Lehman Caves Tours

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Cave Tours are available for reservation up to 30 days in advance.

Experience Lehman Caves via the free Virtual Cave Tour

Tour Basics

Lehman Caves may only be entered with a guided tour. Cave tours are offered daily, year-round, except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. Park rangers lead all tours and explain the history, ecology, and geology of the caves. Two different guided tours of Lehman Caves are offered -- the Lodge Room Tour and the Grand Palace Tour. Cave tours regularly sell out. Reservations through Recreation.gov are recommended.

Cave Rules

• Masks are required inside the cave for all ages, regardless of vaccination status.
• White-Nose syndrome screening is mandatory. Do not wear clothes or shoes that have entered another cave into Lehman caves for the health of our bats.
• No touching of the cave is allowed.
• No bags of any kind are allowed inside the cave, including backpacks, camera bags, purses, fanny packs, phone hip holsters, or back mounted baby carriers. Only front mounted baby carriers are allowed inside the cave. The Lehman Caves Visitor Center has limited front carriers to lend for the tour.
• No food, liquids, water, chewing gum, chewing tobacco are allowed inside.
• No tripods, pets, or stollers are allowed inside the cave.
• 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.

Parachute Shield Tour (Only Tour Offered in 2021)

Parachute Shield Tours are approximately 60 minutes long. The Parachute Shield Tour travels 0.5 miles through mostly large rooms with steep ramps and smaller passages that connect them. This tour visits the Lodge Room, Inscription Room, and the Grand palace. Tour is limited to 20 visitors. White Nose Syndrome screening is mandatory.

Lodge Room Tour (Not Offered in 2021)

Lodge Room Tours are approximately 60 minutes long. The Lodge Room Tour travels 0.4 miles, and is ideal for families with young children. The Lodge Room Tour highlights the Gothic Palace, Music Room, and Lodge Room sections of Lehman Caves. Tours to the Lodge Room are limited to 20 visitors. White Nose Syndrome screening is mandatory.

Grand Palace Tour (Not Offered in 2021)

Grand Palace Tours are approximately 90 minutes long. The Grand Palace Tour travels 0.6 miles, and children must be at least 5 years old to join the Grand Palace Tour (except on tours November through February). This tour visits the Gothic Palace, the Music Room, the Lodge Room, Inscription Room, and the Grand Palace sections of Lehman Caves, including a chance to view the famous "Parachute Shield" formation. Tour is limited to 20 visitors. White Nose Syndrome screening is mandatory.

Ticket Sales

Tickets are required for cave tours, and may be purchased two ways:

• In advance via Recreation.gov

  Same day reservations are not accepted. Please plan ahead, as tours sell out regularly.
  Cancellations, reservation changes, and refunds are handled through recreation.gov.

• In person at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center upon arrival (same day only).
  (We strongly recommend that you make a reservation instead.)

• If you book a Grand Palace tour you do not need to book a Lodge Room Tour. The Lodge Room duplicates half the rooms on the Grand Palace Tour.

• Attention Interagency Senior and Access Passes Holders:
  Holders of the Interagency Senior and Access Passes (and the Golden Age and Access Passes) may receive a 50% discount on the purchase price of a ticket.

  The ticket reservation must be in the name of the pass holder to receive a discount and the discount only applies to the pass holder's ticket.
  
  The pass, a photo ID, and the reservation number must be presented when you pick up your tickets at the facility.

 

Ticket Prices

Because cave tour fees are not entrance fees, they are not covered by the Annual Pass. However, Golden Age/Senior Pass and Golden Access cardholders are entitled to a discount. Please note that discounts are for the cardholder only, and will not cover additional family members. You can learn more about park passes and their benefits on the America the Beautiful Interagency Pass page.

	Parachute Shield Tour (60 Minutes)	Lodge Room Tour (60 Minutes)	Grand Palace Tour (90 Minutes)
Adults (16 & older)	$12.00	$12.00	$15.00
Youth (5-15 years old)	$6.00	$6.00	$8.00
Infants & Toddlers	Free	Free	N/A
Golden Age/Senior Pass (cardholder only)	$6.00	$6.00	$7.50
Access Pass (cardholder only)	$6.00	$6.00	$7.50

 

Winter Tour Schedule: March 22, 2020 through May 22, 2021

All cave tour are cancelled untill further notice.

Spring Tour Schedule: May 23, 2021 - May 27, 2021
Parachute Shield Tour (60 minutes)
10:00am | 1:00pm | 4:00pm

Summer Tour Schedule: May 28, 2021 - August 14, 2021
Parachute Shield Tour (60 minutes)
8:30am | 10:00am | 11:30am | 1:00pm | 2:30pm | 4:00pm

Fall Tour Schedule: August 15, 2021 to October 31, 2021
9:00am | 11:00am | 1:00pm | 3:00pm

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Group Tours

To arrange tours for school groups, please contact the park via email, or call [phone]. Bus tours must call at least two weeks in advance.

Accessible Tours

Brief tours of the first room of the cave, the Gothic Palace (Lodge Room during 2021), are available for those unable to negotiate the stairs and narrow passageways of the tour route. Participants join the first 30 minutes of a regular tour and are escorted out of the cave by a ranger.

For those in wheelchairs, there is no guarantee you will be able to visit the cave. The entrance tunnel is historic and not ADA-approved. A friend or family member must be available to assist those in non-motorized wheelchairs, and be comfortable navigating the wheelchair down a steep grade. Please be advised that wheelchairs are not available at the park.

First room tours may not be available on every tour, depending on staffing levels.

 

Backlit cave draperies are often called cave bacon

NPS / Gretchen Baker

Find out more about Cave/Karst Systems!