THE OREGON CAVES

The Oregon Caves visitor center sits at 4,000 feet elevation in the Siskiyou Mountains of Southern Oregon and the caves themselves maintain a year-round temperature of only 44 degrees.  Located just 20 miles outside of Cave Junction, Oregon we meet up with friends from the Czech Republic for an afternoon visit to the caves, followed by an early dinner at Taylor’s Sausage Country Store.   If you haven't made a stop at Taylor's Sausage you owe it to yourself to do so.  Check out my review here.

 

The last 9 miles of the drive up to the caves is steep, quite narrow and extremely windy with several hairpin turns along the way, reducing your speed to 15-25mph. As we climbed higher and higher in elevation snow began to appear along the roadside and became deeper and deeper as we progressed up the mountain. 

After parking our vehicle we then hiked up to the Visitor Center which was about another 900 feet uphill from the parking area.  We found the center to be quite congested with several groups of folks waiting for their tour time to be called.  The center offers a Junior Ranger program and also has several interactive exhibits for learning about the history and formation of the caves as well as presenting lots of information on some of the local wildlife.  

Discovered by Elijah Davidson in 1874, the Oregon Caves experienced very few visitors for the first couple of decades but the popularity of the automobile, construction of paved highways, and promotion of tourism from nearby Grants Pass led to large increases in cave visitation during the late 1920s. Since it’s fledgling upstart visitors to the caves has increased from a mere 1,800 visitors in 1920 to a recorded 69,405 in 2014.  

Main entrance and beginning of the tour

 

Oregon Caves is a single system solution cave with known passages in excess of 15,000 feet.  The ½ mile route is mildly strenuous and requires negotiating more than 500 steep with uneven stairs and passageways with as little as 45 inches between floor and ceiling.  I could not recommended it for anyone with heart, lung, or mobility problems.  It also involves a total climb of 230 feet. You will also be able to view the only subterranean Wild and Scenic River in the U.S. — the River Styx  

Children less than 42 inches tall or who are unable to climb a set of test stairs are not allowed on the cave tour.  Mike is 75 and I am 66 and neither of us had difficulty with the tour but we are both in excellent health and good physical condition. Hint:  I took a very small LED flashlight with me and used it throughout most of the tour.  It proved to be very useful. Also having a heavy jacket with a hood helped keep the constant dripping water off my head. 

The caves are only open for a limited time throughout the year, beginning the third week of March and ending December 1st. Be sure to arrive early on the day of your visit as no reservations are accepted and tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis and no self-guided tours are permitted.

Click on this link for more visitor information to the Oregon Caves

GPS coordinates:  42°05′44″N 123°24′21″W