Lava Beds National Monument : Ultimate Guide

On our recent trip during summer we got a chance to visit Lava Beds National Monument which was such a unique experience for us. You can easily spend a day or two here exploring different caves, buttes and lava fields. I will share all the details you need to know when you plan your trip here.

How the Lava Beds National Monument were formed

Lava Beds National Monument is located on the north face of Medicine Lake Shield Volcano. 10,500 to 65,000 years ago lava flowed during volcanic eruptions creating the lava tubes. After the eruption was over, the lava tube emptied and drained leaving the lava tube cave. As the rock cooled, the inner surface of the tube cracked and collapsed, therefore producing openings to the surface.

Fees and Passes

Entrance Fee: $25.00 per vehicle, 1-7 Day

Individual Fee (Bicycle, Hiker, Horseback, etc.): $15.00, 1-7 Day

Motorcycle Fee: $20.00, 1-7 Day

Entrance fees are not charged to persons under 16 years of age or holders of any of the below annual or lifetime passes. These passes may be obtained at the Park.

1. Lava Beds Annual Pass: $45.00
2. The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass: $80.00
3. The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Senior Pass : Life time Senior- $80, Annual Senior  – $20
4. Annual Pass for Veterans and Gold Star Families : Free
5. Annual Pass for U.S. Military: Free
6. Access Pass: Free
7. Volunteer Pass: Free
8. Annual 4th Grade Pass: Free

Caves to explore

There are over 700 caves in the Lava Beds National Monument, from which around 27 have marked entrance and public access. You can easily spend 1, 2 or more days depending on what all you want to explore here. The caves can be divided into 3 categories based on the level of difficulty. I will list out all the caves based on these categories of least, moderate, and most challenging.

In addition to that I will also mention the popular caves which most tourists visit here. National Park Service also provides guided cave tours for Crystal Ice Cave and Fern Cave. Click on the cave names to see more details about these tours.

Least Challenging Caves:

• Mushpot
• Sentinel
• Valentine
• Skull
• Merrill
• Heppe
• Big Painted
• Symbol Bridge
• Ovis
• Paradise Alley

Moderately Challenging Caves:

• Golden Dome
• Sunshine
• Indian Well
• Balcony & Boulevard
• Blue Grotto

Most Callenging Caves:

• Labyrinth
• Lava Brook
• Hopkins Chocolate
• Hercules Leg
• Juniper
• Catacombs
• Thunderbolt

Most Popular Caves

• Mustpot cave
• Sunshine Cave
• Skull Cave
• Golden Dome Cave
• Sentinel Cave
• Hopkins Chocolate Cave

Caving Gear

1. It is recommended to wear long sleeve shirts, pants and close toed shoes or boots.
2. To protect your head wear hats or helmets. You can find bump hats sold at Visitor center if you don’t have any.
3. Light is most important so you have to carry flashlights. It is recommended that each person carry one, you can use the headlights too and attach in your cap or helmet. We took headlights and flash lights with us. You can borrow Flashlights from the Visitor Center by showing your ID before going inside caves and return after visiting all the caves.
4. For difficult caves gloves and knee pads are recommended as sometimes you will have to crawl through the uneven floors.

Hikings Trails

If you want to hike, there are 13 hiking trails you can explore here and some of the popular ones lead to historic sites and geological features. All trails cross or enter the non-developed backcountry, while the long trails are primarily in designated wilderness areas. Since you will be out, far from any amenities and visitor center, do carry plenty of water with you before starting your hike.

To check if your preferred hiking trails and open or closed currently, you can check the latest updates here.

Short Trails in Lava Beds National Monument

Long Trails in Lava Beds National Monument

Trail Name	Trail Heads	Length
Three Sisters Trail	Trailhead at the campground from A-Loop	8.8 mi (14.2 km)
Lyons Trail	Skull Cave parking lot	9.8 mi (15.8 km)
Whitney Butte Trail	Trailhead at the Merrill Cave parking area.	3.3 mi (5.3 km)

Other Things to do in Lava Beds

Apart from exploring caves and hiking trails, there are many other points of interest here.

1. Visitor Center – The visitor center not only has information and maps, you can also borrow flashlights after showing your ID and return it after you have visited the caves. It also has small displays showcasing the area and its history. If you want to get any souvenirs then this is the only place for that.
2. Lava Flows – Devils Homestead lava flow located at Fleener Chimneys.
3. Lava fields – Gillem Bluff, Petrograph Point, Basalt of Hovey Point located near Captain Jack’s Stronghold is considered to be the oldest.
4. Cinder Cones – Juniper Butte, Hippo Butte, Three Sisters, and Crescent Butte, Fleener Chimneys and Black Crater.

Hotels

Hotels in Lava Beds National Monument

There are no hotels inside of the National Monument, just a campground is available.

Hotels around Lava Beds National Monument

If you are coming from South of California, you can stay at Burney or Dunsmuir. On the other hand if you are traveling from north then Klamath Falls is a great option. We stayed at Klamath and visited Lava Beds on our trip.

