not checked in at least five (5) minutes prior to their tour time will forfeit their tickets.
No touching of the cave is allowed.
Any tour members 15 and younger are required to have adult supervision at all times during the cave tour. Toddlers and children commonly become uncomfortable in a cave environment. Your ranger may escort a group or part of a group from the cave if any tour member becomes too disruptive.
Regular crouching is required to navigate smaller passages on the tour route. No crawling is required, and walking sticks or canes are permitted if needed. Handrails are available on all staircases and on many tighter parts of the tour route.
No bags are allowed inside the cave. This includes backpacks, camera bags, purses, fanny packs, or back mounted baby carriers. Front mounted baby carriers are allowed and available in small numbers for loan at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center.
No foods, liquids, water, chewing gum, tobacco products, vapes, or other contaminants are allowed inside the cave environment.
Claustrophobia and unease can be experienced on this cave tour due to the tight spaces inherent in cave environments. You have the option of being escorted out if these feelings are overwhelming for you or any group members.
The cave naturally remains around 52ºF (11ºC) and very humid year-round, so light jackets or long sleeves are recommended for long term comfort in the cave.
Click on individual tours for information on cost, duration, and more. Access Pass and Senior Pass holders are entitled to a 50% discount on cave tour tickets for the cardholder only. The discount will not apply to the entire group.
NOTE: The only light is provided by a lantern most tour participants carry. All tour members will be given a lantern for the duration of the tour at no additional charge.
Duration: 30 minutes Distance: 0.3 miles / 0.5 kilometers Total Stairs: 0 Difficulty: Easy. Tour goers will be on their feet for the entire tour.
Fees:
Adults (16 years and older): $8.00
Youth (5 to 15 years old): $4.00
Infants & Toddlers (under 5 years old): Free
Access Pass and Senior Pass holders are entitled to a 50% discount on cave tour tickets for the cardholder only. The discount will not apply to the entire group.
On the Gothic Palace Lantern Tour, your ranger will guide visitors from the Entrance Tunnel through to the Gothic Palace.
Duration: 60 minutes Distance: 0.6 miles / 1.3 kilometers Total Stairs: 0 Difficulty: Moderate. Tour goers will be on their feet for the entire tour. Only the Inscription Room has seating.
Fees:
Adults (16 years and older): $12.00
Youth (5 to 15 years old): $6.00
Infants & Toddlers (under 5 years old): Free
On the Parachute Shield Tour, your ranger will guide visitors from the Lodge Room through the Inscription Room, Cypress Swamp, Grand Palace, and finally to the Sunken Garden. Along the way, you'll discover cave shields, historic graffiti, and bubble trails - all testament to the cave's colorful past.
Park Rangers will show you many amazing features of the cave
NPS / B. Mills
Daily Tour Schedule
Tour route availability and times change depending on the season. The complete schedule or variety of tours may not be published until one to three months prior to tour date. * indicates a walk-up tour. Walk-up tours are offered based upon available staffing, and are not guaranteed.
During summer months, especially weekends, Lehman Cave Tour tickets will routinely sell out. Make sure to check for availability two to four weeks before your visit for the best opportunity to secure tickets. This is the only way to guarantee spots on a tour for you and your group.
Plan ahead and visit Recreation.gov or call their reservation line at (877) 444-6777 to book tickets in advance.
Refund and Check-in Policy
Refunds requested at least a day prior to the tour will be honored minus the $1 per ticket charged by Recreation.gov. Refunds cannot be provided on the the day of the tour.
Please check in at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center at least 15 minutes in advance of your tour's scheduled start time. If you have not checked in with the front desk to claim your reserved tickets within five minutes of the scheduled start time of your tour, your tickets will be considered forfeit. Refunds will not be provided for late arrivals or missed tours. Give yourself plenty of travel time. Wide loads and weather are some of a number of items which can slow your journey.
