Lava Beds National Monument, Tulelake

Has to be one of my favorite parks in the US. The fact you can go caving by yourself is great. You just need to check in at the visitor center and get the voucher to hang in the car window. You will need a good torch and a backup and a backup backup. The lava tubes are great to explore, but are very dark and you need good shoes. We did a lot of them, but Blue Grotto and Skull Cave were my favorites, though Valentine cave was also good. This is a great day out playing in the dark. Its also worth doing Schonchin Butte Lookout as the views are fantastic. You need to look at the pictures carefully to get an idea of the scale of these caves.

I had the best time here! I only got through about five caves including skull cave and sentinel but i had the best time! i love that you don’t need a guided tour, it feels much more personal like this. i went with my parents and kid sister, and we all made it through just fine. ducking wasn’t fun, but it was no big deal. i love the yellow bacteria that grows in some of the caves! it looks so cool when the water beads up on it. skull cave was super cool! i love that they still have some skulls on display there. the trails were super easy to walk. i would definitely go back!

It was a great place to explore..if you going late in the evening get your own light.. they stop giving light hour before 5.. there are lot of caves to caves to explore… easily you could spend a day there. Pack your lunch and spend the day it will be worth… the landscape was beautiful too.. if you are in that area stop by the nearby National wildlife refuges.. you could see birds, coyotes and deers..

It’s a wonderland with all of the interesting caves and landscapes. First of all, pack the flashlights or headlights, you may need them if you want to explore some more caves. If not, doesn’t matter, only go to mushpot cave, which has the light. Secondly, the drive I recommend to take California 161 from US-97, you can see lower Klamath lake wild animal refuge area. It’s beautiful. And the drive is very far and don’t drive too crazily fast, take time to see the views. The Lava Bed monument has incredibly nice staff there. Super friendly and gives you the right information.

This is such a cool and fun place !! You would never know there are so many caves. Bring really sturdy shoes for inside the caves. Bring heavy duty flashlights. They let you use theirs until about 4 pm but not always the most powerful lights. If you want to buy them there they are pretty expensive $40.