Camping

Lava Beds has one campground, Indian Well Campground, located 1/2 mile (0.8 km) from the visitor center and cave loop. Sites are $10 per night, per site, and include a picnic table fire ring and cooking grill. There are 43 sites available on a first-come, first serve basis.

Know before your go

1. Take ample food and drinks with you if you want to spend quality time exploring. There are no shops or cafeteria places inside.
2. Wear sunscreen and a hat in summer as it gets really hot.
3. It is a habitat for many wild animals and reptiles so keep a watch while exploring caves or hiking.
4. There are no gas stations inside so plan ahead and top your tank off in one of the nearby communities of Klamath Falls, OR, Merrill, OR, Tulelake, CA, or Alturas, CA. The nearest gas station is 1 hour away.

Covid updates

Masks are required for everyone, regardless of location or vaccination status, in all NPS buildings, crowded outdoor spaces, and all forms of enclosed public transportation. More more details, please visit here.

Places to visit around Lava Beds National Monument

1. Waterfall Loop : Burney Falls, McCloud Falls and Mossbrae Falls are part of the amazing Water fall loop in Northern California

2. Pluto’s Cave : It is a partially collapsed lava tube on the northern outskirts of Mount Shasta in the Klamath National Forest

3. Trinity Alps : They are a mountain range in Trinity County and Siskiyou County in Northern California and have many trails you can take.

4. Medicine Lake : It is located 16 miles from the park road via Route 49

5. Glass Mountain : It is located approximately 30 miles away from Lava Beds.

6. Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge : It is located on the northern part of the Lava Beds and easily accessible from the main park road.

7. Tule Lake National Monument : It is located 27 miles away from the Lava Beds Visitor Center. It showcases the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps camp, a Prisoner of War camp and sites where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War Two.

Getting to Lava Beds National Monument

By Car

1. From California Hwy 299 from the Redding area : Turn left (north) at Bieber on Hackamore / Lookout Road (County Road 91) until it ends at California Hwy 139. Turn left (north) on CA 139, Your next turn will be a left onto Forest Service road 97. From there you’ll turn left on to Forest Service road 10, which will become the park road once you cross the park’s south east boundry.
2. From California Hwy 89 : It will take around 1.5 to two hours to reach the Lava Beds boundary from the turnoff on U.S. 89. This road is 10 miles of dirt road and is open in summer only (mid June to October)

By Plane

Medford, Oregon (MFR) is the closest airport, and is a 2-hour drive away

Weather in Lava Beds National Monument

Park elevations range from 4,000 to 5,700 feet. Cold weather is possible any time of year so have a jacket in your car. We visited in August, and it was hot there but inside the caves it was cool and was a nice escape for the hot temperature. Winter day­time highs average 40°F; lows average 20°F. Morning fog is frequent from autumn through spring. Summer daytime highs average 75° to 80°F; lows average 50°F.

1 Day Itinerary of Lava Beds National Monument

We visited the place from Klamath Falls where we were staying for this trip. Moreover we were traveling with our 8 year old who was excited to explore the caves. It was such a unique experience for us. We visited the Lava Beds National Monument in August and the weather was hot. But inside the caves it was cooler and a light jacket helped. We decided the visit the caves which we can easily explore so we visited 3 of the most popular ones which are kid friendly too.

Devils Homestead

Beginning with Devils Homestead first we got to see the amazing sight unfolding in front of us. It was just black and charred and the landscape was unlike any other we had seen before. After that we visited Visitor’s center and borrowed flashlights for the cave exploration.

Mushpot cave

We started with Mushpot cave which was right next to the Visitor Center. It is the only well lit cave in Lava Beds National Monument with paved path which makes it accessible for almost everyone.

Skull Cave

Next we visited Skull Cave which was certainly the highlight in this trip. It’s no wonder it is the most popular cave to visit. When I approached the entrance which is the large opening of the lava tube, it felt surreal to me taking in the scene and imagining how it must have looked when hot lava was flowing through it. The time we visited, we were the only ones present. Such a large space with no one around felt eerie, exciting and overwhelming all at once.

Sunshine Cave

Finally we finished with Sunshine Cave, which was unique as as it had the cave-ins to let the light inside. This is a moderate difficulty cave and there were sections where you had to duck your head.

After which we returned our flashlights in the Visitor center and explore a bit inside of it. It had information and exhibits about Modok war and you can have a glimpse at the history of the place.

We carried our lunch and took a break in between our cave exploration to have it. The visitor center has some picnic tables outside where you can take a break and enjoy your food and drinks.

On our way back we stopped at Tule Lake Wildlife refuge stop on the road, it had some information about the birds you can spot during season. The lake was dry and we couldn’t see any birds that time.

In Conclusion, I would say visiting Lava Beds National Monument is really a fun and unique experience which you will not find anywhere else. If you are visiting Redding or Klamath falls area definitely add some time here and you will remember the experience for sure.

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